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the choice of darkness
Author: Shadow
last update Last Updated: 2024-12-22 16:29:07

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Chapter 14

The next day at Lincoln High felt different, as though the air itself carried a charge that made every glance sharper and every word heavier. Jamal could feel it the moment he walked through the front doors—like the walls had absorbed the tension from the murmurs and whispers swirling through the halls.

Rachel and Alex were already waiting for him by his locker, their expressions a mix of worry and determination.

“Did you check it yet?” Rachel asked, her voice low but insistent.

Jamal shook his head, pulling his backpack closer. “Not here. Too many eyes.”

Alex crossed his arms, leaning against the locker with an exaggerated casualness. “Good call. Feels like half the school is looking for an excuse to talk about us already.”

“They’re not looking at us,” Rachel said sharply. “They’re looking for Marcus.”

Jamal glanced around. She wasn’t wrong. The usual hum of chatter in the hallways was tinged with something sharper, and every conversation seemed to carry Marcus’s name
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