THE SCHOLARSHIP REVIEW

ELENA

By the time classes ended, I should have felt a bit relieved, but I didn't. I kept thinking about Adrian Laurent.

The way he looked at me in the hallway wasn’t normal, and the strangest part?

For a second, I could have sworn his eyes darkened when he looked at me. Like something inside him reacted. I told myself I imagined it.

“Okay,” Elizabeth said as we walked out of the lecture hall, stretching her arms. “I officially need a nap, a snack, and maybe a new life.”

“Same,” I muttered.

She gasped. “Wait. You agreed with me. Are you okay?”

I gave her a look. “I’m always okay.”

“That’s a lie you tell yourself for comfort.”

I almost smiled.

The campus was quieter now, students slowly leaving in groups, their laughter fading as the sky dimmed into a soft grey-blue. The kind of evening that made everything feel slower.

Elizabeth leaned closer. “So. Are we talking about your ‘I saw Adrian Laurent and my soul briefly left my body’ moment again?”

“I did not—” I started.

“You did,” she cut in. “Your eyes did a whole freeze-frame thing.”

I sighed. “He just looked at me. That’s it.”

“Adrian Laurent doesn’t ‘just look’ at people,” she said seriously.

“That sounds like a personality problem.”

“It is. A very expensive personality problem.”

That actually made me snort.

“See,” she pointed at me like she’d won something. “You’re laughing. Healing is happening.”

“I’m not healing,” I said. “I’m ignoring you.”

“Same thing.”

We were halfway down the main steps when I felt it. That strange awareness from someone.

Elizabeth noticed my expression change.

“What now?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I said slowly.

And then I saw her.

Chloe Whitmore, standing near the walkway like she had been waiting for the perfect time to strike. She looked perfectly put together as always. Like even standing still was something she practiced.

“Elena,” she said smoothly when we reached her.

“Chloe,” I replied.

Elizabeth immediately leaned slightly toward me and whispered, “I don’t trust her face.”

“Neither do I,” I whispered back.

Chloe smiled like she didn’t hear us.

“I heard something interesting,” she said.

That alone made my stomach tighten.

“I’m not interested in gossip,” I said quickly.

“Oh, this isn’t gossip,” she said lightly. “It’s more like… procedure.”

Elizabeth muttered, “That sounds illegal.”

I elbowed her slightly.

Chloe’s eyes flicked between us.

“You’ve been invited to a scholarship review tonight,” she said.

I blinked. “Tonight?”

“Yes,” she said. “West Hall. 8:30 PM. Mandatory.”

“That’s…and you were sent to relay such Information?” Elizabeth asked immediately.

Chloe shrugged slightly. “Sometimes they check students who are performing unusually well.”

Her smile sharpened just a little.

“People notice unusual things very quickly at Blackthorn, Elena.”

Something about the way she said it made my skin feel cold.

Elizabeth stepped forward. “And you’re telling her this personally because…?”

Chloe finally looked at her properly.

“Because I thought she should be prepared.”

Then she looked back at me.

“I’d go if I were you,” she added softly.

“Skipping things like this tends to create… misunderstandings.”

Then she turned and walked away like she hadn’t just dropped a warning in my lap.

Elizabeth watched her go, then turned to me slowly.

“…I don’t like her. Actually, I have never liked that bitch,” she said.

“That’s the first correct thing you have said today,” I replied.

She ignored me. “Why does she look like she’s always planning something evil but in a polite way?”

“Because she is,” I said.

Elizabeth nodded seriously. “Okay. Good. We agree.”

Then she paused.

“Wait.”

“What?”

“She said tonight?”

“Yes.”

Elizabeth frowned. “Scholarship reviews are never at night.”

“I know.”

We stared at each other.

“…That’s weird,” she said.

“Very,” I agreed.

Then I added, “But it’s probably fine.”

Elizabeth squinted at me. “You just said ‘probably.’ That’s basically panic in Elena language.”

“I don’t panic.”

“You absolutely panic quietly.”

I grabbed her arm. “I’m not panicking.”

She leaned in. “Your eye is twitching.”

“It is not.”

“It is.”

We stood there for a second.

Then she sighed. “Okay. If this is a trap, I’m coming with you.”

“No,” I said immediately.

“Yes,” she said just as fast.

“You’re not coming to a scholarship review like it’s a horror movie finale.”

“I love horror movies.”

“That’s not the point.”

“It is for me.”

I sighed. “Lizzy—”

She grabbed my shoulders. “Elena. If this is suspicious, and it is, I am emotionally contractually obligated to be there so you don’t accidentally walk into your own downfall.”

“That is not a real contract.”

“It is in my heart.”

I couldn’t help it and laughed.

“Fine,” I said. “You can wait outside.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Inside proximity is safer.”

“Outside proximity is normal.”

“Inside proximity is supportive.”

“You’re just nosy.”

“Also true.”

By the time evening came, I felt even more uneasy. The sky had fully darkened now.

West Hall stood at the edge of campus like it had been forgotten. The lights around it were dimmer than the others, like even the building didn’t want attention.

“This place looks like it has secrets,” Elizabeth whispered.

“All buildings have secrets,” I said.

“That’s not comforting, Elena.”

We stopped at the entrance. The message in my head kept repeating itself.

Scholarship review. Mandatory. 8:30 PM.

“I’ll be fine,” I said.

Elizabeth crossed her arms. “If you’re not back in ten minutes, I’m calling someone.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know. Security. Batman. Someone.”

I smiled a little. “I’ll be quick.”

She nodded slowly. “Text me the second anything feels off.”

“It’s just a review.”

She gave me a look.

“Okay,” I corrected. “If anything feels off.”

“Better.”

The moment I stepped inside, the cold air brushed against my skin. The hallway was so quiet that my footsteps echoed slightly as I walked deeper. I could somehow feel the building itself was warning me.

“This is so unnecessary,” I muttered to myself.

The doors at the end of the corridor were slightly open, with light spilling out.

I exhaled and pushed them open.

“Hello?”

No answer.

The room was empty. Just chairs, a long table, papers neatly placed like someone had prepared it and left.

I frowned.

“This is definitely not a review.”

Then I heard a sound behind me. I turned and froze. Adrian Laurent was literally standing there.

My heart jumped instantly. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” he said calmly.

“I got called,” I said quickly. “Scholarship review.”

Adrian stared at me for a second too long. He looked pale.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said quietly.

My brows pulled together. “What does that mean?”

He looked away sharply, jaw tightening slightly.

“Leave.”

“Okay, seriously, what is wrong with you?”

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he took a slow breath like he was forcing himself to stay in control of something I couldn’t understand.

Uneasiness crawled through my stomach.

“Adrian—”

“Elena.” His voice came out lower this time. Rougher somehow. “Get out.”

“You’re scaring me,” I admitted quietly.

Every instinct in my body told me to leave.

I slowly stepped backward toward the door.

Then my foot caught against one of the old chair legs behind me and for one terrifying second, my balance disappeared completely.

Adrian moved before I even hit the floor.