Maya woke to the muffled clamor of students in the hallway. Her first morning at Blackthorn Academy was far from peaceful. Groggily, she sat up and glanced at the clock on her nightstand. 7:13 a.m. Her roommate—who had yet to say more than three words to her—was already gone, her bed neatly made as though no one had slept there.
After hastily pulling on her ill-fitting uniform, Maya grabbed her schedule and a battered notebook, determined to avoid the mistakes of yesterday. She took a deep breath before stepping into the chaos of the hall.
Students swarmed the corridor, their conversations filling the air like a hive of buzzing bees. Maya did her best to navigate the crowd unnoticed, her eyes scanning the numbers on the doors for her first class: History of Blackthorn, Room 213.
The classroom was tucked away in the east wing, its tall wooden door slightly ajar. Maya slipped inside, grateful to escape the din of the hallway. The room was exactly what she’d imagined: rows of heavy oak desks, walls lined with dusty shelves of leather-bound books, and a faint smell of old paper lingering in the air.
She chose a seat near the back, hoping to avoid drawing attention to herself. A few minutes later, students began filing in, their chatter punctuated by laughter and the occasional sound of a chair scraping against the floor.
Elliot Cross entered last, his tie loosened and a lopsided grin on his face. He scanned the room and, to Maya’s surprise, took the empty seat next to her.
“Morning, new girl,” he said, leaning back in his chair.
“It’s Maya,” she muttered, pulling her notebook closer.
“Right, Maya,” Elliot said, as if testing the name on his tongue. “How’s Blackthorn treating you so far?”
“Fine,” she lied, not looking at him.
Before Elliot could respond, the door swung open with a loud creak, and Professor Alistair Reed strode into the room. He was tall and angular, his sharp features framed by wire-rimmed glasses. His presence was imposing, the kind that demanded attention without a word.
“Good morning, class,” he said, his voice smooth but firm. “Welcome to the History of Blackthorn. This institution, as you all know, is more than a school. It is a legacy.”
Reed’s gaze swept across the room, lingering on each student as if he were memorizing their faces. When his eyes landed on Maya, she felt a chill run down her spine.
“For over three centuries, Blackthorn Academy has shaped the minds of those who would go on to shape the world,” he continued, pacing the front of the room.
“But as with any institution of great power, there are secrets buried in its past.”
Maya’s heart skipped a beat. Secrets. That word had been following her since she arrived.
“Now,” Reed said, pulling down a large map of the campus from a roller above the blackboard, “we will begin with the founding of Blackthorn. Open your textbooks to page six.”
As the lecture began, Maya tried to focus, but her mind kept drifting to the previous night—the whispers, the confrontation behind the stage, the warning to stay away. She tapped her pen against her notebook, the rhythm steady as her thoughts raced.
Next to her, Elliot was scribbling something on the corner of his notebook. When he caught her watching, he slid the page toward her.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
Maya blinked, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. Elliot smirked and tapped the paper again.
“What did you overhear last night?”
She frowned, writing back beneath his message: “None of your business.”
Elliot read her response and raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. He wrote something else and slid the notebook back.
“Trust me, everything at Blackthorn is my business.”
Before Maya could reply, Professor Reed’s voice cut through the air.
“Miss Harper, Mr. Cross—am I interrupting something?”
Both of them snapped their heads up, their faces equally startled. The other students turned to stare, some suppressing smirks.
“No, sir,” Maya said quickly, her cheeks burning.
Reed’s piercing gaze lingered on them for a moment before he resumed the lecture.
After class, Maya gathered her things as quickly as possible, eager to avoid any further interaction with Elliot. But he was waiting for her just outside the door, leaning casually against the wall.
“So,” he said, falling into step beside her as she walked down the corridor, “are you going to tell me, or do I have to keep guessing?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Maya said, keeping her eyes straight ahead.
Elliot sighed dramatically. “Fine, be mysterious. But if you’re planning to snoop around, you should probably know what you’re getting into.”
That made her pause. She turned to face him, narrowing her eyes. “And what exactly am I ‘getting into’?”
Elliot’s expression grew serious, the playful glint in his eyes replaced by something darker. “Let’s just say Blackthorn has a history of making problems disappear. Permanently.”
Before Maya could press him for details, he gave her a lazy salute and disappeared into the crowd, leaving her with more questions than answers.
Maya spent the rest of the morning trying to shake the conversation with Elliot from her mind, but his words lingered. By the time lunch rolled around, her curiosity had reached a boiling point.
Instead of heading to the dining hall, she decided to explore the library. It was quieter than she’d expected, the rows of shelves towering like ancient sentinels. Maya wandered aimlessly, her fingers brushing against the spines of books as she walked.
She stopped when she noticed a door at the far end of the library. It was small and unassuming, tucked away in the shadows. A brass plaque above it read: Restricted Section—Authorized Personnel Only.
Maya glanced around to make sure no one was watching before stepping closer. The door was locked, but the old-fashioned kind with a keyhole big enough to see through. She crouched down, pressing her eye to the opening.
On the other side was a dimly lit room filled with shelves upon shelves of books and papers. In the center stood a large wooden table covered in maps and documents. Something about it felt… important.
“Maya.”
She jumped, nearly losing her balance. Turning quickly, she saw Lila standing a few feet away, her arms crossed and an unimpressed look on her face.
“What are you doing back here?” Lila asked.
“I was just—” Maya faltered, struggling to come up with an excuse.
Lila raised an eyebrow. “You’re not thinking of going in there, are you?”
“Of course not,” Maya lied.
“Good.” Lila stepped closer, her gaze flicking to the locked door. “You should stay away from this place. Trust me—it’s not worth the trouble.”
With that, she turned and walked away, leaving Maya more determined than ever to find out what was behind that door.
That evening, Maya sat cross-legged on her bed, the events of the day swirling in her mind. She pulled out her notebook and began sketching a rough map of the campus, marking the locations she thought might hold answers.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at the door. She opened it to find Elliot standing there, a smug grin on his face.
“Miss me already?” he asked.
“What do you want?” Maya sighed.
Elliot leaned against the doorframe, his grin fading. “Look, I know you’re new, and you probably think you can handle this place on your own. But trust me—Blackthorn has its own rules. If you’re not careful, you’ll get burned.”
Maya folded her arms. “Why do you care?”
Elliot shrugged. “Let’s just say I have a soft spot for underdogs.”
Before she could respond, he handed her a small envelope.
“What’s this?”
“Consider it a peace offering,” Elliot said, turning to leave.
Maya closed the door and opened the envelope. Inside was a single sheet of paper with a crude drawing of the library’s restricted section. At the bottom, Elliot had written:
“Find the key.”