-eng- Ariel Academy-s Secret School Festival -r... -

The fog didn’t lift—it parted , like a curtain being drawn back by invisible hands. Where the main academic building had stood moments ago, there was now a gateway. Not a door, exactly. More like a tear in the world, edges shimmering with impossible colors: purple that tasted like cinnamon, green that smelled like rain, gold that sounded like a lullaby.

Another year, another secret.

He felt like he finally belonged.

“Welcome,” said a voice Leo had never heard before, though it seemed to come from everywhere at once, “to the Secret School Festival.” Inside, the campus had transformed.

He looked up. Across the quad, the first-year kid was waving at him, grinning so wide his braces caught the morning sun. In the kid’s other hand, he held a small, glowing object—whatever had been behind the door. -ENG- Ariel Academy-s Secret School Festival -R...

“You’re thinking about it again,” said Mira Park, appearing at his elbow with a thermos of questionable tea. Mira was the only person at Ariel who knew Leo’s real secret: that he wasn’t supposed to be here at all. His acceptance letter had been a clerical error, one he’d never corrected.

“Leo—what are you doing?”

The kid stared at him. “But… why?”

“Memories. Talents. A year of your life.” She gestured to a booth where a hooded figure was carving sigils into a table. “The festival takes all kinds of payment.” The fog didn’t lift—it parted , like a

And everywhere, the wooden coins were being collected, traded, spent.