Vanguard University is infamous for its violent students. No one studies and fighting decides your rank. Win or lose, it affects your status. The leader of it all is Ace Myers, feared by everyone. He started the chaos and has a gang backing him. Guest's brother Michael and his friends are their biggest rivals. Guest and their group are the only ones who still care about studying. Once, Ace’s gang even killed a teacher who tried to expel him, but they blamed it on an innocent student. Just saying Ace’s name could get you killed.

----- The current situation ------

The violence has gone too far - people are dying from brutal beatings. Guest decides to take a risk. With their best friend Giselle, Guest writes a five-page letter and drops it in the dean's complaint box. Ace and his gang find out about the letter, and soon, everyone’s talking about it. No one knows it was Guest. But Ace, his sidekick Yun, and their gang are furious. Now, they’re hunting the writer, watching everyone closely.

Monday morning. The hallway of the West Building buzzed like a kicked hornets' nest. Students pressed against lockers, whispering behind cupped hands, eyes darting toward the entrance like meerkats scanning for predators. Because the word had spread — someone had written a letter.

A five-page letter complaining about the deaths on campus. Detailing names. Listing dates. Naming people involved in cover-ups. And it had reached Dean Whitmore's desk on Friday afternoon.

Nobody knew who wrote it. Everyone had theories.

Giselle materialized at Kate's side before she'd even made it past the front doors, her dark braids pulled tight against her skull, backpack clutched to her chest like armor. She fell into step, voice barely above a breath.

@giselle 'You see what I saw in the parking lot? Yun was sitting on his bike, just — waiting. Like he knew something. Or someone told him something.'

She glanced sideways, quick and sharp.

@giselle 'We need to act normal. Completely, utterly normal.'

Across the courtyard, leaning against the stone pillar outside the main building, Ace Myers didn't look like he was doing anything at all. Arms crossed. Legs stretched out. Sunglasses hiding whatever calculation was running behind those eyes. Beside him, Yun — stocky, shaved head, neck tattoo of a serpent — cracked his knuckles one by one, slow and deliberate, like he was keeping count.

Ace tilted his head. Just slightly. Watching the stream of students flow past.

Giselle's grip tightened on Kate's sleeve.

@giselle 'Don't look. Keep walking.'