Lincoln sat on a low stone wall, scrolling through his phone, his blonde hair catching the afternoon sunlight.
Thank the stars his here "Lincoln!" Penny called out.
He looked up and smiled. "Hey! What's up, girls? How are you doing?"
Auriella forced a smile, though her heart was racing. "We're okay."
Lincoln pocketed his phone and stood. "What brings you out here?"
"We were just... looking for someone," Penny said casually. "Have you seen Celeste?
"Celeste?" Lincoln frowned slightly. "No, not since earlier this week. Why?"
"No reason," Auriella said quickly, her voice a bit too high. "We just... we were supposed to meet up with her and we can't find her."
Lincoln shrugged. "She's probably off exploring. You know how she is. Always poking around where she shouldn't be."
Auriella's stomach dropped at those words.
Lincoln's expression shifted then. "Hey, did you guys hear about what happened last night?"
Auriella's heart stopped.
"What do you mean?" Penny asked carefully.
"The party," Lincoln said. "Apparently there was a party in one of the old storage rooms near the boys' dorm. Security busted it."
Auriella felt like the ground had dropped out from under her.
"Really?" Penny said, keeping her voice neutral. "We didn't hear anything."
"Yeah, it's all over campus." Lincoln shook his head. "In all the years students have been throwing parties down there, last night was the first time they actually got caught. Crazy, right?"
"Do they know who was there?" Penny asked.
"About fifteen students got caught," Lincoln said. "But no one knows who they are yet. The school's keeping it quiet until the assembly this afternoon."
Auriella felt her knees go weak. Fifteen students.
Penny glanced at her, noting her pale face, and quickly spoke up. "That's intense. I'm sure the school will handle it."
Lincoln was about to say more when his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen.
"Sorry, one sec," he said, stepping aside to take the call.
The moment he was out of earshot, Auriella grabbed Penny's arm.
"Fifteen students, Penny," she whispered urgently. "What if Celeste is one of them? What if she got caught and she's going to be expelled and it's all my fault because I should have said no, I should have stopped us from going—"
"Auri, stop." Penny grabbed both her hands. "Listen to me. You don't know if Celeste was caught. You're assuming the worst,it's not your fault even if we didn't go to that party Celeste still would have gone and she could be anywhere"
"But she's not anywhere on campus—"
"This school is massive," Penny said firmly. "There are buildings we haven't even been to yet. And you know Celeste—she's probably holed up somewhere reading about the school's dark history or whatever. She's fine."
"You don't know that," Auriella said.
"And you don't know she's not," Penny countered gently. "So until we know for sure, you need to breathe. Okay?"
Auriella nodded shakily, trying to pull herself together.
Lincoln returned, looking apologetic. "Sorry about that."
"It's fine," Penny said smoothly.
Lincoln started talking again—something about the assembly, about how the school was cracking down on rule-breakers—but Auriella barely heard him.
Her mind was spinning with worst-case scenarios.
She was about to say something when someone called out.
"Linc!"
They all turned.
A guy was walking toward them—tall, dark-haired, with sharp features and an easy confidence. He was handsome in a polished, effortless way, the kind of guy who turned heads without trying.
He reached them and grinned. "There you are. I've been looking for you."
"Hey, man." Lincoln clapped him on the shoulder, then turned to Auriella and Penny. "Girls, this is my friend, Adrian. Adrian, this is Auriella and Penny. They're first-years."
Adrian flashed them a charming smile. "Nice to meet you both. First-years, huh? How are you surviving so far?"
"Barely," Penny said with a small laugh.
Auriella managed a weak smile but said nothing.
Adrian chuckled. "Yeah, Blackthorn's a lot. But you get used to it." He glanced at Lincoln. "Eventually."
He made a joke, his energy light and easy, and then looked back at the girls. "I hope I see you around more often. We should hand around."
"Sure," Aurelia said .
"Alright, we've gotta run," Lincoln said, checking his phone again. "Extra classes. Even on Sundays."
Penny's eyebrows shot up. "Extra classes? On a Sunday?"
Lincoln shrugged. "Legacy student life. My family expects perfection."
"That's insane," Penny muttered.
Adrian laughed. "Tell me about it. Come on, Linc. Let's go before we're late."
Lincoln gave them a quick wave. "See you guys later. Stay out of trouble."
They walked off, Adrian saying something that made Lincoln laugh.
Penny watched them go, shaking her head. "Who has classes on Sundays? Such a bookworm."
But Auriella wasn't listening.
Penny turned and saw the look on her friend's face—pure panic.
"Auri—"
"I know" but I just can't help it ,I wouldn't want her to be expelled .
Let's not jump into conclusion" penny squeezed Auriella's hands we'll be okay , she'll be okay .