Stoll was the first to go into the tunnel, squinting, because in the words of the famous Saira Levine, "I'm not letting anyone see my bum-bum, thank you very much," she insisted.

"The tunnel's not that big," he said, crawling on his knees. It was dark, and Stoll barely knew where he was going. He was getting exhausted as he heard Orchid and Saira behind him. How could Stanley even survive here? It was a dump—smelt like crap too. "Wait, there's a room, I think."

The tunnel ended as he climbed out to a little room, it looked like a wine cellar with shelves. As he waited for the girls to come, Stoll opened a bottle on a shelf, taking a whiff.

"Ugh, that's nasty," he muttered, closing it back up. Orchid and Saira joined him, wide-eyed. The room consisted of peeling wallpaper with no windows, a bed on the left side of the room, and a squat writing desk. "This is quite the setup, huh?"

"The room's empty," Saira noted. "Where the hell is Stanley Crawford?"

"Does it matter right now? Scan the room for clues, Stanley himself could be the killer for all we know," Orchid replied, quickly wandering over to the bed to check for hidden slits.

Saira went to the writing desk while Stoll observed the walls. They were scribbled with pencil and black marker, or some words were scratched onto the wall with what Stoll suspected to be a knife, ripping up the wallpaper.

Stoll ran his fingers along the wall, feeling bumps and uneven holes. "Dude, did Stan go insane here or what?" He shuddered, squinting in the dim light to read the writing;

"Stan wrote something about Professor Green..." Stoll kept reading while Orchid and Saira left their stations briefly to take a look. "He was clearly mentally unwell during his time here."

"He may still be," Orchid whispered, shuddering. "Maybe he had some mental problems."

"Wait," Saira pointed out, pressing her finger to Scarlett's name. "Look, Stan mentioned Scarlett's name, but it's always crossed out." She nodded her head at another example.

Stoll gasped fakely. "Whoa, Levine, chill out. Respect the dead."

He continued to look at the wall, but they were just scrambled messages. Eventually, Orchid had gotten nothing from the bed, huffing. She scrunched up her nose in frustration, and Stoll had to admit she looked pretty cute doing so. When Orchid turned around from him, Saira wriggled her eyebrows at him.

"Ew, Levine, stop," Stoll hissed, exhausted.

Saira snorted. "Like you were staring at her." She held up a notebook with some scribbles. "Hey, Gray, check this journal out."

"Is that Stan's diary?" Orchid asked excitedly, turning around.

"Want to find out?"

"Isn't that like an invasion of privacy?" Stoll inquired blandly as the two girls stared at him dead-in-the-eye. "Just saying. Jesus Christ, you all are a tough crowd, huh?" They huddled together as Saira flipped to the first page, reading aloud, "Entry #1: I shouldn't have agreed with Professor Green to be his little lab rat in the Silverleaf Gothic Literature Club, but I can't get Silverleaf Academy out of my head. Stupid Ivory Kee, Scarlett Mako, Lizzy Connors, and Ruth Barlowe framed me for sexual assault like I'd lay a finger on a girl—I don't even like girls. Whoa, Stan's coming out of the closet? How shocking, as if everyone didn't know he's gay," Saira snorted as Orchid elbowed her in the ribs. "Ouch!"

This is why we don't read diaries, Stoll rolled his eyes.

"Continue, Levine."

"I think that Ivory girl saw me when I was sneaking around the school for Professor Green, I hope not, she caused enough problems. I haven't heard from Green in a while, I hope he brings food soon and tells me the date, I'm losing track of days," Saira read before turning to the next page. "Entry #2: I was reading a few of the books that the gothic literature club gave me, they're so unhinged. The club hasn't 'officially started because they're looking for more members' and so they're making us reread The Loose Noose again and again. That made Professor Green say, 'They're planning something, Stan.' 'No, they're not,' I replied. 'You're just a paranoid professor.' Why is the world full of dumbasses?"

"Amen to that," Stoll mumbled as Orchid elbowed him. "Ow! God, Gray, stop the elbow abuse—"

"Focus," she snapped and Stoll sighed. Orchid took the diary from Saira's hands, reading the third entry. "Entry #3: I was talking to Professor Xing about the books, but it quickly switched over to my anxiety. I never knew I had anxiety, I think so. Then she asked me if I knew what schizophrenia and split personality disorder are. I joked that since she sounded so much like a doctor, she should prescribe me to read books as my dose of medication. I think Madeleine took my joke too seriously." Madeleine? Stoll frowned.

Orchid continued, "Entry #4: I don't like talking about Professor Green in my entries anymore, I don't know why. He always looks at me with malice, but the next second, he looks at me like a worried dad. 'Are you okay?' he'd ask. 'Are you eating enough?' It's nice that Green cares. ALL HE SAYS ARE LIES." She paused. "The second last sentence was crossed out, almost like an afterthought."

Stoll's frown deepened as he glanced at the scribbled walls. Stan went insane, his thoughts also seemed altered. "He sounds brainwashed," he said as Orchid crossed her arms.

"I can't believe Professor Green allowed Stanley to stay in these horrible conditions..." She swallowed hard. Stoll saw the respect for Green in Orchid's eyes flicker—she looked up to the English teacher as a role model, but what he did to Stan was inhumane. Stan was human too, not a "lab rat" in his own words.

Stoll related to Orchid, he also felt conflicted when he found out his role model, Sam, wasn't as heroic as he thought. Sam... Stoll hated and loved his older brother.

"Are there any more entries?" he asked Saira.

She thumbed through the pages. "From a few paragraphs of garbage writing from Stan, it turns into...scribbles and demonic-looking messages from him. For entry #10, there's just Professor Green's name crossed out repeatedly."

Orchid looked up as if the gears in her head were whirring. "Wait, they're also crossed out?" She pointed at the crossed-out Scarlett and H. G. on the wall. "Their names are crossed out, but they're also dead."

Stoll understood what Orchid meant. "Saira, check for any other names."

Saira kept flipping anxiously until she turned deathly pale. "N-No, it can't be—" She stammered, the colour disappearing from her face. Stoll thought she was going to collapse, so he grabbed onto her wrist as she dropped Stan's diary, stumbling back. She whimpered like a scared puppy.

"Hey, Levine, just breathe," Stoll ordered her as she shook her head rapidly. He had never seen her so terrified, it scared him too. "It's going to be fine, it's all okay." What did she see in that diary? Orchid picked it off the floor, reading it. Once doing so, her expression was grave.

"Oh no," she whispered.

"What is it, Flower?" Stoll asked her. She flipped the diary for him to read.

"Kill-list?" Orchid nodded. "I think so."

Saira looked up, gasping loudly. "Bailey and F-Fareeda are next." She shuddered, horrified. "I spent all this time hating my new roommate, but she's going to die? No, I-I wouldn't wish death on anyone. Fareeda's nice, she's sweet, she's amazing, this can't be true—"

"It's okay, Levine, we understand." Stoll shot a glance at Orchid. "What will we do, Gray?"

Orchid clutched her waist, looking sick to her stomach. Stoll couldn't blame her, if he saw Sam's name on the list, he would have thrown up. "We have to tell the authorities," she said softly. "The flood's draining away, and soon enough, Headmaster Roux will tell them about the murders and the job will be left up to them. Once the police officials come, we spill everything to them."

Saira's hand flew to her mouth to suppress a cry. "But the Originals, Gray. It's all I—all of us—have known for most of our time at Silverleaf A-Academy. Once the cops come, they'll look into our background and put two and two together—"

They'll find out about our secrets, Stoll realized. He shut his eyes, trying to control his temper. It's not fair, it's not fair. His future could be ruined. "They can't discover my secret," Stoll said finally, breathing heavily. Why was the cramped room suddenly spinning? "R-Roux would fire Sam and me if he found out that we're stealing items from professors and students, Gray. I-I can't do this, we can get arrested and they'll tear down the Finnegan House!" The Finnegan House and Silverleaf Academy were the only places he called home. His temper was rising, but he tried to suppress it.

"My mama," Saira cried out. "I can't risk putting her in danger like that. We s-spent much time running away from the past, we changed our identities. I can't go to jail knowing that I'm not Saira Levine, I have to be—" She gulped. "Sarah Le Vil. My mama, she has to go back to Elina Le Vil after doing so much for me."

Orchid looked uncertain. "I get it, guys, I don't want to risk exposing our secrets too—"

"No, you don't get it!" Saira screeched, throwing up her hands in the air. The level-headed girl, the 'big sister' that Stoll knew, had vanished. "Your secret isn't even as close to ours, Orchid!"

That stung, Stoll knew because Saira used Orchid's actual name. "Levine, cut it out. Let's settle down and talk like civil people."

"No, you know what Orchid said to us when we had our so-called treaty? Our so-called insurance policy?" Saira demanded, livid. Stoll glanced over to Orchid, who was frozen in place. "She said and I quote, 'My secret is that I almost killed my best friend.' Almost. That can easily disappear out of time with your grandparents' riches, but Stoll and I don't have that kind of money, Orchid!"

"Saira," Orchid sighed. "Please, don't."

"If you tell on us," she breathed, walking closer. Stoll backed away, feeling threatened. "There'll be another name on that list. I'll fucking kill you." Saira spun on her heels, marching out of Stanley's secret room, and going back to the tunnel.

Neither Stoll Finnegan nor Orchid Gray followed her. "That didn't go well," Stoll mumbled, kicking at some loose gravel on the floor. Saira was so mad and he was usually the angry one, it felt wrong.

"I should apologize." Orchid pinched the bridge of her nose. "God, what are we going to do? I want to sympathize with Saira, but I also want to do what's right. That was the whole point of the Shades of Gray project. "

"We can't let another person die, but..." Stoll swallowed hard. "Flower, you got to understand where Levine is coming from. She killed someone, and while I don't know who the victim is, Saira must have had a good reason to do so. Because at the end of the day, we both know she has a heart of gold."

"And if the police background-check her..."

"They will find gaps and investigate her, the same goes for you and me." The only difference was that Orchid—who got transferred to Silverleaf Academy with her dead grandparents' inheritance—could pay for people to forget her mistakes.

Stoll and Saira couldn't.

"I guess I didn't think of any of that while starting to look into Professor Green's murder..." Orchid's voice was small. "God, Stoll, but Stanley Crawford could be involved. He could literally be the killer. He must have some ties to the Silverleaf Gothic Literature Club."

Stoll tilted his head upwards, letting out a loud sigh. "Here's the deal, Gray. Stanley's not currently here in this secret room, so how about we set up a camera to record if he ever comes back? That way, we can catch Stan in the act and figure it out. After we see that Stanley's here for real, we can go to Roux and the cops."

Orchid gnawed at her nails. "But Saira..."

He took a deep breath as he thought of his experience with Mrs. Black. "She'll understand, maybe we leave her out of it. Say that it was just us who decided to look around into Professor Green's death and discovered the hidden room. Who knows, we'll fabricate the story later. Meanwhile, keep doing your thing with the gothic literature club. Make sure nothing is abnormal."

"I'll ask around for the future books, if we know how they end, then we can save Bailey's and Fareeda Patel's lives." Orchid took out her phone, snapping photos of all the evidence in the hidden room. Stoll and Orchid crawled out through the tunnel, climbing out of the faulty cabinet, and arriving back at the Cleaners' Quarters. Thankfully, there were no cameras or they had a lot of explaining to do.

"Levine's not here," Stoll noted, frowning. He motioned for Orchid to follow him out of the Cleaners' Quarters and into the hall. There were no classes that day so many Silverleaf students were roaming around.

Suddenly, a tall ginger-haired boy appeared out of the boys' washroom, bumping into Orchid. "Oh shit—sorry, Orchid." How does he know her name? Stoll glanced at Orchid, whose cheeks went pink. Outrage bubbled under the surface, but Stoll reminded himself that this boy was probably just a guy friend. He also had lady friends too, actually his only friends; Orchid and Saira.

"Oh, hey, Tommy."

Stoll blinked, realizing the boy before him was Tommy Asterion. He got into Silverleaf Academy with his amazing lacrosse skills—plus mommy's and daddy's money, but that was for another time.

"Have you finished Still yet?" Tommy asked Orchid.

"Erm, no."

"Wait, you're a part of the Silverleaf Gothic Literature Club?" Stoll was in disbelief. How did Tommy Asterion get in, but not him? From what Stoll remembered, Tommy wasn't extraordinary in literary programs like Orchid. He was into sports, so what qualities did he have that Stoll didn't? I need to talk to Madeleine later, he remembered he had a tutoring session later.

"Yep, nothing too cool, but Orchid definitely makes it more fun." The boy smiled and Orchid reddened. Stoll felt his lungs compressed as he tried to manage a smile in return. I'm not jealous, I'm definitely not jealous, he tried to convince himself. He tried to control his temper, curling up his hands into fists.

"So, who are you?" Tommy questioned, turning to Stoll. "Orchid never really mentioned you." Uhm, someone who knows her more than you do, Stoll bit back sour words. By the way, Tommy was eyeing him, it was as if he was egging Stoll on.

"Just a classmate," Orchid replied, shrugging. Suddenly, Stoll remembered that the school didn't know that Orchid and he were working 'coworkers' on the Shades of Gray project. To them, they were just random strangers who happened to sometimes cross paths.

"Yeah, Professor Yarwood suggested she would help me with some English classwork since I don't get nearly as much time as the other students." Orchid shot Stoll a look as if saying, 'Really? That's our excuse?' through her eyes.

"Of course, she's probably too busy," Stoll blabbed.

Tommy leaned against the wall, gazing at Orchid. "Well, I should get going to catch up on Still. I sent you a few texts, you left me on READ though."

"I was busy." There was an edge to Orchid's voice. "Bye."

"See you tomorrow for the next club meeting?" When satisfied that Orchid gave a stiff nod, Tommy took off in the other direction.

Orchid turned to Stoll. "You could have invented a better lie."

"Like what?" Stoll shook his head. Tommy still lingered in his mind, leaving a sour taste on his tongue. "Besides, who the hell is that guy? Before you say Tommy Asterion, I know his name, Gray."

The rest of the trip up the stairs resulted in silence. I was too harsh, he admitted. I got too jealous, I need to say sorry. He walked her back to her dorm room. He stopped by the door. "Hey, just to ask, are you and Tommy a thing?" Shoot, that wasn't what he wanted to say.

"What?" Orchid genuinely looked surprised. Is that a good or bad thing? Stoll would never understand girls. "I mean, uh, what?"

He fidgeted with his fingers. "Yeah, I know, but you usually talk to Saira about boy things and stuff." Great, he had made it even more awkward and frustrating for himself. "Just wanted to know for future reference."

"Not my place or yours, Stoll. I'll see you around." Orchid waved goodbye and went inside her dorm, locking the door. Stoll felt like punching the wall, he didn't even get to apologize. Why was Orchid Gray suddenly also in his mind?