By the time lunch ended, the school had officially lost control of itself.
Not in the fire-alarm, evacuation way.
In the everyone is pretending nothing is happening while absolutely everything is happening way.
The corridors buzzed nonstop. Phones were out despite rules. Whispers bounced from wall to wall.
"Hunter's really back." "I heard he almost died." "No, I heard Lia and Jay revived him."
"They're doctors, right?" "No, they're students." "That's worse."
Section E walked like a moving storm.
Jay was laughing too loud. Eren was reenacting something dramatic from the morning. Percy and Felix argued about who got more followers overnight. Drew kept checking Hunter like he might vanish if ignored too long.
Hunter, meanwhile, was trying very hard to act normal.
He failed.
Every time someone recognized him, there was a pause. A stare. A gasp. Sometimes a scream.
Jay leaned over to Lia. "You owe me five bucks. Someone screamed."
"I said before third period," Lia replied calmly. "Pay up."
Jay groaned and dug into her pocket.
They reached their next class—science.
The teacher froze mid-sentence when they entered.
"…Why is there a celebrity in my lab?"
Hunter smiled politely. "Hi."
The class exploded.
"OH MY GOD—" "IS THAT REALLY—" "TAKE A PHOTO—"
Angelo stepped in behind them, voice calm but firm. "Phones down."
Somehow, they listened.
The teacher blinked, swallowed, and pointed weakly to empty seats. "Just… sit."
They did.
For ten minutes, things were almost peaceful.
Almost.
Then Eren whispered, "Bet Hunter can't mess up a lab experiment."
"I absolutely can," Hunter muttered.
Jay smirked. "Prove it."
Five minutes later, something fizzed.
Ten seconds later, something smoked.
Thirty seconds later, the fire extinguisher came out.
The teacher screamed, "OUT. EVERYONE OUT."
In the hallway, covered in white foam, Hunter stared at his hands. "I think I broke chemistry."
Jay clapped him on the back. "Welcome to Section E."
By the next period, teachers had given up pretending today was normal.
One sent them to self-study. Another put on a documentary. Another simply said, "Don't break anything," and sat down.
Somewhere between fourth and fifth period, chaos peaked.
Percy and Jay got into another argument—this time about hairstyles.
"You look like a rejected shampoo ad," Jay said.
"At least I have hair," Percy shot back.
"Oh, fight, fight," Rory encouraged.
"NO FIGHTING," Ella yelled from across the hall.
They fought verbally anyway.
Ion and Meera were taking bets. Cindy recorded everything but claimed it was "for memories." Jessica pretended she wasn't smiling.
Hunter watched it all, stunned.
"This place is insane," he murmured.
Lia glanced at him. "You're still alive. That's what matters."
He nodded. "Yeah… because of you."
Jay pretended not to hear that, but her smile softened.
By the time the last period arrived, everyone was exhausted—but wired.
The bell rang.
Students slumped into their seats.
The speaker crackled.
"Attention, students and faculty."
Every classroom went quiet.
Even Section E.
"This is the principal."
A pause. Too long.
Jay leaned toward Lia. "Something's coming."
Lia didn't respond. Her eyes were on the speaker.
"Due to… recent events involving students, the hospital, and public attention…"
Whispers erupted immediately.
"…we will be making an important announcement."
Angelo sat straighter. Hunter held his breath.
Jay crossed her arms. Lia's jaw tightened.
The principal continued, voice steady but serious.
"All students are to remain seated. This concerns multiple sections."
The room felt smaller.
"He's about to ruin our lives," Percy whispered.
Jay smirked. "Again."
The speaker crackled once more.
"And effective immediately—"
The bell didn't ring.
No one moved.
The announcement hung in the air, unfinished—
—and whatever came next was about to change everything.