**Oakridge Academy — 2:41 AM**
Rain lashed against the tall library windows, carving silver streaks down the glass. Thunder rolled in the distance, slow and deliberate, like a warning from the sky itself. Deep beneath the library, in a forgotten records room, the glow of a single monitor lit four faces.
Aarvin sat before the screen, fingers still resting on the keyboard. Adrien leaned beside him, eyes scanning every line with surgical focus. Riyan perched on a metal cabinet, swinging his legs casually, chewing gum like danger was a hobby. John stood slightly behind them, shoulders tense, hands shoved into his pockets to hide the tremor.
The decrypted file finished loading.
**LUCIEN CROWE — INTERNAL BOARD REPORT — CLASSIFIED**
A video file opened.
A younger Lucien stood in a stark training hall. A student lay on the floor, arm bent the wrong way, screaming. Teachers rushed forward. Security restrained the boy. Lucien's face showed no emotion—only calculation.
A subtitle flashed:
**"Subject displays extreme enforcement instinct. Recommend controlled authority placement."**
Riyan let out a low whistle.
"So our principal isn't just strict. He's professionally insane."
Adrien's lips curved into a faint smirk.
"Not insane. Engineered."
John swallowed.
"And the board approved him."
Aarvin didn't react immediately. He simply closed the file with one calm click. But in his eyes, something sharpened—like steel finally meeting fire.
"This school," Aarvin said quietly, "was never meant to be normal."
Adrien folded his arms.
"Hierarchy experiment?"
Aarvin nodded.
"Obedience. Fear. Control. Lucien isn't running Oakridge… he *is* Oakridge."
Silence settled over the room. Heavy. Electric.
Then Riyan jumped down from the cabinet, cracking his knuckles with a grin.
"So basically… we're living inside a prison with uniforms."
John let out a shaky breath.
"And what happens to prisoners who don't obey?"
Aarvin met each of their eyes, one by one.
"They get broken."
His voice dropped colder.
"Unless they break the system first."
**Above Them**
High in the executive office, Lucien Crowe watched the same security feeds.
Aarvin's team entering restricted zones.
John slipping through locked doors.
The records breach.
Lucien's assistant stood nervously nearby.
"Sir… they've crossed too many boundaries. Expulsion is justified."
Lucien didn't turn from the screen.
"No."
He adjusted his tie slowly, methodically.
"When rebellion gathers," he said, voice calm as winter, "you don't remove the rebels. You remind everyone what rebellion costs."
His eyes lifted toward the storm outside.
"Tomorrow, we hold an assembly."
The assistant hesitated.
"And if they resist?"
Lucien smiled—thin, controlled, dangerous.
"Then Oakridge learns obedience again."
**The Announcement**
At exactly 3:00 AM, every student's phone vibrated.
**OFFICIAL NOTICE — OAKRIDGE ACADEMY**
*Mandatory School Assembly — Attendance Required*
*Failure to attend will result in immediate disciplinary removal.*
---
### **Underground**
John read the message aloud.
His voice cracked slightly.
Adrien laughed under his breath.
"A public stage. He's inviting us."
Riyan rolled his shoulders.
"Finally. No more hiding in basements."
Aarvin stepped forward, the monitor glow outlining his face like armor.
"Lucien believes fear keeps this school together," he said.
"Tomorrow, we prove him wrong."
John looked uncertain.
"This could get us expelled. Arrested. Worse."
Aarvin placed a hand on his shoulder—not friendly, not soft—steady.
"Chains only break when someone pulls hard enough."
Adrien opened the door to the stairwell.
Thunder echoed above.
Riyan grinned.
"Then let's pull."
They walked out into the darkness.
Not as victims.
Not as pawns.
But as a storm gathering at the gates.
*To be continued…*