They celebrated quietly.
Not because they lacked excitement, but because exhaustion had dulled everything into something gentle. Cheap food. Shared jokes. Someone playing music too low on a phone speaker.
Outside, the campus lights glowed like they always had.
XH stood by the window later that night, watching snow settle on the pavement. His phone buzzed once.
A notification.
Not from a friend.
Not from a group chat.
An email.
SUBJECT: Internal Scheduling Adjustment – Faculty Only
He frowned.
He hadn't been meant to receive it.
He opened it anyway.
Most of the text was locked behind permissions he didn't have. But one line hadn't been filtered properly.
"…pending administrative review at the highest level, effective immediately…"
XH scrolled.
Nothing else loaded.
The message disappeared a second later, replaced by a system error.
He stared at the screen.
Behind him, JP laughed at something TZ said. NS was already half-asleep on the couch. Kitty and June were talking softly near the doorway, unaware.
Everything looked normal.
Too normal.
Elsewhere on campus, June slowed her steps outside the faculty wing.
She hadn't meant to overhear anything.
But voices carried at night.
"…you can't delay it anymore," someone said sharply.
A pause.
Then a familiar voice answered, lower, controlled.
"This campus cannot survive another year of uncertainty."
June stopped breathing.
She didn't recognize the second voice.
But she recognized the tension.
She walked away before she was seen.
Her phone buzzed.
No message.
Just a missed call.
Unknown number.
Kitty lay awake in her room, staring at the ceiling.
She didn't know why she couldn't sleep.
Nothing hurt.
Nothing pressed.
Still, her chest felt tight.
Her phone lit up briefly.
A campus forum notification.
Then vanished.
When she refreshed, the post was gone.
Only the title remained cached in her browser history.
"Is Campus 2 about to collapse?"
Her heartbeat sped up.
She locked her phone and turned onto her side, telling herself she was overthinking.
She always did that.
Across campus, NS stepped outside for air.
Snow crunched under his shoes.
In the distance, blue lights flickered once.
Then disappeared.
No sirens.
No announcements.
Just light.
And then darkness again.
The foundation program had ended.
They had passed.
They had chosen to stay.
They had won tournaments, built bonds, laughed like the future was guaranteed.
None of them knew that decisions had already been made without them.
None of them knew that this was the last night Campus 2 would feel whole.
And none of them knew
That the real story was only just beginning.