The air in the school had changed.
It wasn't just the way people spoke less, or how the teachers went through their lessons like they were trying to pretend nothing had happened. It was the way the walls themselves seemed to have absorbed it—the weight of it, the finality.
Vee was gone.
And now, the cops were here.
It started with the morning announcements.
"It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of one of our students, Venice Kanley . Our thoughts are with her family and friends during this difficult time. We understand that grief affects everyone differently, and we encourage students to seek support from our school counselors if needed."
Neutral. Sanitized. Distant.
Like she had just transferred out instead of… what actually happened.
No one moved. No one spoke. The air in the classroom felt suffocating, but not a single person pulled out their phones. Even the ones who usually never shut up just sat there, eyes fixed on their desks.
Someone in the back sniffled. Another pressed their nails into their palm, jaw tight.
And then, the police arrived.
By lunchtime, the rumors had already started.
"It wasn't an accident."
"I heard they found something in her dorm."
"I think she jumped."
"No—she was pushed."
I heard them all, but they blurred together. The only thing I could focus on was how it felt like everyone was staring at me.
I and Vee were close. Everyone knew that. Of course the cops would want to talk to me.
Interrogations Began.
The library had been turned into an interrogation room.
One by one, students were pulled from class. Some came back shaken. Some refused to speak about what was asked. Some started whispering even more.
When I hear my name called, my stomach drops.
My Turn
The library is too quiet.
I sit across from a man in plain clothes—detective, not a uniformed officer. No badge on display, just a nearly empty notebook and a pen resting between his fingers.
He hasn't written anything yet.
"How well did you know Venice?"
My hands stay folded in my lap. My voice is even. Steady. I answers truthfully—we were friends. Close friends.
"Did she seem upset about anything recently?"
Yes. But I shake my head.
"Where were you the night it happened?"
" In my dorm , listening to songs I think. "
But the detective is watching me too closely.
His pen taps once against the notebook. Not writing, just tapping.
"Did she say anything to you before that night?"
A pause.
Too long of a pause.
"No."
The detective nods, finally scribbling something down.
It's worse than silence.
A few more students are interrogated but I don't pay attention , not until the name---His name. "Kaze " , The name I feared more than death itself. The name I hated like the fire burning inside me and yet the guy I had saved.
His Turn
I am already back in class when I see him walking toward the library.
He looks… the same. Calm. Unbothered. Not avoiding eye contact, not looking too interested either. Just enough presence to seem normal.
Then he disappears inside.
When he comes back out, he looks exactly the same.
No tension in his shoulders. No stiffness in his jaw. No guilt.
But then---- I notice it.
He doesn't look at me.
Not once.
While we are all gathered in the cafeteria , the detective still watches us. Quiet and observant. Most of us didn't even notice but I couldn't stop glancing his way. And then ,
It happens fast when Maria—someone barely close enough to be considered a friend—offhandedly mentions
"Didn't she talk to you that night?"
It's a stupid comment. Thoughtless.
" We were close friends , we talked every night. " I said hoping it sounded true enough.
But the detective tilts his head.
And just like that—a seed of suspicion is planted.
By the time I get home, my skin feels too tight.The school doesn't feel like the same place anymore. Nothing does.
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, my mind looping through the day.
The detective's questions.
The whispers.
The way his hand met Vee's for just a second.
The sound of bone hitting concrete.
I turn over, curling into myself, but I can still hear it.
I closed my eyes.
But I don't sleep.
I just wait for morning.