The day should have ended like any other school day.
The dismissal bell had rung. Most of the students had already left their classrooms and started walking toward the main gate. Some were still at school for extracurricular activities, while others had gathered in the cafeteria before finally heading home.
But in the corridor behind the gymnasium, the atmosphere was different.
Quiet.
The only sound was the occasional footsteps passing through the main corridor in the distance.
Darren was still standing in the same place after Alexander left.
He stared down the corridor for several seconds, making sure Alexander's figure had truly disappeared.
Then his hand slowly slipped into his uniform pocket.
He pulled out a small plastic bag.
Inside was the white powder Alexander had taken from his hand earlier.
Darren stared at it for a long time.
For several seconds, he did nothing.
Just stood there.
His gaze remained fixed on the small plastic bag.
This was the item he had been waiting for all this time.
Something he had asked about several times.
Something that should have been in his hands weeks ago.
But there was always some reason it had not reached him yet.
Now it was finally in his hands.
"Finally..."
Darren's voice was barely audible.
He clenched the plastic bag.
Relief showed on his face.
But that relief did not look entirely like happiness.
Unease lingered beneath his eyes.
Darren looked to the right.
Then to the left.
The corridor was still empty.
He looked at the item in his hand again.
For the past few days, he had been unable to stop thinking about it.
He had even asked the person who was supposed to give it to him several times where it was.
But the answer was always the same.
Not yet.
Wait.
Later.
Darren had started to get irritated.
He hated waiting.
Especially because he knew the item should already have been in his hands.
But now the wait was over.
At least for the time being.
Darren slipped the plastic bag back into his pocket.
He drew a deep breath.
But before he could take a step, his thoughts returned to what had happened a few minutes earlier.
Alexander.
The student had appeared while Darren was dealing with an eleventh-grade student.
At first, Darren had been annoyed.
He thought Alexander would chew him out as usual.
But Alexander had done something entirely different.
He had stopped everything.
He had taken the plastic bag.
Then he had ordered Darren to leave.
Darren still did not fully understand why Alexander had done that.
But there was one thing he remembered.
Alexander's message.
Don't let anyone see.
Darren swallowed.
He looked down the empty corridor again.
"If anyone finds out..."
He did not finish the sentence.
Darren knew things could get complicated.
Not because of the item alone.
But because too many people were starting to pay attention to what was happening at Zenith Warriors.
The new teacher.
Raka.
Even some of the other students were beginning to look more willing to notice things they had never cared about before.
Darren did not want to be the person who exposed everything.
He rubbed his face.
Then he looked toward the building in back.
The building stood a short distance from the school's main area.
Not many students passed through it.
Some parts of it were barely used.
Darren already knew the place.
It was quiet enough.
Safe enough, at least for now.
"Then that's where I'll go."
He started walking.
His pace was slow.
He did not want to look rushed.
Whenever he heard a sound from somewhere else, he stopped for a moment.
Making sure no one was watching him.
Then he continued on.
Darren crossed the back courtyard.
The afternoon breeze moved softly.
A few dry leaves fell around the walkway.
Every so often, he glanced behind him.
There was no one there.
Darren quickened his pace.
But without realizing it, someone was watching him from a distance.
Raka Aditama.
Raka stood beside the main building.
At first, he had not intended to follow Darren.
He had simply been on his way home.
But ever since what had happened near the gymnasium stairs, something had been bothering his curiosity.
Darren.
Alexander.
And the small plastic bag he had briefly seen in Darren's hand.
Raka did not know what was inside it.
He did not know what Darren was actually doing, either.
But he had seen one thing clearly enough.
Darren did not look like someone who had just received an ordinary item.
The way he looked at the plastic bag was different.
There was relief.
There was unease.
And most importantly—
he looked as if he had been waiting for it for a long time.
Raka stood still.
He did not follow too closely.
He only watched the direction Darren took.
The building in back.
Raka remembered it.
It was not a place students often visited.
After a few seconds, Darren disappeared behind the building.
Raka then took a small notebook from his bag.
There was nothing eye-catching about it.
The cover was plain.
Its pages contained only a few notes.
But to Raka, the notebook was beginning to become a place to record everything he considered important.
He opened a blank page.
Then wrote:
Darren — the long-awaited item.
Raka paused.
He read the sentence once more.
Then added:
Alexander handed it over.
His hand stopped above the page.
Raka thought back to what had happened earlier.
Alexander had taken the plastic bag from Darren.
Then he had returned it.
Why?
If Alexander truly disapproved of what Darren was doing, why had he given the item back?
Raka had no answer.
He added one more sentence.
Find out what the item really is.
When he finished writing, Raka closed the notebook.
He put it back in his bag.
Then his gaze returned to the building in back.
His suspicions about Zenith Warriors had deepened.
At first, he had only wanted to find out what had really happened to Adrian.
But the longer he stayed at this school, the more things surfaced.
There was a room on the top floor.
There was Alexander, who seemed to know more than the other students.
There was Darren, receiving something he had been waiting for a long time.
And there was Arman, quietly searching for the truth about Adrian.
All of those things might be unrelated.
Or perhaps they were all connected in the same way.
Raka did not know yet.
He did not want to jump to conclusions.
Arman had warned him before.
Don't assume something is the truth just because it looks suspicious.
Raka remembered those words.
That was why he would not immediately conclude what was inside Darren's plastic bag.
He would only record what he had seen.
Darren had been waiting for the item.
Alexander had handed it over.
Darren had taken it to the building in back.
That was all.
For now.
Raka slipped both hands into his pockets.
Then he began walking slowly.
But he did not head toward the gate.
Instead, he stopped beside the courtyard, facing the building in back.
From there, he could still see part of the structure.
Raka could not see Darren.
But he knew the boy was in there.
Then he remembered Alexander's face.
The look in his eyes when they had been near the gymnasium stairs.
Alexander had not looked like someone who had lost control.
Quite the opposite.
He always knew what to do.
That was what made Raka uncomfortable.
Alexander had stopped Darren.
He had taken the item.
Then he had handed it back.
And after that, Darren had left.
Everything had happened in a matter of seconds.
Too neatly.
Raka did not like anything that was too neat at a school like Zenith Warriors.
Because based on his experiences over the past few days, things that looked simple usually had something behind them.
Meanwhile, inside the building in back, Darren continued walking.
His steps slowed as he entered a more deserted section of the building.
The sounds from the main courtyard grew more distant.
He looked around.
There were no students.
No teachers.
Only a few rooms with their doors closed.
Darren touched his uniform pocket.
The small plastic bag was still there.
He felt a little calmer.
But that calm did not last long.
His thoughts returned to Alexander's message.
Don't let anyone see.
Darren glanced behind him.
The corridor was empty.
He let out a breath.
Then continued walking.
He did not know that Raka was still watching him from outside.
Raka himself did not move.
He did not want Darren to realize someone was following him.
But he did not want to lose track of him, either.
A few minutes later, a student walked past Raka.
Raka pretended to look at his phone.
The student paid him no attention and kept walking.
Once the area was quiet again, Raka looked at the building in back.
His thoughts grew more crowded.
What was really being kept in there?
Was Darren only trying to hide the item?
Or had that building already become a designated place for their group?
Raka remembered the old building Arman had once visited.
The top floor.
The room guarded by Alexander.
Could this building in back be connected to that place?
He did not know yet.
But everything was starting to feel like pieces of a puzzle.
Not enough to form a picture.
But enough to keep Raka from stopping his search.
He opened his notebook again.
Beneath his earlier notes, he added a few words.
The building in back.
He paused for a moment.
Then wrote:
Darren went there after receiving the item.
Raka closed the notebook.
This time, he did not go after Darren right away.
He chose to wait.
If Darren came out of the building, Raka could see where he went.
That was safer than going inside without knowing what awaited him.
Raka had learned enough to know that Zenith Warriors was not a place where he could afford to act recklessly.
Meanwhile, Darren finally stopped in one section of the building.
He saw a door.
It was not very large.
There was no special sign on it.
Darren stared at the door.
Then looked behind him.
Still empty.
He reached for the doorknob.
But before opening it, he felt inside his uniform pocket again.
The small plastic bag was still there.
"Finally."
He said it once more.
This time, even more softly.
As if reassuring himself that what he had been waiting for had truly arrived.
Darren opened the door.
Then went inside.
The door closed again.
From outside, there was no sign of anything.
No sound.
No movement.
Several minutes passed.
Raka was still waiting.
The sky grew darker.
The afternoon light began to fade.
Raka checked the time.
He knew he could not stay at school until night.
But his curiosity had not faded.
He looked toward the building in back again.
Darren had not come out.
Raka began to wonder.
What was Darren doing in there?
He wanted to go inside.
But then he remembered his agreement with Arman.
Don't act recklessly.
If something happens, tell Arman.
Don't face everything alone.
Raka took out his phone.
His finger stopped above the screen.
For a moment, he considered contacting Arman.
But then he changed his mind.
There was not enough evidence yet.
He did not even know what was inside the plastic bag.
If he told Arman now, all they would have were suspicions.
Raka put his phone away.
He chose to wait.
A little while later, the building's door opened.
Darren came out.
Raka immediately straightened.
Darren looked around.
Then walked out of the building.
There was no plastic bag visible in his hand.
Raka did not know whether it was still in Darren's pocket or had been left somewhere else.
What was clear was that Darren looked a little calmer.
He headed in a different direction.
Raka did not follow him.
He only watched until Darren disappeared from view.
After that, Raka opened his notebook again.
He added one sentence.
Darren entered and left the building in back. Unknown what he did inside.
Raka read the note.
It was not much.
But it was enough to serve as a beginning.
He closed the notebook.
Then walked toward the gate.
As he went, his thoughts kept returning to one question.
What was the item Darren had been waiting for all this time?
Raka did not want to guess.
All he knew was that Alexander was involved.
And if Alexander was involved, there was a good chance the item was not something trivial.
But Raka did not yet know how deeply Alexander was involved.
Maybe Alexander had only handed over the item.
Maybe he knew where it had come from.
Maybe he did not even know what was inside.
There were many possibilities.
Raka did not want to accuse anyone without proof.
He would keep watching.
On the other side, Darren walked away from the building in back.
He looked around.
No one was following him.
He felt a little relieved.
But he did not realize that someone had been watching his movements from the beginning.
Raka.
And although Raka still did not know what was inside the plastic bag, he had already learned something far more important.
The item was not something Darren had received unexpectedly.
Darren had been waiting for it.
He had asked about it several times.
And when it finally reached his hands, he had taken it straight to a secluded place.
Raka did not know what that meant.
But he was certain there was a reason.
Night began to fall as Raka left the school grounds.
He walked a few steps, then stopped.
For one last time, he turned toward Zenith Warriors.
The main building looked dark.
The gymnasium was growing quiet as well.
The building in back stood beneath the deepening shadows of dusk.
From the outside, the school looked ordinary.
But Raka knew better now.
Zenith Warriors was not as simple as it appeared.
Secrets were being kept in places students rarely visited.
There were people who knew more than they said.
And there were small incidents that might actually be connected to one another.
Raka remembered the name written in his notebook.
Darren.
Then another name.
Alexander.
And one name that had brought him to this school from the beginning.
Adrian Mahesa.
Three names.
Three different questions.
But Raka felt that one day, all three might meet in a single answer.
He drew a deep breath.
Then walked away.
For now, he still did not know what was really inside the small plastic bag.
He also did not know why Darren had waited so long for it.
But one thing was certain.
His suspicions about Zenith Warriors had deepened.
And without Raka realizing it, the small step he had taken that day had brought him closer to something the school had been trying to hide all along.