The Case of the Varnished Trainee

irls Block B,

d a hole in my pocket

t eat.

chorus: What did he leave behin

ch lab. But there was one place they never checked - the old dan

lace in VAERA tha

e others rehearsed in S

Block D, S

then kicked open the cabinet door to the forgotten tech booth. A single computer

ed in t

inked

n t

der opened

FINAL_BACKUP

lse t

lic

led with stati

i

hadowed, hair pushed back in a mess

oice said, low and shaking. "They're gonna say I

directly at

didn

then returned. His breat

thing about my old audition tape. About my parents. Abo

don't know who 'Z' is - or if that's even their real name -

e knew. But he's not the same anymore. I don't know if he's scared or involved

ng logs. Look at showcase night rehearsal foot

Then: "Don't tr

ic

een wen

re, hands froz

Zion wer

h 10th. Jiwon. Coach Tae

- and every flag pointed

door creak

d shoved it into my boot just a

le

cou

– Block

ssed. His VAERA sweatshirt was unzipped halfway, a

own. "You foll

ike you is doing in a locked st

nch. "Watchi

narrowed.

pped. "He didn't leave. He w

d smell citrus and heat and something c

ow. "You think you've found something, but y

Zion mean? Why would he say not to tr

aw fl

acked off - slowly - and said,

eed

curfew. Practice R

disappeared do

.m. – S

louder. Too sharp. The lights

nd throwing side-eyes like they

, u good? from a

t my hands w

was r

oxic - it was dangerous. And now

. – Pract

ways were dark. Only red exit ligh

side entrance and in

as e

ts flicked o

... different. Like all the gloss had peeled off. Lik

ame,"

how up for

lowly, then hand

sage

fts. Dozen

ressed

now they'd g

ey'd expose m

sor

d at the corn

d him," I

Just for a second.