19

19
Mirella’s POV

The day of the presentation started out fine — calm, ordinary, almost too peaceful.

Our team was the third to present. Iris looked nervous, Yuki kept adjusting her slides, and the stutterer clutched his cue cards like his life depended on them. Kaelen, as usual, stood there like he had everything under control.

I told myself everything would be fine. We had rehearsed. We were prepared.

When our turn came, I walked to the front of the class and began. “Good morning, everyone. Today, our topic is—”

The lights dimmed, the projector blinked to life, and our first slide appeared. For a few glorious minutes, everything went perfectly. We spoke clearly, our visuals were smooth, and even Kaelen cooperated without arguing.

Then, halfway through Iris’s part, the screen froze.

Static flickered. Then darkness.

“Uh… it’s not loading,” Iris said, clicking the remote nervously.

The teacher frowned and walked up. “Try reconnecting it.”

Yuki did, twice. Nothing.

The classroom filled with whispers.

“Guess they weren’t as prepared as they thought,” someone muttered.

I didn’t need to look to know who it was. The female legion. Sitting at the back, smirking like she’d just won a prize.

The teacher sighed. “Alright, class, let’s move on. Mirella, we’ll have to reschedule your group’s presentation.”

My stomach dropped. “But, sir, we—”

“No arguments,” he said, already turning away. “Technical problems happen.”

Except this wasn’t a technical problem. I knew it wasn’t.

When class ended, I packed my things in silence. The female legion brushed past me with her friends, still smiling. That was all the confirmation I needed.

I followed her into the hallway. “You did it, didn’t you?”

She turned slowly, eyes gleaming. “Did what?”

“The projector,” I said. “You sabotaged it.”

She tilted her head, pretending to think. “Oh, that? Maybe. Maybe not. Prove it.”

My fists clenched. I wanted to scream, but I had nothing. No evidence.

She leaned closer, her perfume sharp and heavy. “Consider this a warning, Mirella. Next time, you won’t be so lucky.”

Before I could respond, Iris grabbed my arm. “Mirella, stop.”

“She ruined everything!” I snapped.

“I know,” Iris said firmly. “But this isn’t the time. We can’t afford to make it worse.”

Her voice was steady, but I could see the fear in her eyes. I took a deep breath and forced myself to step back.

The female legion smiled, satisfied, and walked away with her entourage.

That night, I gathered my team. We met at a small café near school — one of those quiet places where no one bothered to look twice at a group of students.

Everyone looked tense.

Dante was leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed. Yuki sat with her hands wrapped around a cup of tea. The stutterer kept glancing at the door like someone might burst in any second.

I told them everything — the broken projector, the smirk, the warning.

Dante’s jaw tightened. “Then we hit back.”

“Hit back how?” Iris asked, frowning.

“Whatever way we can,” he said. “They mess with us, we mess with them.”

I shook my head. “No. We can’t fight like them. We need proof — something that’ll destroy their power for good.”

The stutterer spoke up softly. “W-we could… record them. G-gather evidence.”

Yuki looked at him. “Like proof of bullying?”

He nodded. “If we show the school board what they’re doing, they can’t ignore it anymore.”

I thought about it. It was risky — very risky. But it was also smart.

“That’s actually a good idea,” I said. “We’ll need to be careful, though. If they catch us, it’s over.”

Everyone agreed. We divided the plan. Each of us would record whenever we saw something — an insult, a shove, a threat, anything. We’d collect the videos, piece them together, and present it to the board.

For the next few days, that’s exactly what we did.

It wasn’t easy. The legions were careful, but not careful enough. We caught them cornering younger students, mocking people in the hall, even trashing someone’s locker. Every video made my stomach turn.

But it also made me more determined. The world needed to see who they really were.

\~~~

Then, one afternoon, everything fell apart.

I was in the courtyard, pretending to read, while secretly recording a scene across the field — two male legion members cornering a smaller boy. I’d already captured one of them shoving him into a wall when I heard a voice behind me.

“What are you doing?”

I froze.

When I turned, one of the male legion members — tall, sharp-eyed — was standing right there.

My phone was still in my hand, the camera app open.

He grabbed it before I could react. “Let’s see what you’re hiding.”

“Give it back!” I tried to snatch it, but he held it high and started scrolling. His smirk vanished when he saw the videos.

He called out, “Hey! You need to see this!”

In seconds, more of them surrounded me — at least five. And at the front, the female legion.

“Well, well,” she said, crossing her arms. “Looks like our little rebel’s been busy.”

My heart pounded.

She took the phone from him, scrolling through the clips. “You were spying on us? Recording us?”

I didn’t answer.

She looked up, her expression turning cold. “You know what we do to people who cross us, Mirella?”

Her tone made my stomach twist.

Then she smiled. “You’re dead.”

I backed away, but there was nowhere to go. They had me surrounded.

And then — a voice cut through the tension.

“Enough.”

Kaelen.

He stepped into the circle, his presence alone making them all freeze.

The female legion’s expression shifted from smug to confused. “Kaelen? What are you doing here?”

“She’s not worth it,” he said calmly. “You’re wasting your time.”

For a moment, no one moved. Then, reluctantly, the girl laughed. “You really want to protect her? Why? She’s against us.”

Kaelen’s eyes flickered. “She’s not a threat. Let her go.”

It was the way he said it — quiet, firm, final — that made them listen.

After a tense silence, the female legion tossed my phone back at me. “You’re lucky, Mirella. Next time, he won’t be around.”

They walked off, one by one, until only Kaelen remained.

I stood there, clutching my phone, still shaking. “Why did you do that?”

He didn’t answer.

“Kaelen,” I said again, my voice trembling. “Why are you protecting me?”

His expression was unreadable. “I’m not. You just don’t know what you’re walking into.”

And then, just like before, he turned and walked away.

I stared after him, heart still racing, realizing something terrifying.

Whatever Kaelen knew… whatever he was hiding… it was bigger than all of us.

And now, I was right in the middle of it.