Bella stood at the door of Officer Ethan's office and knocked.
Ethan, who had just gotten up from his seat to head to the officer's mess for lunch, sat back down and called out,
"Come in."
Bella stepped inside.
"Good afternoon, Officer Ethan."
Ethan looked up at her, visibly surprised.
"Cadet Bella? What are you doing here?"
Bella looked directly at him and said,
"I need to ask you something."
Ethan leaned back slightly and nodded.
"Alright, go ahead. What is it?"
Bella was fidgeting with her fingers — something Ethan knew all too well. She only did that when she was nervous.
She finally lifted her gaze and met his eyes.
"Off... Officer Ethan... the five murders... the high-ranking officers..."
Though her words were broken and unsure, Ethan immediately understood what she meant. A wave of shock passed over his face — but it didn't take long for that shock to turn into anger.
He stood up sharply and took a step toward her, stopping just in front of her.
"Cadet Bella," he said sternly, "how do you know about this? Were you eavesdropping outside the officer's meeting room?"
Bella flinched at his sudden anger but quickly composed herself.
"It doesn't matter how I found out," she said, trying to stay calm.
"I just want to know what their ranks were... and which wing they belonged to."
Ethan glared at her.
"Do you realize who you're talking to? This has nothing to do with you, Cadet. I don't know how you found out, but I don't want to hear a single word about it from your mouth."
Bella looked at him, her voice more desperate now.
"I won't tell anyone. I won't say a word... but please, just tell me."
In a burst of frustration, Ethan grabbed her arm and pulled her closer.
"You're crossing the line, Cadet Bella. Don't force me to call Chief Luke."
His grip on her arm was tight — painful — and it showed on her face.
Realizing this, Ethan quickly let go, taking a step back. His voice turned cold.
"It's almost lunchtime. Go to the cafeteria. And this conversation ends right here, right now. I don't want to hear about this again. If I do... you'll be responsible for the consequences. Understood?"
Bella looked at him, still holding his gaze.
Ethan's voice rose, his eyes sharp.
"Is that clear?"
Without looking away, Bella replied firmly,
"Very clear, Officer Ethan."
Then she turned, opened the door, and walked out of the office — silent, but far from calm.
*************************************************************************************
At the cafeteria, as Bella approached her group of friends, Ellena was the first to speak.
"Where were you? We've been waiting forever!" she said, half-annoyed, half-concerned.
Harry chimed in dramatically,
"I know the food here tastes like cardboard and is impossible to swallow, but we have to eat something to survive, right?"
Norah rolled her eyes and gave him a playful smack on the head.
"If the food's that bad, why is your tray always the fullest?"
Everyone burst into laughter.
Derek slid a tray toward Bella.
"We grabbed something for you too. Thank God, you made it here by one."
Bella smiled warmly and said,
"Thank you."
Later that day, during the evening shooting session, Officer Ethan was instructing the cadets on the basics.
He stood tall at the front of the open training ground, his voice sharp and commanding.
"Today, we'll be working on basic target shooting. This includes stance control, breath timing, and precision alignment. Don't worry about speed yet—focus on accuracy."
He demonstrated the correct way to hold and aim a standard training rifle, his posture rigid and textbook perfect.
Once the explanation ended, he looked at the group.
"Understood?"
In unison, the cadets responded,
"Yes, Officer!"
Bella, however, kept her eyes anywhere but on Ethan. Her expression remained blank, her attention strictly on the task at hand.
Ethan then gave another command.
"Line up according to your Registration IDs. Six cadets at a time, step forward, take your positions, and prepare to shoot at the front targets."
One group went first, following the orders. Then came the turn for Derek, Harry, Ellena, Norah, and Bella, whose IDs were in close sequence.
The sergeant overseeing the line pointed toward the range.
"You five, take your positions."
The five cadets moved into place, each standing at their assigned booth facing the individual paper targets placed at medium-range distance. A light breeze rustled the edges of the targets, but otherwise, the range was still.
"Load your weapons."
Each cadet inserted the training magazine, cocked the rifle, and took aim.
A brief silence.
Then the sergeant shouted:
"Shoot!"
A sharp crack of five rifles firing in near-perfect sync echoed across the training ground. The targets trembled, showing bullet holes across various rings.
The sergeant walked past each target, marking down the scores on his clipboard.
Ellena had the highest score, with most of her shots tightly grouped in the inner circle — a clear bullseye shooter.
Derek followed with slightly wider spread but still impressive accuracy.
Norah's shots were consistent, though not as tight.
Harry's were scattered, two shots hitting far off from the center.
Bella, however, had the lowest score. Her shots barely made the outer ring, one even grazing the edge of the paper.
She handed her rifle back to the sergeant without a word.
Ethan stepped forward, his expression unreadable. He nodded at Ellena.
"Very good, Cadet Ellena."
Then he turned to the entire group.
"That concludes today's shooting class. After a ten-minute break, you'll report to Training Ground B to meet Officer Matthew."
He paused, then added firmly,
"Except for you, Cadet Bella. Stay back. I need a word."
Everyone else began to move out.
As Harry was walking away, he turned and glanced over his shoulder at Bella, then leaned toward Ellena and said in a whisper,
"Looks like Officer Ethan's about to give Bella one of his famous lectures."
Ellena, too, glanced back. She gave a small nod and followed the rest of the group out of the range, leaving Bella standing alone with Ethan.