Chapter 2 - The Blind Spot
Sparks sputtered from the torn drywall as the copper wires dangled limply from the ceiling. The sudden descent into darkness unnerved the classroom, save for the rhythmic clicking of the hallway door handle turning from the outside.
Leo dropped the severed wire, his breathing ragged as he backed away from the wall. He glanced back at Sofia, whose right hand was already turning a deep, angry shade of purple where the wooden ruler had struck her.
Mrs. Gable dropped the ruler onto Sofia's desk with a hollow clack. Her face remained a mask of professional detachment, though a slight twitch near her left eye betrayed the sudden rupture in her carefully engineered control.
"Everyone back to your seats. Now," Mrs. Gable ordered, her voice dropping an octave into a dangerous whisper.
The heavy oak door swung open, revealing Mr. Harrison, the district superintendent, holding a tablet displaying a live remote feed of the building's security network. His brow furrowed deeply as he stepped across the threshold, his eyes darting from the dangling wires in the corner to the tense, suffocating atmosphere hanging over the students.
"Mrs. Gable," Mr. Harrison said, his voice echoing in the unnervingly quiet room. "The feeds from wing four just dropped off the main terminal. Maintenance flagged a hardware fault originating from this specific classroom."
Leo held his breath, pressing his back flat against the rear bookshelves. He could feel the cold metal of a stray textbook binding digging into his shoulder blades. He had bought them precious few seconds, but the superintendent was standing right there, staring at the empty space where the lens used to point.
Mrs. Gable stepped smoothly into the aisle, blocking the superintendent's direct line of sight to Sofia's bruised hand. Her demeanor shifted instantly into one of deep, performative concern.
"It's just a malfunctioning unit, Arthur," Mrs. Gable said smoothly, using his first name with practiced familiarity. "The wiring has been unstable for weeks. These older facilities simply cannot handle modern loads."
Mr. Harrison frowned, looking past her shoulder. He took two steps further into the room, his eyes scanning the pale faces of the terrified teenagers sitting rigidly at their desks.
"That doesn't look like a standard mechanical failure," Mr. Harrison muttered, lifting his tablet to check the diagnostic logs again. "The signal was violently severed. Someone pulled it straight out of the masonry."
Before the superintendent could demand an explanation or walk over to inspect the damaged corner, Sofia slowly raised her left hand, her voice barely audible above the hum of the overhead fluorescent lights.
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"It wasn't a mechanical failure, Mr. Harrison," Sofia whispered, her eyes locking onto the superintendent's face with terrifying clarity. "She made me take the fall so her son could pass, and when Leo tried to stop her, she hit me."
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