Leo had fourteen.
Leo had never been invited. Last year, he’d waited in his dorm like a ghost, watching the lucky ones slip out after midnight in costumes that weren’t quite costumes. Feathers. Glitter that moved on its own. A boy with antlers growing from his temples that he claimed were “just for show.”
He’d heard the rumors, of course. Every student at Ariel Academy had. Whispers in the cafeteria, cryptic messages slipped into lockers, teachers exchanging glances that said not yet . The Secret School Festival. A single night when the campus transformed into something else entirely—something the official brochures would never mention. -ENG- Ariel Academy-s Secret School Festival -R...
He felt like he finally belonged.
Every attraction, every game, every seemingly random encounter seemed designed to reveal something about its participant. A mirror maze that showed not your reflection but your fears. A fortune teller who told not your future but your past. A kissing booth manned by a sentient statue that asked, “What do you truly desire?” Leo had fourteen
“They’re entry tokens,” Mira realized, after watching a student exchange three coins to enter a door that led to a personal cloud of starlight. “The more you collect, the deeper you can go.”
But Leo noticed something strange. The festival wasn’t just a party. It was a test . Feathers
And sometimes, the best way to earn a secret was to give one away. The rain had stopped. The mermaid statue no longer looked like she was crying. And for the first time since he’d arrived at Ariel Academy, Leo Chen didn’t feel like a mistake.