The principal's office smelled faintly of polish and old paper.
The curtains were drawn, even though it was still afternoon.
That detail bothered Arav more than the guard standing by the door.
"Sit," the principal said.
Her voice was calm. Controlled. The kind that didn't need to be loud to command attention.
Arav, Ira, and Tiku took the three chairs opposite her desk.
The principal of Night Ridge College folded her hands neatly. She didn't look angry. She didn't look curious.
She looked prepared.
"I've received multiple reports today," she said.
"Power fluctuations. Disturbances. Rumors."
Her gaze shifted to Ira first.
"You're the journalism club president, yes?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Then you understand how easily speculation spreads."
Ira nodded. "Which is why it's important to address it."
The principal's lips curved slightly. Not a smile.
"Addressing rumors gives them legitimacy."
Her eyes moved to Arav.
"You were present near the old block during the incident."
Arav met her gaze. "Yes."
"Doing what?"
"Investigating the scream."
A pause.
The principal leaned back in her chair.
"There was no scream," she said flatly.
The room felt smaller.
Tiku swallowed. "Ma'am… respectfully… several students heard—"
"There was a transformer issue," the principal cut in.
"Nothing more."
She tapped a file on her desk.
"Security footage shows you entering restricted areas."
Ira stiffened. "Restricted? There were no signs—"
"Still restricted," the principal said.
Her attention returned to Arav.
"You're a quiet student, Mr. Malhotra. No disciplinary history. That's why today concerns me."
Arav felt it again.
That faint pressure behind his eyes.
Not supernatural.
Psychological.
"You three will not enter the old block again without permission," the principal continued.
"You will not discuss what you think you saw.
And you will not spread fear under the guise of curiosity."
Tiku raised his hand halfway, then lowered it. "Hypothetically… if fear is already spreading—"
"Then it will stop," the principal said.
Silence settled.
Ira leaned forward. "Ma'am, with respect, something did happen. Ignoring it won't make it disappear."
The principal studied her carefully.
"You're very confident," she said. "Be careful. Confidence can become liability."
Ira didn't look away. "So can denial."
The air tightened.
Arav's pulse spiked—not from anger, but from instinct.
This was dangerous.
Not because of what they knew.
But because of who didn't want them knowing more.
The principal stood.
"This is a warning," she said.
"One more incident, and I involve your parents."
Tiku's soul visibly left his body.
"Parents?" he croaked. "Ma'am, no. Please. I'll believe in transformers forever."
The principal ignored him.
"You're dismissed."
Outside the office, the door shut softly behind them.
Too softly.
They walked in silence down the corridor.
Ira broke it first. "That wasn't about safety."
Arav nodded. "No."
"That was about control."
Tiku rubbed his arms. "I don't like adults who speak in bullet points."
They stopped near the stairwell.
Ira turned to Arav. "You okay?"
He hesitated.
Then, quietly, "I'm not supposed to feel this unstable after something that small."
Her brow furrowed. "Small?"
"The entity," he said. "It shouldn't have shaken me like that."
Tiku frowned. "So that's bad, right?"
"Yes."
Arav flexed his fingers. There was a faint tremor he couldn't fully suppress.
Ira noticed.
"You're allowed to be scared," she said gently.
He didn't answer.
Because fear wasn't the problem.
Something else was shifting.
As they stepped into the courtyard, voices washed over them again—rumors, laughter, theories.
Normalcy.
Manufactured and fragile.
Arav felt it then.
A subtle pressure shift.
Like someone stepping into a room without opening the door.
He glanced back at the building.
For a moment—just a moment—he thought he saw a figure standing behind the principal's office curtain.
Watching.
Then the curtain moved.
And there was nothing there.
But the feeling remained.
They weren't just being silenced.
They were being observed.