Jay's POV
Nobody spoke after that.
The stranger's words seemed to linger in the auditorium, hanging over us like a storm cloud that refused to move.
A request to leave Section E.
It didn't make sense.
Out of all the things I had expected to hear tonight, that wasn't one of them.
I glanced around the room. Judging by the expressions on everyone's faces, they felt the same way. Some looked confused. Others looked uncomfortable. A few looked like they were trying to remember something they couldn't quite reach.
Then my eyes landed on David.
He still hadn't said a word.
That alone was enough to make my stomach twist.
The stranger carefully placed the paper back inside the folder before looking at us again.
"You find it hard to believe," he said.
Nobody answered.
Because he was right.
Section E wasn't just a class.
It was family.
Messy.
Loud.
Chaotic.
But family.
The idea of someone wanting to leave felt wrong.
Almost impossible.
The stranger took a slow breath.
"That's why nobody questioned it."
A chill ran down my spine.
"What do you mean?" Felix asked.
The stranger looked at him.
"Because the request was never approved."
The room fell silent once again.
My heartbeat quickened.
If it wasn't approved...
then Stein had stayed.
At least for a while.
Which only created more questions.
Questions nobody seemed ready to answer.
I lowered my gaze, trying to organize my thoughts, but they only became more tangled.
Every answer seemed to create three new mysteries.
And somehow, everything still led back to the same person.
Stein.
The name felt heavier now than it had before.
Like it carried a story none of us fully understood.
Then the stranger reached into the folder again.
This time, he pulled out something much smaller.
A photograph.
My chest tightened immediately.
Because judging by the way he stared at it...
whatever was in that picture mattered.