CHAPTER SIX451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZXyRk4AMv
Seline451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpH8FduEzgb
I’ve spent the whole afternoon combing through my notes, trying to make sense of the furniture thefts. Every missing chair, every vanishing desk, every rumor of a shadow in the corridors after lights out-I’ve logged it all.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnWaJW3b1s
I’ve even mapped out the times and places, hoping a pattern would jump out at me. But the only thing that jumps is my own frustration.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2sjF66V4tr
I’ve talked to the cleaning staff, the prefects, and even a few of the quieter students who notice things others miss. I’ve checked the storage rooms and peeked at the sign-out sheets. I even managed to get a look at the maintenance log, thanks to a friendly librarian who thinks I’m researching for the school magazine. Still, nothing obvious. No fingerprints, no confessions, not even a suspicious footprint.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdJqQhvb4M
But there’s one clue I can’t get out of my head. It’s a scrap of paper I found wedged behind the old trophy cabinet, half-buried in dust. On it, someone has scribbled a single word:451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdQrbKEhKX
“Starlight.”
It doesn’t fit. It isn’t a name I recognize, or a club, or a code I’ve seen the Order use before. I’ve tried every angle-anagramming it, checking if it’s a password, asking around if there’s a new club or event by that name. Nothing. It just hangs there, taunting me, a puzzle piece with no edges.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhidwOYC6RG
I know it means something. I can feel it-like the answer is right in front of me, just out of reach. Maybe it’s a place, or a time, or a person. Maybe it’s the key to the whole thing. But for now, “Starlight” is just a word, and I’m stuck.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8KbrDcmsw
**********451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ54i7U69ZB
Kim is pacing the hallway when the word “Starlight” finally clicks in her mind. She remembers Seline showing her the scrap of paper with that single, mysterious word, both of them frustrated by its lack of context. 451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3n2iqqBqZ
But now, as Kim retraces the investigation in her head, something stands out: “Starlight” isn’t a person or a club-it’s the old storeroom behind the auditorium, nicknamed “Starlight” years ago because of the way the broken skylight lets in specks of night sky.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GmMeM4oka
She rushes to find Seline. “I know what ‘Starlight’ means,” Kim whispers urgently.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQcbrX2Dw9
“It’s that storage room with the broken skylight. That’s where the missing furniture could be hidden-or where the thief is stashing things before moving them.”451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2VjGT3VzY
Together, they realize that the clue was never about a name or a code, but a place-a forgotten corner of the school, hiding in plain sight. With this breakthrough, they’re one step closer to exposing the thief and unraveling the Order’s secrets451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOwcNgXKLv
Seline451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYQHViX2fUs
The hallway is empty as Kim and I slip toward the auditorium, adrenaline sharpening every sound. The old storeroom-Starlight-waits at the end of a narrow passage, its door warped and paint peeling. For a moment, we hesitate, listening for footsteps or voices, but the only noise is the distant hum of the building settling for the night.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6wUYvIp0w
Kim nudges the door open. The hinges groan, echoing in the silence. Inside, the air is thick with dust and the faint scent of old varnish. Moonlight spills through the shattered skylight, scattering a constellation of silvery dots across the floor. For a heartbeat, it’s almost beautiful.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQR3Oewcxdv
We start searching, hearts pounding. There are scuff marks on the floor, and a trail of dust that looks recently disturbed. My hopes soar: maybe the thief really has been using this place. Kim pulls aside a stack of battered theater props, and I peer behind a row of rusted lockers. We find a few broken chairs-ancient, their upholstery torn, the wood warped with age-but nothing that matches the missing furniture from my list.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJo277mvViB
We search harder. Kim climbs onto a crate to check the upper shelves, while I run my hands along the back wall, hoping for a hidden compartment. Every shadow seems to promise a secret, but every shadow disappoints. There’s no sign of recent activity, no footprints in the dust, no fingerprints on the windowsill. The only things here are relics: a moth-eaten curtain, a cracked music stand, a forgotten trophy with a nameplate so tarnished it’s unreadable.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbD8ja8Huuc
We regroup in the center of the room, frustration gnawing at us both.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4NDoQEbF3B
“I was so sure,” Kim mutters, kicking at a splintered desk leg. “The clue made so much sense.”451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6K6q2Iiq9
“It did,” I say quietly, trying to mask my disappointment. “But maybe we’re missing something. Maybe ‘Starlight’ was just a meeting point. Or maybe the thief already moved everything.”451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZyxoTvAek
We check the door for scratches or marks-nothing. We scan the floor for drag marks-just the old scuffs, nothing fresh. Even the dust is undisturbed in most places, except where we’ve just trampled it.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGIY05tRhW
For a while, we just stand there, defeated. The silence feels heavier now, as if the room itself is mocking us. I pull out my notebook, flipping through the pages of careful notes and maps, trying to spot something we overlooked. Kim paces, chewing her lip.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7C4cJuMxkQ
“Maybe the clue was planted,” she says suddenly. “What if someone wanted us to waste time here?”451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8e6bxbDCXY
The thought chills me. If that’s true, then someone is always one step ahead-watching, anticipating, setting traps instead of leaving trails.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4cU6cF90p
We leave Starlight behind, closing the door quietly. Our lead has fizzled out, but we’re not ready to give up. If anything, the dead end only makes us more determined. The thief is still out there, and the Order’s secrets remain just out of reach. But now we know: the answers won’t come easy, and every clue could be a misdirection.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEA5iT1woru
As we walk back down the empty corridor, I promise myself I’ll keep looking. The mystery isn’t solved yet-but neither are we finished searching.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdxGYhGa4q
Kim451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVSK0t6MQS
After the letdown of our first search, I refuse to let Starlight become just another dead end. There’s something about that room-its dust, its silence, the way the moonlight scatters across the floor-that won’t let me go. I know there’s more to uncover. We put our heads together and come up with a new plan, determined to squeeze every secret out of that forgotten storeroom.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡek4SXzU3XF
First, I decide to start with the people who know this school better than anyone: the staff who’ve been here forever. I corner Mr. Patel, the head custodian, by the supply closet and ask, as innocently as I can, if he remembers anything strange about the storeroom behind the auditorium. He squints at me, then shrugs-just old junk, he says, but he does remember a time when the skylight used to leak during storms.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7AQ7nB1xxw
I try the librarian next, since she’s already helped me once. She promises to dig up some old yearbooks and tells me that, back in the day, the drama club used to stash props in there. I make a note to follow up.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrhs4VRHsX
Seline and I split up. She heads to the office, asking to see maintenance logs under the pretense of a “school history project.” Scanning for anything about repairs to the storeroom or the skylight-maybe there’s a pattern. She also checks event sign-out sheets, looking for clubs or groups that might have used the room recently.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGD66pQ0UvW
Meanwhile, I try my luck with the security office. I’ve got a knack for charming people, and if anyone can get a peek at the hallway camera footage, it’s definitely me. Nothing interesting comes up either.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5vroD7eGg
I start up stories during tea break with people I know from last year’s student council. “Hey, do you remember anything weird about the ‘Starlight’ room?” I ask. Some reply with vague stories about late-night rehearsals and dares, but nothing concrete.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6vUva7dVB
At lunch, I casually bring it up with a couple of seniors. One of them laughs and says he once hid in there to skip gym, but he never saw anything out of the ordinary.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAORGLIhrKq
Seline and I take turns keeping an eye on the storeroom during odd hours-early mornings, late nights, and whenever there’s a school event. I sit on the bench across from the hallway, pretending to read, but really, I’m watching for anyone who slips in or out.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFHNce3xB6
We check for signs of recent activity: footprints in the dust, the door left ajar, even the faintest whiff of cleaning chemicals. So far, nothing.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6dV4aX0JZ
Determined not to miss anything, we go back to the room with flashlights and fresh eyes. I run my hands along the walls, tapping for hollow spots. Seline checks the ceiling for loose tiles. We look for new screws, patches of paint, or anything that might suggest a hidden compartment.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfomfopcyS
I even dust the windowsill for fingerprints, just in case.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ83Gs5jYKWf
Seline451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmao6Cq2fq
Back in my dorm room, I spread out my notes and start cross-referencing. I compare the dates of the thefts with every mention of the storeroom in the logs. Is there a pattern? Does someone always access the room before something goes missing?451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzqnjwnXcmY
Kim helps me with the names, looking for anyone who keeps popping up in both lists.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSM1WWwOxNJ
Finally, I keep my ears open in the cafeteria and library. Sometimes, the best clues come from gossip and offhand remarks. I even consider setting up an anonymous tip box-maybe someone knows something but is too scared to come forward.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNl9lgTXoaY
I won’t let “Starlight” slip away as just another mystery. The more I dig, the more convinced I am that the answer is close-maybe closer than I think. All I need is one more clue, one more slip, and I’ll have it. I’m not giving up. Not yet.451Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu4GghKqx35
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and then Add to home screen.