CHAPTER THREE17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXreDriMezv
Seline17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZd7ufAtmeQ
Seline sat at her desk in the journalism room, the quiet hum of the computers around her barely registering as she turned the letter over in her hands. She’d taken it out yesterday, from where Kim had tucked it inside the novel.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSq80xmIf5a
The letter itself was older than she’d realized at first glance. The paper was yellowed at the edges, the ink slightly faded, and the language felt almost formal, like it belonged to another time. 17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06KG59aOt1
She frowned, piecing it together. 17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81v28j6f07
Kim must have stumbled on the letter by accident, maybe while reading or returning the book. That would explain why Kim seemed so distracted lately-she hadn’t written it, and it wasn’t meant for her.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡizhx7KTpt5
Seline read the letter again, this time as an investigator. 17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rklKVnqdI
She read it twice. It talks about “the quiet hour when the bougainvillea shadows the wall,” and something about “meeting where the stone is chipped.” It’s vague, but there’s no mistaking the secretive tone. This isn’t a love letter or a joke-this is a clue, a breadcrumb in a trail I didn’t even know Kim was following.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAZiiW0Yvf
The references to the bougainvillea and the chipped stone by the wall weren’t just poetic-they were clues, markers for a meeting spot or a secret tradition. The signature was just an initial, and the whole tone felt like part of a coded exchange.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2iOd6Gadb
She knew about the rumors about the Order of Hermes: a secret student network, passing messages through hidden signals, colored threads, and carefully chosen drop spots. If this letter was old, maybe the Order had been operating for years, and Kim had unknowingly stepped into the middle of their trail.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ895vt05Rnw
Seline’s mind raced with questions Kim hadn’t thought to ask. 17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQY2OQXZGqL
Who wrote this letter, and who was it meant for? Was the chipped stone still there? Did the Order of Hermes still use the same signals? And had anyone else found the letter before Kim?17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBVzHmSUnC
She pulled out her notebook, jotting down every detail: the age of the paper, the style of handwriting, the references to the wall and flowers, and the way Kim had found it. 17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKu29xRFX5k
Seline realized she was closer than ever to uncovering something big-something Kim had only brushed against by chance. This was no longer just about missing furniture. It was about a tradition hidden in plain sight, waiting for the right person to put the pieces together.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaORU27lmeN
**********17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4MgMwiQMaA
Kim17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Ig2ddiJfo
I can’t stop thinking about that letter. Juma’s words are sweet, but the way it reached me-handed over by a jittery Form One girl, sealed with blue thread-feels staged. I need answers, and I’m done waiting for clues to drop into my lap.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJc00TH0hox
I start with what I know: the Order of Hermes is more than a rumor. People whisper about them in the dorms, say they use codes and signals-blue threads, folded corners, secret drop spots. They say the Order can get a message to anyone, anywhere, but no one ever admits to being part of it. Still, every secret has a crack.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXlx56sjtb
I spend two days watching the usual suspects: the prefect who always lingers near the library, the girl who’s always first to collect the class notes, the one who never seems to eat lunch but is always around when someone’s looking for a lost book. 17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcMSBTNkIe
I drop a few hints in conversation-mentioning “Hermes” and “blue thread” to see who flinches, who looks away too quickly.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvO582qbP0
Nothing. So, I get bolder.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6xautjj6L
I write a note-careful, just vague enough to be safe:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVKxDL97B5
To the one who delivers secrets: I know you watch. I need to speak. Meet me by the chipped stone at dusk, or the next blue thread in this school will be tied around a teacher’s pen. 17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HDT2jPck6
Yours in silence-K.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcNnfqt6LU
I slip the note into the back of the library’s suggestion box, the one no one ever checks unless they’re looking for something hidden. 17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYMH8BvFU4
I make sure I’m seen by the right people: the Form Two who always volunteers for errands, the girl who runs the lost-and-found. I even let a rumor slip that I’ve found something “the Order wouldn’t want teachers to see.” 17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5gK16AxUP
I’m not above a little blackmail, if that’s what it takes.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQtSDMydVE
That night, I wait by the chipped stone near the wall, heart thumping, rehearsing what I’ll say. I don’t know if they’ll come, or if I’ll just get another cryptic letter. But I do know one thing: I won’t stop until I find out who’s pulling the strings-and why Juma’s letter had the Order’s mark on it.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTzxmIeQCN
If you want secrets, you have to be willing to make a little noise.
***********17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1K1WaZd43
Seline, determined to get to the bottom of Kim’s recent secrecy, follows her discreetly. She sees Kim slip away from the noisy courtyard, weaving through the less-traveled paths behind the dorms. Kim glances over her shoulder, checking if anyone is watching, but Seline keeps her distance, blending in with a group of students before breaking off quietly.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUgF2jNcWK
Kim pauses at the edge of the old assembly hall, where a chipped stone juts out near the wall-a spot Seline recognizes from the mysterious letter from the library. Kim hesitates, her movements tense and deliberate. She lingers, scanning the area as if waiting for someone or something, her face set with determination and worry.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSjI45rdXl
From her vantage point, Seline sees the whole exchange. She notices how Kim’s actions match the coded instructions from the old letter-using a hidden spot, acting with caution, and leaving something behind. Seline realizes Kim is trying to contact someone, possibly the elusive Order of Hermes.
