Chapter 56 Ghosts Coming Back
Maddie Pov
The assembly hall was completely packed when I walked in. Students filled every seat and lined the walls. The noise level was incredible. Everyone was talking and laughing and excited about something.
I found an empty seat near the back and sat down quickly. I didn't want to be here. I hated mandatory assemblies. Too many people. Too much noise. Too much chance of someone noticing me.
Elara slid into the seat next to me a moment later. "Do you know what this is about?" she asked.
"No idea," I said. "The email just said mandatory attendance."
"Probably some boring announcement about campus rules," Elara guessed. She pulled out her phone. "I'm giving it ten minutes before I zone out completely."
The dean walked onto the stage at the front of the hall. Everyone gradually got quiet. The dean was an older man with gray hair and a serious face. He always looked like he was about to deliver bad news.
"Good afternoon students," the dean said into the microphone. His voice echoed through the hall. "Thank you all for coming. I know mandatory assemblies aren't your favorite but this announcement is important."
I settled back in my seat and prepared to be bored for the next hour. Whatever this was about probably didn't concern me. I kept my head down. I stayed invisible. I didn't get involved in campus events.
"As many of you know Keane College has a long standing rivalry with Silverthorn College," the dean continued. "Every year we compete against them in various academic and athletic events."
My stomach dropped. Silverthorn. He was talking about Silverthorn. My old school. The place I ran away from.
"This year we're excited to announce Inter College Sports Week," the dean said. "A full week of competitions between Keane and Silverthorn in multiple sports. Basketball. Track. Swimming. Wrestling. Everything."
The hall erupted in cheers and applause. Students were excited. They loved competition. They loved the chance to beat their rival school.
But I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I just sat there frozen in my seat while the world spun around me.
"Participation is mandatory for all students involved in sports programs," the dean added. "Team captains will be announced tomorrow. Practices start immediately. The actual competition week begins in two weeks."
Mandatory. The word echoed in my head. Mandatory participation. I couldn't avoid this. I couldn't skip it. I would have to be there.
And if I had to be there then that meant students from Silverthorn would be there too. Students who knew me. Students who might recognize me. Students like Jace.
"Oh my god this is going to be amazing," Elara said excitedly next to me. "I love sports week. The energy is incredible."
I couldn't respond. My throat felt tight. My hands were shaking. I gripped the edge of my seat until my knuckles turned white.
Jace would be there. He was the sports captain at Silverthorn. There was no way he would miss an event like this. He would be here at Keane. He would see me. He would know I had been hiding.
"Students from Silverthorn will be arriving on campus the day before competition starts," the dean explained. "We expect everyone to be respectful and sporting. This is about healthy competition not hostility."
Healthy competition. Right. There was nothing healthy about what would happen when Jace saw me again.
I thought about the last time I saw him. Walking into his dorm room. Finding him in bed with Lila. The way he smiled at me like he didn't care that he had just destroyed everything between us.
"Are you okay?" Elara asked. She leaned closer and studied my face with concern. "You look really pale."
I forced myself to nod. "Just feeling a little sick. Probably something I ate."
"Do you need to leave?" Elara offered. "I can tell the dean you're not feeling well."
"No," I said quickly. "I'm fine. I'll be fine."
But I wasn't fine. I was the opposite of fine. My whole carefully constructed new life was about to come crashing down around me.
The dean kept talking about schedules and practice times and team assignments. I didn't hear any of it. All I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.
Jace was coming here. To Keane. To my school. To the one place I thought I was safe from my past.
And he would see me. He would smile that cruel smile. He would say things designed to hurt me. He would remind me of everything I left behind. Everything I was trying to forget.
"Maddie seriously you look like you're going to pass out," Elara said. She put her hand on my arm. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I lied. "I'm just not a fan of sports competitions. Too much pressure."
"Since when?" Elara asked. "You're literally the most competitive person I know during training."
"That's different," I said. "That's just us. This is a whole school thing. With another school. It's too much attention."
Elara looked at me like she didn't quite believe me but she didn't push it. "Okay. Well if you need to talk about it I'm here."
"Thanks," I managed to say.
The assembly finally ended after another twenty minutes of announcements. Students started filing out of the hall talking excitedly about the upcoming sports week. Everyone was pumped. Everyone was ready to compete.
Everyone except me.
I stood up slowly and followed Elara toward the exit. My legs felt weak. My whole body felt heavy like I was moving through water.
"You want to grab lunch?" Elara asked when we got outside.
"I'm not hungry," I said. "I think I'm going to go back to my dorm and rest."
"Okay," Elara said. She looked worried. "Text me if you need anything."
"I will," I promised.
I walked back to my dorm alone. The campus looked the same as always. Trees and pathways and students walking between classes. Normal. Ordinary. Safe.
But it didn't feel safe anymore. It felt like a trap. Like the walls were closing in around me.