Near the CAD lab, the corridor stayed in constant motion.
Students who had finished their lab sessions streamed out in loose groups, some laughing, some already buried in their phones, others dragging their bags with the relief of being done for the day. At the same time, another batch of students began filing in, checking lab numbers, adjusting ID cards, slipping backpacks higher on their shoulders.
It was the usual overlap. Loud. Transitional.
The outgoing batch belonged to Computer Science.
It was the same CS section Caroline had attended earlier in the previous day.
A few of them recognized her immediately. So did a few others recognize Marcus, Daisy, and Kevin. The recognition showed—brief pauses, flickers of awareness, eyes lingering a second too long—but no one greeted them. No waves. No smiles. Just quiet acknowledgment before moving on.
Caroline and Kevin barely noticed.
They were standing a little to the side of the lab entrance, talking about the lab, peeking through the glass panels, trying to guess which systems they'd be assigned, both visibly excited. Kevin kept shifting the strap of his bag, glancing at the lab door like a kid waiting to enter an arcade. Caroline leaned forward slightly, as if she might step in the moment the door opened.
Marcus and Daisy, on the other hand, were alert enough to recognize faces from earlier classes, even if they didn't acknowledge them openly.
As a small group exited, one of the girls slowed down. She glanced again, then smiled when recognition clicked.
She raised her hand and waved at Marcus first, then at the group.
"Hi."
"Hi," Marcus and Daisy replied almost in sync.
Caroline and Kevin returned the greeting with polite smiles, still half-focused on the lab entrance.
Sophia stepped closer, adjusting the strap of her bag. She turned fully toward Marcus.
"So you attended your class today." she said casually.
A few students passing by glanced at them—some curious, some surprised. Two people talking casually near the lab entrance always attracted attention, especially when it crossed department lines.
"Yeah," Marcus replied easily. "You have CAD today?"
He turned slightly toward Caroline while asking, his brows drawing together, but his eyes flicked back to Sophia.
"It was supposed to be Physics," Sophia said, rolling her eyes lightly. "They changed it in the afternoon."
She studied Marcus for a second.
"You follow the CS timetable?"
"Not me," Marcus said. "Cheez does."
His gaze drifted past Sophia's shoulder.
"Hi, Lucas."
Caroline's voice cut through the conversation as she stepped forward.
Lucas, who had been walking out half-focused, froze mid-step, then looked left. Right. Behind him. Finally, he pointed at himself, brows raised in disbelief.
Caroline nodded, unfazed.
"How was the lab?"
If seeing Marcus talking to Sophia had drawn curious looks, Caroline greeting Lucas triggered something else entirely.
Heads turned.
A few students slowed. One even stopped walking.
Lucas stared at her, trying to process the situation.
"It's… like a lab," he said slowly, regretting the moment words came out. Why did I say that?, and Why is she talking to me?
Caroline frowned.
"Did you hurt your brain?"
Lucas pressed his lips together. You hit your head. Why ask when you're going to attend it in five minutes anyway?
Instead, he said, "It's cool. Interesting."
Now leave me alone, he hoped that would end it.
It didn't.
Daisy and Kevin walked up beside Caroline.
"Hi, Lucas," Daisy said, smiling—light, friendly, unforced. "It's nice to see you again."
"Hi, bro," Kevin added, lifting the hand holding his bag strap in a casual half-wave.
"Excuse me," Marcus said to Sophia, then stepped forward. "Hi, Lucas."
Lucas's mind raced staring at them.
What is wrong with these people?
Did they all eat something weird?
Why are they talking like we've known each other forever?
His eyes darted around instinctively.
Is he here?
"He's not here today," Caroline said calmly, as if answering his thoughts. "And even if he is, don't worry. You can hide behind us."
Lucas stiffened.
For a few seconds, he didn't respond at all.
Then, quietly, he asked, "Is this some kind of revenge?"
A few students nearby snickered and turned their heads away, pretending not to listen.
Sophia, still standing a short distance away, watched the exchange with a tightening expression. From her angle, it looked like Caroline was forcing conversation while Lucas clearly wasn't interested.
She glanced at her watch. After one last look at Marcus, she turned and walked off toward her next class without saying anything.
Caroline frowned slightly and looked back at Lucas.
"Are you still mad about the first day?"
She tilted her head.
"Why don't you join us for dinner tonight? My treat. As an apology."
Lucas opened his mouth.
"No, thank you," he said stiffly.
At the same time—
"Cheez," Daisy cut in gently. "It's time to enter the lab."
Kevin had already started walking toward the entrance, slipping into the line like a model student.
Most of the CS students had cleared out by now, leaving only a few of Lucas's friends nearby.
As Caroline and Daisy began moving toward the lab door, Caroline spoke quickly, almost as an afterthought.
"You guys can join too if you want. We usually have dinner at eight. We'll wait at Bat till eight-ten."
Lucas was about to refuse again when one of his friends spoke first.
"We will."
Lucas snapped his head toward him.
"See you tonight, bro," Marcus said, patting Lucas's shoulder before turning toward the lab.
Lucas stood there for a second, stunned, before his irritation bubbled over.
"Why did you say that?" he hissed under his breath to his friend as they walked away. "I don't want to go."
"Relax," the guy replied. "They're just being friendly."
"Nathan," Lucas said sharply, "didn't you see how Derik's been following them? They're marked."
He lowered his voice further.
"I don't want more trouble than I already have."
"But he didn't follow them today," Nathan argued. "Not even after what happened yesterday. And you know they escaped two nights in a row."
"Didn't you see what happened to Tim yesterday?" Lucas shot back. "Provoking Derik—or any of them—is bad news. Caroline and Marcus aren't any less dangerous."
He walked ahead, leaving his friends behind.
Nathan slowed, unsure whether to follow.
"Leave him," another friend said quietly. "He needs time."
Nathan stopped and looked down.
"Stephen… do you think the same?"
Stephen didn't answer immediately.
"What happened to Tim?" he asked instead.
Nathan exhaled and walked over to a bench outside the building. He sat, elbows on his knees.
"Tim got motivated by Caroline and Marcus yesterday," he said quietly. "He hid from drill last night."
He paused.
"Derik noticed Tim was missing and made Lucas find him."
Nathan swallowed.
"Tim got beaten. It almost turned worse. I secretly called the warden. If I hadn't… things would've gone bad."
Stephen sat beside him.
"How is Tim now?"
"No fatal injuries. We treated the wounds. The warden gave him medicine. He was still asleep when we left this morning."
Nathan stared at the ground
"He texted that he's going out of campus today. Will be back by night."
He sighed.
"Maybe Lucas was right. I shouldn't have agreed to the dinner."
"I'll join," Stephen said calmly.
Nathan looked up.
"You hate group dinners. Are you doing this for me?"
Stephen shrugged slightly.
"I can learn new information."
Nathan considered that.
"That might help. But it won't convince Lucas."
"We still have time," Stephen said. "If he doesn't come, I'll go anyway. Don't rush Lucas. Or Tim."
Nathan nodded slowly.
"Yeah. Thanks, man."
He reached out and patted Stephen's shoulder.