Chapter 137: The Mysterious Summon
{Elira}
~**^**~
A month had passed in the blink of an eye.
Sometimes, when I lay awake at night, I thought about how much had shifted since that humiliating morning from the Student Council, their punishment that hadn’t just backfired but marked me.
Students stared longer, whispered louder, and though I pretended not to notice, I felt the weight of it every single day.
But through it all, something stronger had grown. My friendship.
The thought of Cambria’s gentle steadiness, Nari’s wild loyalty, Juniper’s sharp tongue and Tamryn’s quiet strength still filled me with a warmth I was still getting used to.
My professor mates hadn’t changed much outwardly, but I could sense the growing intensity of their usual attitude towards me. Lennon’s teasing comfort, Rennon’s patience, and Zenon’s silent watchfulness.
There was something unspoken in the way they looked at me, as if they carried my struggles with me without saying a word.
Even Regina had shifted, kind of in a way. She hadn’t dared strike at me directly again. Not with Zenon’s warning hanging in the air. But I felt her eyes sometimes, like needles across my skin.
I’m very well sure that she is just watching and waiting for an opportunity to make a move.
And then there was the Moon’s Whisper blog. Since it had returned with a vengeance, it made posts every few days, that sent the academy buzzing, and though not all of them were about me, I had quickly learned what it felt like to be at the center of endless speculation.
Now, it was yet another Monday morning.
My friends and I left our dorm room together, chatting idly about breakfast and classes. The air felt crisp, a little too still, as if holding its breath.
And that was when all five of our smart watches chimed at the exact same time.
The synchronized sound made us stop dead in the hallway. I glanced down at mine, and the others did the same.
Lo and behold, it was a notification.
"All second lectures for today have been cancelled.
After lunch, all students are required to assemble at the Auditorium Hall for an important briefing.
Attendance is mandatory. Bring your student ID along."
A hush fell between us as the words lit up our screens.
"What’s this about?" Cambria asked softly, her brow furrowed.
"Mandatory?" Nari muttered, her lips twisting. "That’s never a good sign."
I closed the notification slowly, my pulse quickening in spite of myself.
ESA didn’t cancel lectures lightly, and they certainly never gathered the entire student body unless something important was at stake.
We continued chatting about the announcement all the way to the cafeteria, and by the time we pushed the glass doors open, the place was already buzzing louder than usual.
The usual clatter of trays and chatter filled the air, but beneath it was a different hum filled with questions, theories, and restless guesses about the mandatory announcement. It was almost suffocating.
Still, the smell of breakfast pulled me and my friends forward, making Nari especially, to abandon the conversation. Today the kitchen staff had outdone themselves.
I slid my tray along the counter, my eyes sweeping over platters of golden waffles topped with whipped cream and berries, bowls of scrambled eggs sprinkled with herbs, roasted sausages glistening in their own juices, and neatly stacked bagels beside tubs of cream cheese.
Further down, a row of chilled smoothies gleamed in tall glass dispensers; mango, strawberry-banana, and even a vivid green one labeled detox blend.
I chose the strawberry-banana, the frosty glass cool against my palm as I carried my tray to our usual table by the window.
My friends followed quickly, their trays just as loaded.
Nari dropped into her seat and immediately jabbed a fork into her waffle. "I’m telling you," she said between bites, seamlessly continuing with the earlier conversation. "if they are cancelling classes and dragging us all into the auditorium, it’s either a scandal or a punishment."
"Or both," Juniper muttered darkly, stirring her smoothie with the straw.
Cambria pressed her lips together. "Maybe it’s just an announcement for an event?"
Nari shot her a look. "No event ever came with ’bring your ID’."
The first few minutes passed in uneasy silence at our table, until the cafeteria noise pressed itself too close to ignore.
"I heard someone cheated on the last Power Channeling exercise. That’s why they want our IDs. They are going to expose the culprits."
"That doesn’t make sense. Why punish everyone for one or two cheaters?"
"Maybe it’s not about the exercise at all. Maybe a student got expelled."
My fork clinked softly against the plate as I paused mid-bite. Expelled? The word sat bitter on my tongue, heavier than the eggs I had just swallowed.
Across the aisle, another pair of first-years leaned close over their trays, voices low but urgent.
"No, no—this is bigger. My friend said the Student Council got caught covering something up. That’s why it’s all-school."
Another voice chimed in, sharp with certainty. "It’s about that blog. The Moon’s Whisper. I bet you anything it’s because of them."
The name made my chest tighten. I lowered my gaze quickly, forcing another spoonful of smoothie down just to mask my expression.
Beside me, Nari perked up instantly. She had clearly overheard the same thing, her lips twitching like she was holding back a grin. "
See? Even they know my favorite blog is shaking the system again."
Juniper shot her a warning look. "Don’t start cheering too loudly. If this is about the blog, things could get ugly."
Nari shrugged, but the glint in her eye said otherwise.
Tamryn didn’t speak at all, but her knuckles tapped lightly against her glass of mango smoothie, as her eyes scanned the room.
I forced down another bite, though my appetite was gone. Around us, the rumors kept weaving louder, faster, spreading like wildfire across every table.
And for a moment, I wished I could suddenly go deaf so the wild speculations coming from different angles don’t add to my anxiety.
I could actually throw up any moment from now.
The morning passed faster than I expected.
Combat Tactics & Pack Defense had swallowed most of it whole. Professor Thorne’s voice still echoed faintly in my head as I replayed the diagrams he had drawn on the board illustrations of old battlefield strategies from centuries past.
The class should have been fascinating. Normally, it would be. But half my focus drifted, again and again, to the quiet buzzing of rumors I’d overheard about the sudden summon from this morning.
I forced myself to write my notes anyway, though the words blurred once or twice when my thoughts strayed too far.
By the time the lecture finally ended, the weight of anticipation had become a steady pulse at the back of my mind.
I returned to the locker hall, weaving through the crowd until I reached my own. Pulling my backpack free, I slipped my books , slung it over one shoulder and leaned lightly against the cool metal of the locker.
The hall was alive with chatter, students hurrying to swap books or heading toward lunch, their voices weaving the same questions again and again.
"What’s the meeting about?"
"Why do they need our IDs?"
"Do you think it’s serious?"
I hugged the strap of my backpack tighter as I waited. One by one, familiar faces emerged from the crowd. Cambria was first, then Nari, Juniper, and finally Tamryn.
"How was your class today, Elira?" Cambria asked me as we all headed for the cafeteria for lunch.
---
The auditorium was already half full by the time we arrived from the cafeteria, the noise of hundreds of voices bouncing off the high walls.
Banners of ESA’s crest hung from the rafters, their silver threads glinting faintly in the lights above.
The faint hum of scanners chimed at every doorway as students pressed their ID cards to the glowing plates before stepping through.
Guards stood tall on either side, watching with sharp alert eyes to make sure no one slipped by without scanning.
My friends and I found seats somewhere in the middle rows. Nari sank down beside me, muttering under her breath, "It feels like the entire school is holding its breath."
"All this just for an announcement. Feels like we are lining up for judgment," Juniper said as her gaze wandered about.
She and Nari weren’t wrong. Even the usual chatter had an edge to it, clipped and cautious, like everyone knew something big was about to drop.
I smoothed the hem of my skirt absently, scanning the room. The second- and third-years sat clustered in their own groups, some leaning forward, some already whispering theories about why we were here.
The first-years looked more restless constantly fidgeting in their seats.
The low hum of voices in the hall quieted when the side doors swung open, and the six familiar figures walked in with effortless authority. The Student Council members.
Princess Kaelis led them, silver curls gleaming under the lights. Regina was at her side, chin lifted with practiced poise. Thorne Wexler followed lazily with a straight gaze, while Soraya Vale’s razor gaze swept over the rows. Nyra Blackvale walked with the same eerie stillness as always, and Caleb Fenmore smiled like his life was only filled with happiness.
Their arrival sent a ripple through the room, admiration from some and thinly veiled dislike from others.
Nari leaned toward me, her voice sharp with disdain. "Here we go again. The vultures."
But instead of climbing the stage, they stopped at the front row and took their seats, arranging themselves in a neat line.
Before another wave of whispers could rise, the main doors at the back opened again.