Winter blinked the sleep from her eyes and looked around, disoriented. The clock struck nine. When she glanced at her phone she realized that it was still nighttime. Winter sighed, rubbing her face as the dream replayed in her mind. Suddenly, she remembered the note she left for the boy and tiptoed to the library.
The entrance to the secret room opened. When she descended the stairs, she saw that the table sported only the lone piece of paper with her words aggressively scratched out. Underneath was the hurried script, "Don't ever say that name." Winter promptly folded the paper and put it in her pocket. Now that she had his handwriting, she could find him. Winter waited in the secret room until midnight before stalking through the halls. She quietly slid open the door of the teacher's office. The homework from yesterday sat on the desks of all the homeroom teachers. With eight classes, Winter searched for hours, comparing each form of handwriting to the one she had in her pocket. It exhausted her. Just as she was about to give up, Winter paused. She was comparing identical handwriting. Her eyes skimmed the page and in the top corner was the rushed scribbles of a teacher. Winter scoffed, "He couldn't be bothered to write his name?" She heard the sound of footsteps and immediately put everything back in place. She hid under the desk as a flashlight shone through the door. The door opened and the light got brighter. Winter waited. She heard shifting before the door closed again and the footsteps receded.
Winter waited ten minutes before leaving and making her way to class eight. She crouched down and shuffled through the contents of his desk looking for anything that gave her clues. She found a crumpled piece of paper in the back crevice of the desk that had Aliana's name written hundreds of times. Winter ran her fingers over the passionate scrawls, before placing the paper back inside his desk. She swallowed, glancing at her bracelet. She attempted to make a connection, but couldn't. She knew one thing for sure. Aliana is the name of girl who died.
The next day as Winter sat at her desk, she yawned loudly. She was sure the bags under her eyes were painfully apparent. Layla slinked over to her, "You look terrible." Winter yawned again, "I didn't sleep last night." Mandy brushed the hair out of Winter's face, "What were you doing?" Winter grumbled incoherently before putting her head down. She heard them laugh as one of them patted her head.
Nelly Terran cleared her throat and Winter rose her head, "Would you like to answer this question Winter?" She glanced at her watch. They were already in English. Winter glimpsed at the board to get an idea of what they were talking about, "Shakespeare's intention in creating such a foil for Hamlet was to highlight his fatal flaw of being a coward. If he was a man of action, there wouldn't have been a play." Nelly blinked, "Good. Does anyone else have anything to add?" The silence of the classroom was loud. Winter put her head back down. When class ended, Mandy shook Winter awake and said, "Lunchtime."
Winter's stomach growled as they stood in the back of the line. When Sam entered the cafeteria, it got quieter. Winter stared as Sam skipped to the front of the line as usual. He grabbed his food and walked out the door. Winter's eyes were glued to the door, as though it would disappear if she blinked. "Winter come on." When they made it to the front of the line, she put the lobster bisque and a roll on her tray. She sat down next to M.J. and Leo. Mandy, Layla, Jax, and Lucas sat across from them. Jax gawked at her, "Woah what happened to you?" Winter shrugged, "Lack of sleep." Lucas slid a piece of paper across the table. They looked at him and he said, "It's about the monsters." They leaned in to look at it as he went on, "You were right. Someone is actively creating monsters. Since it's a forbidden magic, it is difficult to pinpoint where or who." Winter narrowed her eyes, "What did you find?" Lucas stared back, "Last night, I saw three monsters different from the ones you described." Jax's eyes shot to him in surprise as though it was his first time hearing this and Winter wondered if he was the one who almost caught her. "I'll have sketches of them for you after school and a list of properties they seemed to possess." Winter nodded, "Did you find them by accident?" Lucas looked away from her, "I was just taking a stroll because I couldn't sleep and they appeared." He's lying. Winter just watched him then turned to the group, "Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious."
Winter noticed Xae eating alone and bit the inside of her cheek. She snapped, materializing a note in his pocket. Winter looked away from him and scanned the cafeteria. She spotted Darren and his ragtag bunch carrying on at a table not far off and grimaced. Leo whispered, "Your eyes." Winter closed her eyes, thanking him under her breath. Mandy's voice sliced through her thoughts, "M.J. why aren't you sitting with Brenna today?" Winter met his beige eyes and he winked, "All part of the plan." Winter looked at him, surprised, before laughing. He took her advice and stopped casting the illusion over himself that made him seem meeker. She saw Brenna's eyes drifting to him, slight annoyance written on her face. He smirked, feeling them on him, but didn't look up. Whatever he was trying to do was working. They would have to discuss the details later.
The bell rang and Winter rushed off before her friends could say anything else. She slipped into room two twenty two and smiled at Xae who held up the piece of paper for her to see, "You got my note." He nodded and she went on, "Can you spy on Sam for me tonight?" Xae's eyes widened. He stuttered, "Sam Tudor?" Winter nodded as she watched the color drain from his face, "What's wrong?" He shook his head, "Nothing. He's just terrifying." Winter glanced at him sidelong, "Well if you can't do it then forget it." Xae stood straighter, "I can." She smirked, "Meet me at the library tomorrow morning before class." He nodded resolutely.