Chapter 2 Episode 2: Echoes of Fayth

The hallway smelled like lemon polish and old paper-precise, sterile, too clean. Faye walked in step with Headmaster Langston, her suitcase wheels humming over the stone floor.

"You've had quite the absence," he said. "But I'm glad to see you've chosen to return."

She nodded carefully. "Needed time. Things were... heavy."

He didn't press further. Either he was being respectful or he didn't care. Faye couldn't decide which unnerved her more.

Students milled past, some whispering, some too polite to stare directly. They all knew the story-Fayth Hawthorne, the tragic girl who had everything but lost herself anyway. Some looked at Faye with pity. Others with suspicion. None of them knew she wasn't who they thought.

Langston paused before a door. "Your old room."

Faye stepped inside. The air felt trapped. As if it hadn't been touched since the day Fayth died. The bed was neatly made. Books stacked by the window. On the nightstand-a bottle of lavender perfume, unopened.

"Your schedule and school badge are on the desk. If you need anything-counseling, adjustments-just ask."

Faye nodded again. "Thank you."

He left, the door clicking shut.

She let the silence settle before crossing the room. Her hands trembled as she opened the closet. Still packed with Fayth's clothes. Everything from silk blouses to casual hoodies-each item folded like a memory. She touched the sleeve of a sweater and swallowed the ache rising in her throat.

What had Fayth been thinking, in her final days?

There had to be something-anything-that told the truth.

Faye sat at the desk and opened the top drawer. Inside, a single photograph lay face-down. She turned it over.

Fayth, smiling. Standing beside a boy with dark hair and watchful eyes.

The back read: Me & Griffin - First day, Sept 5.

Faye stared at the handwriting. Then at the smile. And for the first time, she felt it:

Fayth didn't look like someone planning to die.

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[End of Episode 2]