Chapter 47

• As I sat there, attempting to eat my lunch, I found myself grappling with thoughts that felt like they were desperately flailing around, trying to grasp at any reasonable explanation for the peculiar atmosphere enveloping the cafeteria. I made an effort to ignore the stares of the kitchen staff and the other students, who had their eyes trained on me.
• Yet, I largely focused on resisting the unsettling effect of their less-than-accusatory glances.
• "Do you think she knows?" a voice floated over from the far side of the cafeteria, a girl's sharp whisper piercing through the ambient noise. Had my senses not been on high alert, I might have missed it completely, but the intensity of my awareness mustered a wave of willpower that kept me from turning my head sharply in her direction. Whoever she was, she clearly possessed insights about the unfolding situation that eluded me entirely.