Cracks in the surface

CHAPTER 17

The week started quietly.

Too quietly.

Emma felt it in the halls — in the way Megan had suddenly gone silent. No petty remarks. No sabotaged projects. No sideways glances. Nothing.

And that made it worse.

Megan's silence felt like a snake curling in the grass, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Even Sophie noticed. "Is it just me, or has Megan… gone stealth mode?"

Emma nodded, lowering her voice. "It's definitely not just you. Something's up."

And something was.

Because Megan's plan — whatever it was — had already begun.

Lucas's Shadow

Lucas sat at the back of the library that afternoon, notebook open, eyes staring at the same sentence for almost twenty minutes.

He wasn't okay. Not really.

He hadn't slept properly in days. The pressure of school, whispers about him and Emma, and the sense of something looming over them — it all pressed in like invisible weights on his shoulders.

But that wasn't all.

He kept dreaming of his father.

The man who had promised he'd be back, and never returned.

The last time Lucas had seen him was six years ago — shouting, broken plates, the front door slamming so hard the frame cracked. Then silence.

Forever.

He remembered standing by the window the next morning, watching the rain, hoping his dad would walk back in and act like none of it had happened.

He never did.

Now, the memory pushed at the edges of his chest, making it hard to breathe.

The present swirled around him like mist. He couldn't even hear the librarian calling his name until someone touched his shoulder.

"Lucas?"

He turned his head slowly — it was Emma.

Her eyes widened. "Hey… are you okay? You're pale."

"I—" he tried to answer but the edges of the room blurred suddenly.

His breath hitched. Then everything went black.

Panic in the Library

Emma screamed.

"Someone help!" she cried, catching Lucas just as he slid off the chair.

Sophie and a librarian rushed over. Within seconds, a nurse had been called and students had gathered near the doorway whispering furiously.

Emma knelt beside him, holding his hand.

"Lucas… come on…"

His lashes fluttered as he came to, confusion clouding his expression.

"I—I'm fine," he mumbled.

"No, you're not," Emma said, wiping tears off her cheek. "You passed out."

They helped him up slowly, and Emma walked with him to the nurse's office. He didn't say much, but when their hands brushed, he didn't pull away either.

Meanwhile: Riley Follows the Thread

Riley hadn't been idle either.

After days of observation and quiet questioning, he finally caught something worth chasing.

In the back hallway near the staff room, he spotted a janitor's closet slightly ajar — and Megan slipping out, her face flushed, a folded note in hand.

He waited until she turned the corner before walking up to the door. Locked.

But Riley had spent years learning how to slip in and out of places people ignored. With a quiet flick of his fingers, he used a small pin to pop the lock.

Inside, behind the mop buckets and cleaning supplies, was a notebook taped to the wall. Labeled:

"Timing / Risk / Target – Plan C."

His stomach twisted.

He flipped through it quickly, snapping pictures with his phone. The pages were filled with scribbled notes — initials, times, even locker combinations.

And then one word, circled in red.

Emma.

And below it, scribbled: "Leave no trace. Day after results."

Riley's heart raced.

Whatever Megan had planned… it was about to happen. And soon.

Academic Tensions Rise

The next day, the school released the list of participants for the regional academic challenge — and Emma's name was at the top.

So was Ryan's.

The school hadn't allowed more than two reps from the same class — meaning Emma and Ryan were officially rivals.

Ryan approached her at lunch, calm and composed as ever.

"Congrats," he said with a practiced smile.

"Thanks," Emma replied, her voice cautious.

"I've read some of your essays. Impressive. But you should know, I don't lose easily."

Emma raised a brow. "Neither do I."

Sophie leaned in once he walked away. "He gives me villain-in-a-library vibes."

Emma laughed softly, but it didn't ease the chill running down her spine.

It wasn't just Megan anymore. Now, everything felt like a competition — academics, trust, safety, even survival.

The Final Straw

Thursday afternoon, it all snapped.

Emma was walking down the stairs after study hall when someone bumped into her — hard.

She stumbled, her heel slipping on the polished edge.

Time slowed.

She reached out to grab the rail — but it wasn't there.

A scream tore from her throat as she tumbled down the last few steps, her books flying.

Gasps echoed down the hallway.

When Emma opened her eyes, she was flat on her back, her wrist burning and her breath shaky.

Lucas was there before anyone else, grabbing her hand.

"Don't move — I've got you."

Behind them, Riley sprinted forward. He looked up the stairs and caught sight of a familiar figure vanishing around the corner — Megan.

His blood turned cold.

It hadn't just been an accident.

Hospital Visit and Clarity

Emma was taken to the local clinic with a sprained wrist and some bruised ribs.

"Could've been worse," the nurse told her. "You're lucky."

But Emma didn't feel lucky.

Lucas sat beside her, his face pale again — but this time from anger, not pain.

"I'm done," he said. "She crossed the line."

Emma stared at the ceiling. "She wants me gone."

"You're not going anywhere," he whispered, gently taking her good hand.

Riley's Revelation

Back at school, Riley went through the photos he'd taken of Megan's notebook again. Something caught his eye that he hadn't seen before.

One page had initials written beside the word "Watcher" — and it wasn't Megan's.

It was someone else.

Someone who had access to the staff room and was listed beside notes like "keep her distracted" and "Stage 2: escalate after test week."

He didn't recognize the initials — S.J.

But now he knew — Megan wasn't acting alone.

There was a bigger game unfolding. And Emma was still at the center of it.

Results and a New Rival

Despite everything, test results were posted the next Monday.

1st – Emma Morris

2nd – Lucas Wilder

3rd – Riley Bennet

4th – Megan Hart

5th – Ryan Calden

Emma stood there, arm in a sling, eyes scanning the board.

She'd made it. Even after all of it.

Megan stared at the results like they were forged. Her hands clenched, her mouth tight.

"Fourth?" she muttered under her breath. "No. This isn't over."

And Ryan? He stepped beside Emma quietly.

"You're good," he said again, but there was a shift in his tone — respect, maybe… or challenge.

"I plan to stay that way," Emma said simply.

He gave her a tight smile. "We'll see."

End Scene — Lucas Alone

Later that night, Lucas stood on his porch, staring at the stars. A memory returned uninvited — the last words his dad ever said:

"Don't wait for people to save you, son. No one's coming."

But tonight, Lucas had proved those words wrong. He had saved someone.

And someone had saved him.

He heard the soft buzz of his phone.

Emma: Still breathing. Still fighting.

Lucas: Always. For you.

He pocketed his phone, walked back inside, and closed the door.

But across town, someone else opened one — Megan, standing outside a car, handing over the rest of her plan to a dark figure inside.

"This is just the beginning," she said.

And the door shut.