Chapter 7 Episode 7: Detention

Faye purposely skipped a morning class, knowing exactly how to get caught. She loitered in the west wing where students weren't allowed before lunch. Ms. Vexley spotted her within minutes.

"Miss Hawthorne," she snapped, "what do you think you're doing?"

Faye gave a polite shrug. "Looking for the music room. I got turned around."

"You've been here for two years."

"I guess grief affects memory, too."

Ms. Vexley didn't smile. "Detention. Today. Four o'clock. Basement level."

Faye nodded, her stomach tight.

It worked.

Detention was held in an old classroom beneath the library-a place Fayth had once called "the undercroft." Cold, dim, and barely used.

Griffin was already there when Faye arrived, slouched in the farthest corner.

He didn't look up.

Ms. Vexley locked the door behind them. "No talking. No phones."

As her footsteps faded, Faye slid into the desk beside Griffin. The silence stretched, unbearable.

"You helped her," she whispered. "I found the note in the music box."

He flinched.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"She trusted you," Faye said. "But you're too afraid to keep helping."

"I'm not afraid," he muttered. "I'm realistic."

Faye leaned closer. "Then help me find her journal."

Griffin stared at the floor.

After a long pause, he said, "Midnight. Greenhouse."

Then he said nothing else.

But Faye knew she'd gotten through.

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[End of Episode 7]