CHAPTER ONE: The Note
There were 257 lockers lining the west wing hallway of Cresthill High. Ava Kim knew that because she had counted them. Twice.
She always took the long way to her homeroom class. Not because she was lazy, or curious, but because she liked walking past the quiet rows of lockers when no one was around. There was something comforting about their sameness. Predictable. Neat. Contained.
Unlike her life.
Ava's days usually started in silence and ended the same way. Her mom left for work before sunrise, and her dad—well, he wasn't around. He hadn't been for years.
So she found peace in quiet things. The rhythm of her steps. The click of her locker opening. The faint scent of mint gum someone had left inside once. Her world was small, and she liked it that way.
Until the note.
It was folded neatly and tucked between the spine of her literature textbook and a notebook she was sure she'd left perfectly stacked the night before. It hadn't been there yesterday.
Her fingers hesitated, hovering over the paper. She glanced left, then right. The hallway was empty. With a strange flutter in her chest, she pulled the note free and slowly unfolded it.
> "Do you believe that some people are meant to stay hidden? If you're reading this, maybe you're not like the rest. Maybe you see what's not meant to be seen.
-L"
Ava blinked. Once. Twice. The handwriting was sharp, precise. Definitely not from one of those dumb pranksters in the drama club.
Her heart raced a little as she reread the message. Who was "L"? Why her? And why did it sound like a warning and a whisper all at once?
She stuffed the note into her pocket and closed the locker slowly, eyes scanning the corridor. Still empty. But it didn't feel empty anymore.
---
Fifth period dragged.
Her teacher's voice floated like white noise as Ava stared out the window, her mind stuck on the note. She knew she should throw it away. Or report it. Or at least forget it.
But instead, she found herself reaching for it again and again.
She studied the penmanship, the ink, the phrasing. It wasn't a joke. It didn't feel like one. It felt like someone wanted her to find it. Someone who thought she understood what it meant to feel invisible.
Maybe they were right.
---
At the end of the day, Ava returned to her locker.
She stood in front of it for a long moment before opening it.
Another note was waiting.
This time, it was taped gently to the inside of her locker door.
> "Behind you. But don't scream."
Her breath caught.
She spun around, heart hammering in her chest.
Nothing.
No one.
Except… the locker directly next to hers. It was slightly ajar.
Ava stared at it. She'd never seen anyone use that one. Ever. In fact, she'd always assumed it was broken or empty.
She reached out, hand trembling.
And opened it.
Inside, pressed against the back wall of the narrow space, was a boy.
Tall, pale-skinned, and wrapped in a black hoodie. His eyes, wide and dark, met hers.
Neither of them spoke.
And in that moment, standing between rows of lockers and the space between secrets, Ava Kim realized her quiet world was about to change forever.
---
End of Chapter One
But who was the boy behind the locker door? And what was he really hiding from? Ava was about to discover that some secrets don't just whisper... they scream.