Orchid found Bailey's bed empty the following morning and guessed she must have gone to Robert's. Her thoughts were confirmed when she spotted a note taped on the wall.

Planning on staying at Robert's dorm for a while. Don't snitch on me if any of the professors ask where I am, cover for me, Orchid. I'm sorry.

Orchid definitely screwed up last night.

She got to her closet and threw on a quick outfit—a cream collar shirt and a long black skirt with the school's crested blazer. If you wore a skirt below your knees and you wore the school's official jacket with it, professors wouldn't say anything. Considering she went to a Catholic high school, even if she wasn't Catholic herself, Orchid had to get creative.

I should send a message to Saira and Stoll, Orchid went to grab a pen and some scrap paper.

I got our first solid lead.

Meet me in my dorm at 7:00 in the evening, my roommate isn't not coming back any time soon. On your way, grab a Silverleaf Gothic Literature Club registration form for all of us, I'll explain later.

Don't forget to burn this letter.

-Flower 

Orchid slipped the two letters into her school bag and threw it over her shoulder, heading out the door. In the Girls' Dorms hallway, she saw Ivory Kee, recognizable anywhere with her glossy black hair.

She turned around, spotting Orchid and coming over. Great. "Oh, you're Orchid Gray in Professor Green's class, right? You're always lurking in the ground of the Silverleaf Newspaper Club meetings," she said with venom in her voice. "You were totally the teacher's pet, yeah?" Ivory reminded Orchid of Hillary Arthurs. Ugh. "Students already miss him so dearly."

"Yeah, it's so tragic about what happened to Professor Green. I mean... Who's going to lead the club now?" She shook her head, but closely analyzed Ivory's face for any hint of emotion.

Ivory looked over her shoulder before glaring back at Orchid. God, if looks could kill. Bad choice of words, she winced.

"You're smart, right?" Ivory asked.

"Uh, what?" Orchid blinked, pushing up her glasses. Ivory rolled her eyes, sighing as if the whole conversation exhausted her.

"Yes or no?"

"Yes, I guess."

She leaned closer to Orchid's ear, making her flinch. "Let me tell you a secret, Orchid because you were always Professor Green's favourite—Stanley Crawford never left the goddamned school grounds. And if you truly think that Henry Green cared about his students, you're dead wrong."

Orchid was left confused, wanting more information. "Wait, Ivory, what do you mean?" Before she could properly let this sink in, Ivory walked away, her glossy black hair swishing behind her. It seemed the girl felt most glorious with giving vague yet critical information.

Orchid Gray knew better than to run after her and make herself one of Ivory Kee's targets to bully, so she stood in the hallway, grasping the strap of her school bag, wondering. If you truly think that Henry Green cared about his students, you're dead wrong. What did she mean? Did Ivory know about S. C.?

Ivory Kee had also told her, Stanley Crawford never left the goddamned school grounds.

Stanley Crawford.

S. C.

Holy crap.

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Orchid raced to Saira's dorm and slipped the note under her door. She had heard that she had gotten a new roommate, so she hoped it was actually Saira Levine who would receive the note.

She checked the time. 8: 45 AM, meaning no time to get to the Finnegan House in time if she didn't want to arrive late to Professor Asher's class. Orchid went downstairs with other students who didn't want to be late.

Skipping breakfast again, she thought. Would Asher let me eat in class—

She bumped into a boy, crashing backwards to the floor. Orchid's head smacked into the ground and ringing echoed in her ears. Someone grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet. "Gray?" Stoll's voice sounded so relieving.

Orchid stumbled forward but managed to regain balance on her feet. "Stoll? Oh God, I'm so glad you're here," she breathed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose. She thrust the letter in his hands and shuffled into a dark corner, yet another blind spot from cameras.

Stoll looked ashamed. "Er, sorry for bumping into you. Is your head okay?"

"I'm fine," she insisted as Stoll tucked the letter in his pocket. She crossed her arms, staring at him square in the eye. "I received your email. It's sweet, Stoll." His cheeks reddened. "I think we both overreacted on Tuesday."

"No, Flower, don't apologize for my deadbeat ass. I overreacted. With everything going on, it could have been Sam, and I didn't even hear you out. I yelled at your and Saira's faces and ran off like a jerk." It wasn't often she heard him apologize, but it also wasn't often he'd get into such a big argument.

Orchid softened. "Yeah, but if I had a brother or any sibling, I would want to defend them too. I should have known better than to accuse Sam, I don't think he's the killer now."

Stoll blinked. "What?"

"I'll explain more at the meeting, but these are my main suspects; S. C.—who is now identified as Stanley Crawford—Headmaster Roux, Professor Asher, and Ivory Kee. Plus whoever is behind the gothic literature club, they're probably one of the suspects listed before."

"Gothic what?" Stoll repeated. "Gray, what?"

"I'll explain later."

The bell rang and the two had to go their separate ways. "Hey, Stoll? I'm glad you aren't ghosting us anymore," Orchid said and Stoll grinned.

"No problem, Flower," he said, heading over to the Cleaners' Quarters. For a brief moment, she let herself watch him disappear into the halls of the academy.

Then Orchid realized she was late to Professor Asher's math class.

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"Miss Gray, you are terribly late," Asher said in that shrill voice of hers. Orchid realized that the desks were moved around, she sat directly next to Saira and a girl she believed to be Fareeda Patel.

"Well?" Professor Asher demanded. "Speak."

"I'm so sorry, I tripped and bumped my head," she cried out innocently. Professor Asher's nostrils flared, but she didn't write her up. Orchid took her seat next to Saira, glancing to see if she received her letter.

When Saira nodded, all was well. Fareeda was looking at Orchid oddly and she felt suffocated. Why is Fareeda looking at me like that? Professor Asher began with the lesson about different formulas and strategies.

At the end of class, when everyone else left, Orchid stalked up to Professor Asher. "Hi, professor," she squeaked, keeping up the act of the mousy, quiet girl. "I have a question for you. Professor Yarwood said you were the head of the Gothic Literature Club."

Professor Asher paused. "Yarwood said that? Don't rely on his shotty memory. The head of the club is Professor Xing."

"Professor Xing?" Orchid had never heard of her.

"She's the history teacher for juniors and seniors, she's a new hire, of course. Sure, Professor Xing is twenty-two, but Roux insisted on having a pretty-faced professor at Silverleaf." Professor Asher's tone was full of spite and jealousy. "Now, hurry along, Miss Gray. You have biology with Professor Ross."

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Orchid sat alone in her dorm, watching the clock carefully. She didn't feel like eating dinner, it was going to be too much to meet up with Bailey and Robert. There was a sudden knock at the door and she answered it.

It was Stoll Finnegan wearing a soaked hoodie and a Cup Noodle. "Sam wasn't cooking tonight and I'm hungry," he explained when Orchid gave him a confused look. "Do you have boiling water by chance?"

"Er—I have a kettle and you can use the tap water from the bathroom sink," she offered and he nodded, setting his Cup Noodle on her desk. He took off his wet hoodie to reveal a slightly less drenched tank top. "I thought the storm ended two hours ago."

"Yeah, but there's a huge flood at the bottom of the hill. The police aren't coming any time soon. And I also slipped in a puddle..." Stoll looked sheepish. "Do you have sweatpants in your closet?"

Orchid snorted. "They'll be small, but yeah."

"I'll take it." Stoll grabbed the sweatpants and Orchid found her kettle stand. "If anyone asks, tell them I'm changing the garbage or whatever," he headed into the bathroom. Stupid, foolish boy.

Meanwhile, Orchid opened up his Cup Noodle and poured in the powder. After a few minutes, Stoll came out in her sweatpants and Orchid dumped the kettle full of boiling water in the Noodle Cup. Stoll got his instant noodles sorted while Orchid opened the door for Saira Levine.

She waved the flyers in the air. "I got the Silverleaf Gothic Literature Club registrations—" She froze at the sight of Stoll, her brows furrowing together. "The one time you're early and not late, Finnegan."

"Sorry for calling you Sarah, Levine. Cup Noodle?" Stoll offered her a bite. She shook her head while they got into place. Orchid was on her bed, Saira on Bailey's, and Stoll was on the floor. "So meeting?"

"Feels weird to be anywhere but the roof of the school," Saira mumbled.

"Okay, first things first—Professor Green's and Scarlett Mako's murders. Guys, their deaths line up with the readings of the gothic literature club. Professor Green's death was the same as Zusak's in The Loose Noose. Scarlett's was identical to Mr. Smith's in Azure Eyes of Blood." Orchid went on to explain the plots of both short stories.

Stoll slurped on his noodles loudly and obnoxiously. "Well, why not tell Headmaster Roux and bust the club?"

"Because this isn't New York City and we need solid proof that the literature has something to do with the killings!" Saira answered sourly. She sat up straighter, wringing her hands. "Also, it's evident that Green sent a student, S. C., to the club and he's 'in too deep.'

"S. C.'s life could be in danger, meaning the club itself is dangerous. They've been hiding their trail of murders for this long, it's clear the deaths were planned, they're dangerous, Finnegan. As much as I hate you, it won't help if you're dead."

Stoll grinned. "It's funny how much you care about me like a big sister."

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Finnegan."

Orchid cleared her throat to clear up the tension. "There's also been a discovery. S. C. is most likely Stanley Crawford, Ivory Kee said that Stan never left the grounds. It makes sense, doesn't it?"

"If S. C. is truly Stan, where has he been staying?" Saira asked.

"I don't know." Orchid sighed heavily. Right now, there were more questions than answers, but she was determined to change that for Professor Green. "But the head of the club is a young professor named Professor Xing."

"Professor Madeleine Xing? Oh yeah, she's cool. Wait—Madeleine's a suspect?" Stoll seemed to know Professor Xing very well. Orchid tilted her head while Saira wrinkled her nose. "She's the one who gives me nightly history courses and she sometimes drops off homework at the Finnegan House. Yeah, history's a snooze-fest, but she makes it interesting."

"You call her Madeleine? Not very professional," Saira snorted.

"She's chill like that, there's no way that she's the killer. If you insist though, you can mark down her name." Stoll looked pointedly at Orchid. She swallowed hard and brought out her list of suspects, passing it around.

List of suspects:

Sam Finnegan

S. C. (Stanley Crawford)

Professor Yarwood

Headmaster Roux

Professor Asher

Silverleaf Gothic Literature Club (Professor Xing)

Ivory Kee

Orchid tapped on the paper. "My money is on S. C. or Professor Xing if I was a betting man. Or betting woman, I guess."

"Jesus Christ, this is like Clue, you know, a murder mystery," Saira said.

"Oh, please, murder mysteries are just 'Hey, I'm going make you think it's this person, then it's this person, but it's actually that person!' and that crap," Stoll replied, shrugging. "I still don't think it's Madeleine. I think Headmaster Roux is worth looking into, he's trying to gang up on Sam and he covered up Scarlett's murder as suicide, the same with Green. Very sketchy."

"It's Ivory Kee for sure, that girl's a witch," Saira scoffed, her hands on her hips, her chin jutted. Orchid had to agree, Ivory was something to keep in mind. "She was a friend of Scarlett's, meaning easy access. Plus, the stunt she pulled with Stanley only proves my point."

Orchid put her hands up. "We're getting carried away with endless theories that won't matter without proof. We have to go to the belly of the beast—we're joining the literature club. It's the only way. I can say that Professor Yarwood directed me to the club."

"I'll say I need to join to better my scholarship," Saira added.

"I'll say I want to expand my learning from courses and get into the academic field," Stoll confirmed. Saira passed the registration forms and grabbed some pens. "Are we really going to do this?"

"Do we have a choice?" Saira asked before blanking. "Actually, we do. But we're the Shades of Gray, and I know we're not really there. We're not friends, we're off-and-on allies. Look, I know, we can destroy each other's lives by knowing each other's secrets. It's risky if I'm honest, but that's our reliance. We have no one else but each other now."

Orchid nodded, agreeing. "Things are changing, for the better or for the worse."

Stoll paused. "Okay, but we need a name. Shades of Gray is cool and all, but it's the name of our project," he explained. Stupid, foolish boy. Orchid wondered how he could bring up the weirdest of rubbish. "Like what about the Three Musketeers?"

"Or the Originals?" Saira suggested, grinning. "Because we're doing something that's so original that Silverleaf has never seen before. Or we can be the Three Musketeers," she added lamely.

"The Originals," Orchid repeated, a smile developing on her face. "Okay."