Brother

At 4:08 PM, Hesta left Valenti's office building and walked down a third-floor corridor toward a classroom for course selection.

She sensed she was being followed. Someone had been trailing her at a distance since she left Valenti's office. Through the glass windows at a few corners, she caught glimpses of a shadow.

A man.

She glanced at the surroundings. About ten steps away, there was a manual fire alarm, conveniently located within a monitored area.

Hesta broke into a run. She quickly smashed the glass casing and pressed the red button. Within seconds, a piercing alarm blared throughout the building. The bright corridor lights instantly extinguished, and red flashing arrows appeared on the floor and walls, pointing toward the nearest emergency exit.

Rain began to fall in the corridor—the building's automatic fire suppression system had activated along with the alarm.

"Holy cow... what did you do?"

As a series of rapid footsteps approached, Hesta heard a male voice. It sounded somewhat young and confused. She turned—the person following her had indeed appeared.

He wore an oversized black hoodie, his hands shoved into his pockets. Half his face was hidden by the black hood, revealing only the outline of his cheek. "Why did you—"

"Stay still!"

Hesta's muscles tensed. She clenched her fists, hunched slightly, her eyes burning with hatred and vigilance. She adopted a defensive stance, like a young wolf.

At her words, the person actually stopped. He slowly raised his hands above his head and took a step or two back.

In the flashing alarm lights, he slowly pushed his hood back. The fine spray from the sprinklers cast a chaotic red glow, imbuing his pure white short hair with a neon sheen.

He appeared to be a small boy, perhaps fourteen or fifteen, maybe younger. His hair was likely dyed, as the roots showed a deep black completely different from the tips. Beneath his light eyebrows were a pair of golden eyes. Even in this situation, he looked somewhat languid.

"Oh, I get it..." he said with a smile. "Because you spotted me, you pulled the alarm."

Once she confirmed the camera had captured the person's face, Hesta subtly adjusted her stance. If he made any move, she would immediately turn and flee.

"Sorry if I offended you," the boy maintained his pose with his hands raised. "I saw your file and knew you just arrived yesterday and are staying in room 403 upstairs... I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence. This afternoon, I happened to walk past Miss Viking's office and saw you—"

"Who are you?" Hesta interrupted him without mercy.

"Me?" The boy's voice sounded somewhat thin amidst the piercing alarm. "My name is Shawn Grangua."

"Why were you following me?"

The boy chuckled, lowering his hands behind his back and clasping them behind his head. "How should I put it, Miss Hesta... Perhaps it's because the first time I saw you, I felt you were very familiar."

Hesta frowned slightly.

Shawn looked at her. "The questionnaire Miss Viking gave you earlier, you didn't fill it out truthfully, did you?"

Hesta didn't answer, but the corners of her lips couldn't help but turn down slightly.

Shawn saw the answer.

He smiled and continued, "It's fine, I haven't either, and never have. But starting last year, I noticed they added lie detection to the scales... Of course, I've figured out which questions are used for lie detection. If you want to know, I can share it with you—"

"No need," Hesta's voice was low and cold. "Please leave."

"Alright." Shawn took two steps back, pretending to leave. Just as Hesta felt a sense of relief, she saw him stop and look behind her.

"...Karl?"

At Shawn's soft call, a tall man slowly emerged from the shadows behind Hesta.

For a moment, Hesta's heart nearly stopped. The instant their eyes met, she felt an almost crushing disparity in power—she hadn't sensed anyone else around.

The man's height nearly reached the ceiling of the corridor. Even in a relaxed state, his arms hanging by his sides were still muscular. Hesta could even clearly see the thick, raised veins on his forearms.

The man's gaze lingered on Hesta only briefly before he walked directly towards Shawn.

During that brief brush past, Hesta felt an intense pressure again. She strained with all her might just to keep her knees from buckling.

"You're following me again?" Shawn asked.

"I'm checking if you're getting into trouble again." The man reached out, grabbed Shawn by the scruff of his neck, and lifted him entirely off the ground. "Shawn, shall we go back?"

Though phrased as a question, the man clearly gave Shawn no other option. Shawn flailed in the air, unable to do anything but be carried away by him as they slowly disappeared down the corridor.

And so, Hesta was once again alone in the long corridor.

Soon, several faculty members rushed over, carrying fire blankets and wearing goggles. Liz spotted Hesta leaning against the wall almost immediately. "Jane!"

Hesta looked up, her face almost devoid of color.

Liz quickly stepped forward and took her hand, finding it ice-cold. Hesta seemed to be trembling slightly, as if terrified.

The others saw the shattered casing of the alarm on the floor. "You triggered the fire alarm?"

"Yes," Hesta replied softly.

Everyone grew tense. "Where's the fire?"

"There's no fire..." Hesta answered. "I noticed someone was following me, so... I triggered the alarm..."

They exchanged glances, all breathing a slight sigh of relief—it seemed the fire hazard was temporarily averted.

Liz draped a fire blanket over Hesta. "Are you okay? Can you walk?"

Hesta's teeth were still chattering, but she shook her head. "...I'm fine."

"Don't be scared, and don't worry..." Liz supported Hesta's shoulder. "Did you get a clear look at who it was?"

Hesta's throat moved. Thinking of the second person emerging from the shadows, she couldn't help but shiver again.

"He said his name was Shawn Grangua."

Liz's expression instantly became complicated.

Of course, she knew Shawn. While she didn't usually interact with him, his intense narcissism and self-aggrandizing tendencies made him like a walking narcissus. His various lies were always readily available, whether necessary or not, and had always given Miss Viking a persistent headache. Liz had already heard about this.

"Come, let's get out of here first," Liz said softly, looking at Hesta's clothes, soaked by the fire suppression system. "Let's get you changed first, be careful not to catch a cold."

Thanks to Linglan Yeh for the tip and monthly ticket ^_^