All Chapters of Black Ridge Academy : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

48 Chapters

The Symbol Returns

The rest of the afternoon passed painfully slowly.After my conversation with Ethan, I could barely focus during lessons. His words kept replaying endlessly inside my head. The statement unsettled me more than I wanted to admit because deep down, I already felt watched.Every hallway suddenly felt heavier. Every passing glance seemed suspicious. Even the silence around Blackridge Academy no longer felt normal.I closed my locker after class and adjusted the strap of my bag over my shoulder while students crowded through the hallway around me. Lisa stood nearby scrolling nervously through her phone.“My mom keeps texting me,” she muttered quietly. “Parents are hearing rumors now.”I frowned slightly. “About the student?”She nodded. “The school apparently told everyone he collapsed from a medical condition.”I almost laughed at how ridiculous that sounded.“A medical condition doesn't throw someone against the ceiling.”“Keep your voice down,” Lisa whispered quickly while glancing arou

Fights

“What’s wrong with you, Vanessa? Why would you cheat on me again with him?”Adrian’s furious voice echoed through the hallway from where I stood frozen beside my locker. My heartbeat quickened instantly. I slammed my locker shut and hurried toward the growing crowd.Cheating? Vanessa cheated on him?The moment I stepped closer, dozens of eyes shifted toward me like I had suddenly become part of the disaster unfolding before them.“I love you, Adrian, it’s not what you think,” Vanessa pleaded desperately, tears glistening in her eyes as she reached for his arm.Adrian yanked his hand away immediately.“Then what the hell were you doing with Ethan?” he snapped, his fists clenching tightly at his sides. “You think I’m stupid?”I had never seen Adrian this angry before. His jaw was locked so tightly that the muscles twitched visibly beneath his skin.Vanessa swallowed nervously. “He just helped me with something—”“Stop lying!” Adrian barked, cutting her off sharply. “I saw the two of you

What do you think?

The student lowered her phone for a second, then a mocking grin spread across her face."Oh wow," she said loudly, her eyes darting between Adrian and me. "Looks like the school's favorite couple scandal just dropped."Before I could react, she lifted the phone again and waved it in the air. "Guys! You need to see this!" she shouted down the hallway.Heads turned immediately. "I just caught Zara and Adrian together!"Students began drifting closer, curiosity spreading through the corridor like wildfire. Within seconds, whispers erupted from every direction."No way.""Is that really them?""Show us the pictures!"Heat rushed to my face. My stomach dropped."Delete those!" I snapped, hurrying toward her.I reached for the phone, but she jerked it out of my grasp, laughing as she backed away."Relax, Zara. It's just a picture."The crowd grew larger.My heart pounded harder with every pair of eyes fixed on us. Embarrassment crawled up my neck, burning my cheeks. I wanted the floor to op

The investigation begins

My heels clicked sharply against the stone floor, the sound echoing like a ticking clock in the suddenly quiet corridor. "Zara, stop! Please, just talk to me," Lisa panted, her hand catching the sleeve of my jacket. I didn't stop. If I paused for even a second, Adrian's warning would catch up to me. The look of genuine, unadulterated fear in his blue eyes was burned into my mind, and it terrified me—but it also proved I was right. There was a secret buried at Black Ridge, and Emily was the key to it."I'm going to the library archives," I said, my voice tight but steady.Lisa gasped, her grip tightening. "The basement? Zara, students aren't even allowed down there after dark. If the Headmaster catches us—" "Then don't come," I said, turning to look at her. "But I'm not going to sit around pretending a girl didn't vanish into thin air."I walked faster. I could feel Lisa coming behind me. The moment I got to the library door, I held the door knob and some kind of noise echoed loudly

The Price of Secrets

My jaw clenched as a wave of cold dread washed over me. Vanessa had seen me walk out of the isolated library archives. Worse, she had seen Adrian holding my wrist, his thumb still resting against my hands.Adrian didn't let go immediately. Instead, his grip tightened for a fraction of a second—a silent, protective gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Vanessa. Her eyes dropped to our hands, her smirk sharpening into something ugly."Let go of her, Adrian," Vanessa commanded, her voice dropping the playful tone, replaced by an icy authority. "Unless you want to be dragged down to the Headmaster’s office as an accomplice to break-and-enter."Lisa let out a soft, terrified squeak behind me. I stepped forward, forcing my wrist out of Adrian's grasp, though the loss of his warmth made the chilly corridor feel instantly colder. I felt entirely exposed, a regular student standing in the crosshairs of two people who belonged to a completely different echelon than I did."Adrian has nothing to d

Luna gala

The walk back to the dorms was a blur of shadows and Lisa’s muffled sobs. The moment our door clicked shut behind us, she collapsed onto her bed, burying her face in her pillows."We're going to get erased, Zara," she choked out, her voice raw. "You heard Vanessa. The High Council doesn't just expel people. They make you disappear.""We're not getting erased," I said, though my throat felt tight. I sat at my desk, pulling out a blank notebook. My hands were still cold from the corridor, but the phantom warmth of Adrian’s grip lingered on my wrist."Promise me you'll drop it," Lisa pleaded, sitting up, her eyes red and puffy. "Please. For Emily's sake, it’s already too late. Don't make it too late for us."I looked at her, seeing the genuine terror in her expression. I couldn't drag her down with me. "Okay," I lied softly, forcing a reassuring smile. "Go to sleep, Lisa. I'm going to turn off the lights."She nodded, exhausted by the adrenaline, and pulled the covers over her head. With

The seal

"Right," I managed to say, forcing my eyes to stay on the swirling couples on the dance floor rather than letting Lisa see the sudden panic in them. "The Lunar Gala. Of course.""Everyone’s been practicing their displays for weeks," Lisa continued, oblivious to the existential crisis crashing down on me. She watched the dancers with wide, envious eyes. "But honestly, seeing it out in the open like this... it’s beautiful, isn't it?""Beautiful," I whispered mechanically.Inside, my chest tightened. *Magics are fully brought to life after the Lunar Gala.* If that was true, then the casual displays I was seeing right now were just the prefix. Tomorrow, the students at Black Ridge would be operating on a completely different level. And where did that leave me? Still ordinary. Still powerless. A fragile glass doll in a room full of iron weights.I looked back out at the floor. Adrian and Vanessa were moving flawlessly, a perfect execution of tradition and grace. But up close, it looked lik

Everyone had magic

The burning sensation in my chest grew hotter, a sharp contrast to the freezing air of the hallway. It felt like a physical weight trying to break through my ribs. But I didn't have time to understand what was happening to my body. The shadow on the wall was getting longer. The terrifying clicking noise was right around the corner.Tap. Tap. Tap.I was trapped between a monster in the dark and the High Council behind the mahogany door. My breath came in short, jagged gasps. I had to move. Now.Dropping my shoes, I grabbed the brass handle of the Headmaster’s door. I didn't push it open—that would be suicide. Instead, I pulled it just an inch closer to me, hoping to reduce the sliver of light spilling onto the floor so the creature wouldn't notice me.But luck wasn't on my side. The ancient iron hinges let out a soft, low creak.Inside the room, the voices abruptly stopped."Did you hear that?" the raspy voice of the Council member whispered, his tone instantly sharp and alert."Stay h

The Blind Spot

"No way," Adrian said. His voice was a low, angry whisper. Blue frost glowed around his hands, making the dark hallway look cold and spooky. He stared at Lisa with sharp, angry eyes.Lisa did not look scared at all. She stood up straight and looked very confident. A faint purple light danced on her fingertips. It reminded me that my sweet, clumsy roommate was a total lie."Adrian, think about this," Lisa said. Her voice was calm. She didn't sound panicked like she usually did. "If the Headmaster and the High Council go back to the ballroom and see that you and Zara are both gone, they will lock down the school. They will know someone was in the office. You have to go back so they think you were there the whole time.""I don't care about that," Adrian snapped. He stepped closer to me and grabbed my shoulder. His hand was strong, but I could feel it shaking a little bit. "I am not leaving her alone and unprotected.""I don't need you to protect me," I said. My voice cracked as I stepped

The Escape

"We have to go. Now!" Lisa yelled.She did not wait for me to answer. She reached down, grabbed my good arm, and pulled me away from the heavy wooden desk. Her grip was tight and desperate.Behind us, the two shadow-monsters let out a horrible, angry screech. It was a sound that made my teeth rattle. They did not like losing their prey. They lunged forward from the dark corners, their smoky bodies moving fast across the Headmaster's floor. Their gray wooden fingers scraped against the stone, making that terrifying clicking sound. Lisa did not look back. She raised her left hand, and her purple magic flared bright in the darkness. She did not try to fight them directly this time. She knew we were out of time. Instead, she gathered a massive ball of purple light in her palm and threw it straight into the center of the room.Flash!The light was as bright as lightning. It filled the dark office from floor to ceiling, blinding the creatures. The monsters shrieked in pain, covering their

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