In the back row of the crowd, Tommie was screaming.  Jax couldn't even begin to believe that Ace had brought them into this room to watch Amy's murderer get stabbed to death in front of them.  The scariest part to him, though, was the lack of screaming from Alister.  As if she had accepted it.  

"Well, that's a wrap!  Ain't she a lovely model?" Ace cackled from the runway, now holding a microphone.  The bloodied doll resembling Alister had been tossed aside carelessly. 

At the dead silence the headmaster received in response, they added, "Head back to your rooms, kids!  You've earned some free time.  I mean, I sure didn't expect you to solve the case!  I had each and every one of your executions all prepared!"

His head spinning, Jax turned and sprinted out without a second thought.  He felt sick, so sick...  His legs were about to give out, his palms were sweaty, his vision was blurry, his head was aching, and- was he crying?  He didn't know because everything felt so loud and painful all at once, and now he didn't know where he was going.  Was this the elevator?  No, he was still in the court room.  Wait, when did he get to the second floor?  What was happening?

Next thing he knew, he was lying on a bed.  His eyelids fluttered as he tried to adjust to the light in the room.  The bed didn't smell like dog, so he definitely wasn't in his room.  So then who...?

"Oh, thank goodness you're awake," a voice said softly. 

Unable to find the strength to move, Jax strained to even glimpse Dawn out of the corner of his eye.  She was standing close to him, as if monitoring his every movement.

"You passed out.  I figured that I would bring you somewhere safe for you to recover," she explained.

"I... passed out?" he repeated. "So Alister's alive, then?"

Dawn shook her head, her hands noticeably trembling as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "No, that all happened.  She's dead.  But Ace told us some more information about her motive."

"L-like what?" Jax's arms practically screamed as he tried to sit up, but after a few seconds of trying, he just gave in and laid back down.

"Alister was a boy posing as a girl.  Between bullying for his body type and the stress of wanting to get into fashion, he figured it would be easier to start dressing more feminine.  And it worked- he rose up in the industry to the point where he couldn't back out if he wanted to.  If he stopped pretending, he couldn't imagine the amount of backlash and outrage, so he just kept going.  It was a secret that held the very foundations of his entire life together... and it was what was written on his paper.  He knew that nobody else would have the guts to kill, and he wanted to protect his identity more than anything.  So he killed Amy in hopes that no matter what happened, his secret would be safe.  ...and then I ruined it for him in order to expose him as the murderer." Dawn's voice shrank drastically on the last line.

"Hey.  You saved the rest of us from getting it wrong and dying," he reminded her. "You did the right thing."

"I still let Alister down."

"You protected everyone else."

"Did I?" Dawn challenged, her voice wavering. "Because I don't feel like it."

After a pause, she added, "Sorry, I'm not supposed to reveal my emotions to my patients.  That was unprofessional of me."

"Dawn, I'm not your patient, I'm your friend," Jax objected, his worry for her allowing him the energy to finally pull himself up into a seated position on the bed. "You're allowed to talk to me about your feelings."

"I'd prefer if you don't have to carry the burden of my thoughts," she insisted. "I apologize for the inconvenience."

"Dawn, wait." As if on the same wavelength as him, Jackie jumped up from her position next to the bed and trotted over to the door, acting as a barricade.

"What are you doing?" Dawn asked, confused. 

"Just talk to me, I can take it," Jax pleaded. "You can't bottle everything up- you of all people should know that!"

"I'm fine!" she said sharply, recoiling seconds later at her own firm tone. "...I'm fine, I promise you."

They both waited in tense silence for a long moment before Jax managed to get to his feet and stumble towards the door. "Thanks for looking after me, Dawn."

The psychologist didn't respond as he approached the door, Jackie getting up and moving to the side as he opened it and left.  Jax felt guilty for walking out on her like that, but she needed to understand that he wouldn't force anything out of her.  That also meant that it would be up to her to make the move.

"Well, it's safe to say that the fashionista's moving up the death tier list faster than his secret got spilled!" Ace's voice suddenly echoed down the hallways.  They didn't sound like they were speaking to the students, though. "Hm, I'd say that the two victims tie in second.  If we're going off of creativity, though..."

They then paused before asking, "Wait, am I on air?  Oh- oh.  Well, I've always wanted to run a podcast, anyway.  And besides, I've got a big announcement that I'm sure you all will appreciate!  Report to the gymnasium, and I'll tell you all what your surprise is!"

"No way that's a good thing," Jax mumbled to Jackie, who whined in agreement.  

It was quieter now; he realized this when he became aware of how loud his footsteps were.  Four people- some of the most energetic people- were dead.  Why were the extroverts picking each other off?  He then understood just exactly how much he missed Narwhale's shrill voice echoing down the hall, or Amy's teasing.  He'd only known them for two days, but it felt more like two years to him.  

Thankfully, it seemed like Evan had also picked up on this, because he was loudly ranting to Tommie and Stratus about some musical he had just finished in- as the lead, of course.  Despite how annoying it was to hear his constant ranting about shows, Jax couldn't help but appreciate it now that he understood how much he needed a distraction.  

He hadn't even realized that Dawn was there too until Ace popped up behind the podium once more.

"Heya!  It's a beautiful day outside," they greeted. "'Course, you wouldn't know that.  But the flowers are blooming, birds are singing... Anyways!  You probably think I'm gonna throw another twist at you, right?  What?  You think I'm that predictable?  Ha!  I'm actually gonna give you all some good news this time!"

"Yeah, sure," Tommie muttered under her breath.

"You probably think that I don't have the ability to do something nice, and you're right," Ace continued. "So consider this an act of not-kindness, if you would like."

"Just spill the god damn beans already!" Evan hissed impatiently.  Everyone flinched at the darker undertones of his voice.

"Whoa there, tiger, tone it down a notch!" the headmaster chuckled. "But since you're so interested in what I have to say..."

They trailed off and kept everyone waiting for a suspenseful moment before saying:

"The third and fourth floors are now open!"

***

(1213 words)

I do wanna point out now that it's been mentioned, but take another peek at Alister's hair clips and the color the runway lights turn as he's dying... He died humiliated, and maybe with those hints you'll understand why.

And like I said, Alister's backstory is based on Chihiro's.  He was a guy posing as a girl for social reasons.

Aight let's keep it movin'-