Orchid stood outside the Exam Room on the library's second floor. She gnawed the insides of her cheeks, sweat dripping from her forehead. It was her first Silverleaf Gothic Literature Club meeting. Into the belly of the beast, she thought.

"Hey, it's Orchid, right?" a familiar male asked. Orchid turned around to see a ginger-haired boy grinning. "Don't tell me you forgot about me so easily, it's me—Tommy Asterion."

Orchid blinked, stunned. Tommy was the boy that Saira warned her of and she forgot about him since Robert's death had distracted her. "I totally forgot you existed." That seemed a bit harsh. "I-I mean, I've been busy, but I didn't really forget you. You're Tommy Asterion obviously."

He shook his head, laughing. "I'm glad you got accepted into the club, this will be fun." Not as fun as you imagine, Orchid gulped, nodding quickly. Tommy didn't know about the murders.

Suddenly, a light-brown-skinned man opened the doors of the Exam Room. His face was covered by his oversized hoodie. "Hello, Literati! Professor Xing is currently busy, so I'll be greeting you. I'm Jones, one of the senior students in the club."

"Oh, hi, Jones." Orchid vaguely remembered him. "Wait...Tommy and I are the only members that got accepted?"

"Everyone else got rejected or is on the wait list. You both are the club's top choices and, well, this place is exclusive." Jones motioned for them to follow inside. The rows of desks were gone and were filled with cozy decor. "Take a seat anywhere."

Orchid sat on a beanbag and Tommy sat next to her, making her heart pound faster. I can't believe I'm in the same room with a possible murderer, she looked at a smiling Jones who presented a book. She squinted, leaning forward.

"This is a novella called Still by Chris Grace, a very compelling book," Jones explained, grinning. Orchid felt sick to her stomach. "It's about a man who was sleeping with his girlfriend's classmate, so the assistant teacher, who had a crush on the girlfriend, killed him."

Tommy coughed loudly. "That's super screwed up."

"And a screwed-up love triangle, or whatever shape it'd become," Orchid added, shaking her head. Sounds a bit like the Robert-Bailey-Ivory situation, it was ugly. Jones kept a still face, though he chuckled.

He handed out copies of the book to Orchid and Tommy. "Now, this is your time to read and analyze Still, I have to run some errands, AKA my homework. I'll be back in half an hour."

Half an hour to snoop around and look for context clues. Jones slipped out of the room and Tommy cracked open the book. Meanwhile, Orchid got up and looked around the room. "Hey, Orchid, what are you doing?"

"Uhm, I lost some cash when I last came here and I'm afraid someone pocketed it." She paid Tommy no mind while she opened the teacher's desk, or Professor Madeleine Xing's desk. Inside, it was just a bunch of office supplies.

"Pretty sure you can't do that," Tommy snorted.

"Shut up!" She blinked, stunned at herself. "Sorry, I didn't mean that." Orchid tilted her head, running her fingers along the drawers, and saw a hidden groove. She pushed the groove and the desk pulled out an extra hidden drawer. Yes, yes! She saw a package of letters and stuffed them in her pockets.

"Found my money," she lied.

"Good, now you can actually read Still with me," Tommy laughed as Orchid came back. He leaned back into the beanbag, crossing his lanky legs, flipping through the pages. He's distracted. Orchid opened her copy of Still but secretly read the letters she found on Madeleine's desk.

Update LogJanuary 1stI've finally found S. C. and offered him the job I needed him for. He was worried, but he was desperate to join Silverleaf Academy again, so he agreed. I don't know where to hide S. C. yet, but he has already signed up for the club. I hope everything goes well.-H. G.

I don't know where to hide S. C. yet, Professor Green wrote. The date was the first of January, so around a few days after Stanley Crawford was expelled. Wait, Orchid realized, that means that Stanley was hiding here all along, Ivory Kee wasn't lying. But how did Ivory know that Stanley was still on campus grounds after he was expelled by Headmaster Roux? Why didn't she snitch? And where is Stan now? Orchid opened the next update log

Update LogJanuary 5thI found the perfect place for S. C. to hide and I worked up a new identity for him. It'll be good enough for him to join the Silverleaf Gothic Literature Club. S. C. is feeling antsy, he's afraid that I'm insane and there's no way that I'm right.I'll prove them all wrong.-H. G.Update LogJanuary 11thTensions are high and S. C. officially joined the club, he passed the entrance exam. I told him to look out for M. X. but that boy doesn't listen. I overheard Helen and Roux talking--more funds are missing and it'll hit the academy pretty hard if they run out of money. I've been trying to work up the courage to tell Roux about my idea that the gothic literature club is stealing the funds, but he'll laugh in my face if I tell him without proof.-H. G.Update LogJanuary 20thI know that the Silverleaf Gothic Literature Club is stealing the school funds for a specific reason, but I don't know what that is. They're planning something, asking students to join their little club for something wicked. The stolen money must only be half of the story.S. C. is talking to me less and less, he's half-starved to death, and he won't eat the food I give him. He's drifting away, the club did something to him.-H. G.

Orchid tried to process this, but her mind came blank. Wait, if the gothic literature club was stealing the school funds like Professor Green suspected, then Sam Finnegan was innocent even with the whole rival history. It was so stupid that Orchid almost laughed. God, we really need to stop blaming Sam for stealing. Well, kind of, Sam still stole.

But if the club stole the funds, then why would they need it? What were they planning? Orchid's mind was reeling, she had more questions than answers at the moment. There was one last update log, scribbled hurriedly and messily.

Update LogJanuary 26thTHEY DID SOMETHING TO HIM, S. C. IS GONE.-H. G.

Orchid Gray was utterly horrified. She remembered the first update log that she and Saira found—it was a day before the one she was currently reading. What the hell did they do to Stanley Crawford? According to Green, Stan was gone and the professor had no clue where he had gone.

"Hey, are you okay?" Tommy asked, setting down his book. She quickly tucked away the five update logs and also set down Still. "You seem pretty upset." Yeah, I just found out that S. C., AKA Stan Crawford, disappeared. Then a dreadful idea came.

What if Stanley killed Professor Green after all?

"I-I need just, uhm, relax." Orchid reached for her phone, typing an email to Saira. They didn't use texting—even if Saira begged them to—but the Originals have learned to check their emails regularly.

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

I linked the photos of Professor Green's update logs below. I found them in Professor Madeleine Xing's desk in a secret drawer. Now we definitely know that she's involved if she stole them from Green's desk and stashed them. Also, tell S. F. that his older brother isn't involved, the funds weren't stolen by him, but by the Silverleaf Gothic Literature Club instead.

We need to find S. C. ASAP!!!

Suddenly, Jones came back into the classroom and Orchid hid her phone. Tommy caught her eye, winking, making her cheeks blush with pink. Can't believe I'm flustered by a boy, she huffed.

Jones waved. "I'm finished running my errands, now, did you both finish the first few chapters Still?" Tommy nodded and Orchid timidly shook her head. "Oh, well, you have plenty of time. Look, the meeting ends soon and it's pretty stuffy in here, so we'll have an early dismissal. See you guys later."

Tommy stood up and so did Orchid. They walked out the Study Hall's doors and he turned to her. "Hey, Orchid, I was wondering if I could have your phone number." She blinked, feeling flustered. "For the club, obviously," he added.

God, I wish Saira was here, Saira would know what to do. "Yeah, sure," she said coolly. They exchanged phones and Orchid put her number in, shyly smiling. A boy asked for my phone number! It excited her.

"Thanks," Tommy chuckled as they both handed the phones back. "Text or call me anytime you want. I mean that. I'll see you around, Orchid." He walked off and she leaned against the wall for support, afraid she might swoon. Focus, she told herself. This isn't some 1900s historical love story. Orchid swiftly bolted out of the Study Hall. As she rushed through the halls of the academy, she sent a quick message to Saira.

To: [email protected],

From: [email protected]

Meet me at Robert Reuters' dorm room, I think I have an idea. & also bring S. F. for this too.