(happy diwali besties 💕💕💕💕💕)
The morning at Mansion didn't begin — it exploded.
"Cin, stop eating all the snacks! They're for the trip!"
"Then don't keep them near me, Percy!"
"Raefael, your daughter's drawing on my shoes!"
"She's four. She has taste."
Jay pinched the bridge of her nose. It was too early for this level of stupidity.
Michael was sipping coffee calmly. "So this is your elite team, huh?"Jay glared.
"Don't start, Michael."
Adam chuckled. "Chaos follows her like perfume."
By 8 AM, everyone was half-ready, half-asleep, and completely loud.
Keifer walked in silently, wearing a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up — instantly shutting everyone up.
Cin whispered to Percy, "Every time this man appears, the temperature drops by five degrees."
Jay shot him a look. "That's because he carries patience for exactly five seconds."
"Correction," Keifer said, picking up her bag. "Four."
That was enough to send everyone scurrying toward the van.
As the cars rolled out, Section E buzzed with curiosity.
"Where are we even going?" Felix asked, chewing gum.
"To dig ghosts," blaster said dramatically.Jay didn't even look up. "Close enough."
mayo arched a brow. "So… what's at Greenwood?"Jay, from the passenger seat, said coolly, "Answers."
Percy leaned back. "Okay, but do the answers include food?"Raefael sighed. "I married into a circus."
Yuri stood near the mansion gates as they drove off, phone in hand."I'll join you later," he called. "Got some work to finish!"
Keifer rolled down his window. "Be quick.
"Yuri smiled faintly. "Always am."
But the way he watched the car disappear — there was something off.
The towering iron gates of Greenwood International Academy stood behind them now — but the whispers followed everywhere.
As soon as Section E and the others stepped inside, the air changed. Greenwood was old money and colder pride — every student here looked polished, perfect, and pretentious.
Cin whispered, "Why does everyone here walk like they invented gravity?"
Percy snorted. "Because they think they did."
Aries rolled his eyes. "This is worse than the gala crowd."
Jay stayed calm as always, scanning the familiar hall — chandeliers glittering above marble floors, trophies in glass cases, banners lined with crests.
She'd walked these halls before. As someone feared. Respected. Untouchable.
And now, she was back.
"Alright," Jay said quietly, slipping a small black and gold card into Keifer's hand.
"Take the others and head inside first. There's a private elevator near the east wing."
"What do we do when we find it?" Aries asked.
"Press the fifth-floor button and swipe this," she said, holding up a card etched in gold cursive:
'The Aces — JJ.'
Cin blinked. "JJ? Like Jay Jay?"Jay smirked. "Or Justice and Judgement, depending who's asking."
Percy whistled. "You had branding even in high school?"Jay shrugged. "It's called power management."
As Section E began walking toward the elevator, Keifer lingered behind her.
"jay want to come in elevator with me alone like last time 😉😉"
Jay blinked, her usual composure flickering. "Keifer—"
He chuckled. "Want to go in the elevator — just you and me?"
She bit back a smile, cheeks turning faintly pink. "Go before I change my mind and kill you"
He grinned and finally turned away, his laugh soft but dangerous.
Section E and the others reached the east wing — its marble floors reflecting gold light from a skylight above.
They spotted the elevator, sleek black glass with a silver frame.
Cin waved the card. "Alright, team genius, what now?"
Percy held the card like it was a treasure map. "We press 5 and swipe it, duh."
Aries rolled his eyes. "If it explodes, it's your fault."
But just as they were about to step in, a group of Greenwood students blocked the way — older, taller, their uniforms spotless and expressions smug.
"Well, well," one of them drawled. "New faces. You lost?"
david frowned. "We're exactly where we need to be."
The boy snorted. "Oh? Because this elevator's restricted. You need authorization."
Cin flashed the card. "This good enough for you, Picasso?"
The bully snatches the black-and-gold card like he's stolen the moon.
He holds it up, smirking at everyone. "What is this? Some VIP thing?" He flips it. The gold cursive reads: THE ACES — JJ.
For a second nothing happens. Then the card glows — just a soft, slow pulse like a heartbeat. The hallway lights don't change. Phones don't ring. But somehow the air tightens.
The bully's smirk wobbles.
"Okay, what—" he starts, voice shaky.
His laugh dies in his throat when the pulse happens again. It's quieter this time, as if someone leaned over and breathed in his ear.
All around them, students freeze. Even the usual background chatter scrubs out like someone hit mute.
"Give it back," a girl whispers from the crowd, not mean — just... serious.
The bully's hands are suddenly clumsy. He tries to hold the card like a trophy, but his fingers tremble. His bravado folds inward faster than anyone expected.
Cin steps forward, cool as ever, like he's rescuing a lost puppy. "You really shouldn't play with things you don't understand."
The bully fumbles the card. It slides into Cin's hand like it always belonged there. The gold pulse slows, then stops, like a secret satisfied.
Phones come up too late. People are already stepping back. The bully's friends exchange nervous looks and back away as if they'd been smelling smoke.
Then — from somewhere beyond the lockers, a voice cuts through the silence. Not loud, not rude. Just full of authority and ice and a little amusement.
"Wassup, Greenwood?"
It's not the card speaking. It's a human voice — female — that fills the corridor somehow from everywhere and somewhere. It's the kind of voice that tells you which stories to stop telling, the kind that makes knees go wobbly and jaws shut.
Every head turns.
Light spills through the glass doors. A silhouette fills the doorway, slow and deliberate. Boots click on the marble. The room seems smaller, like a stage inhaling before the show.
Jay walks in.
Black blazer. White shirt. Hair up in that messy bun that somehow still looks sharp. She's not screaming for attention, but the whole hallway leans closer anyway.