Roselle took a slow breath. "Have you heard anything about someone trying to impersonate me?"

  Ella barely blinked before shrugging. "Nope. And we’re not interested, either." She examined her nails with a bored look. "All we heard was that you got expelled like a total loser."

  Roselle’s fingers curled into fists. She really didn’t like the way Ella was talking down to her, like she was some piece of trash barely on the side of the road.

  Ella smirked and caught the tension in Roselle’s posture. "What? Gonna start a fight? Gonna prove all those rumors right?" She leaned forward slightly. "C’mon, do it. Give us something really fun to talk about."

  Roselle stayed silent but gritted her teeth.

  Ella waved her hand “No? Boring. Well, whatever. Now get lost. Boss Aruka ain’t interested in talking to you."

  Roselle didn’t move at first. For a brief second, she thought about pressing harder and demanding to see Aruka herself. But looking at Ella’s smug face, she knew it would be pointless.

  Roselle gave Ella a mean glare before walking away. Behind her, she heard a few snickers from Ella’s group, but she ignored them and went back to her own bench with Sarah,Tori and Michigo.

  Sarah and Tori exchanged glances.

  “Uh oh,” Sarah murmured. “Roselle looks mad.”

  Tori propped her chin on her hand. “Did Bossy Ella get on your nerves? Or was it Boss Aruka herself?”

  Michigo looked curious. “What happened over there?”

  Roselle stared up at the sky for a moment before shaking her head. “Ella wouldn’t take me seriously. She acted like I wasn’t worth their time. Said they weren’t interested and just repeated the rumor about my expulsion like it was some joke.”

  Sarah winced. “Oof. Yeah, that sounds like Ella.”

  Tori gave a deep sigh.“That girl could be drowning and still act like she’s on top of the world.”

  Michigo, however, frowned. “They shut you down that fast?”

  Roselle nodded. “Didn’t even let me ask properly. She just pushed more, like she wanted me to lash out.”

  Michigo hummed in thought. “Sounds like they know something but don’t want to talk.”

  Roselle blinked. “…You think so?”

  Michigo nodded.

  Roselle sat there, turning Michigo’s words over in her head.

  If Ella and Aruka did know something, how were they supposed to get it out of them? They clearly weren’t interested in a casual chat. Maybe it was a dead end anyway.

  Before she could think too hard on it—

  Smack!

  Something struck her forehead with a sharp thwap.

  Roselle lurched forward and gripped her head. “Ow! What the hell was that?! Felt like I got hit by a soccer ball—”

  A small piece of paper flopped onto the table in front of her.

  “…Oh.”

  Michigo reached out to rub the spot where Roselle got hit. “You’re so dramatic.”

  Roselle groaned. “It had force, okay?”

  Tori cackled. “Your reaction was way funnier than the actual hit.”

  Sarah, meanwhile picked up the paper and smoothed it out. Her eyes scanned it before she furrowed her brows. “…Uh. Guys? You might wanna see this.”

  She turned it so they could all read it.

  The message was hastily scrawled but clear:

  “Roselle. Stop asking questions to only the dumb people. It won’t end well. – Your Friendly Gamer, Hashta.”

  A memory flashed through Roselle’s mind.

  Bright green hair. A mischievous smirk. Cat-like headphones being snatched away by Principal Haverly while the girl pouted. The rhythmic tapping of buttons, the shared laughter—Gaming.

  Her fingers twitched. Hashta.

  Sarah’s voice pulled her back to the present.

  “Hashta’s one of our friends, remember? She’s fun—always cracking jokes. Bit of a wildcard, though.”

  Michigo crossed her arms. “She also hits Roselle too much.”

  Sarah shook her head. “It’s not violent hitting! It’s just, y’know—gaming stuff.”

  Michigo raised an eyebrow. “Gaming stuff?”

  Sarah nodded. “Like, when you lose a match and your friend smacks your arm, or when they land a sick combo and shove you while screaming ‘GET WRECKED!’”

  Michigo stared. “...That’s just hitting with extra steps.”

  Sarah groaned. “No, it’s bonding.”

  Tori chuckled. “Michigo, you’d get eaten alive in a gaming session.”

  Michigo scoffed. “If someone hits me, I hit back.”

  Roselle rubbed her temples. “So Hashta’s watching me. And she thinks I’m wasting time asking ‘dumb people’ for answers.”

  Sarah leaned forward. “Well, she’s got a point. Ella and Aruka weren’t exactly fountains of knowledge.”

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  Tori grinned. “The real question is—where is Hashta?”

  Roselle could say another word—

  RIIIIIIIING!

  The sharp blare of the school bell cut through their conversation.

  Tori groaned and stretched her arms. “Ughhh, stupid school, interrupting our detective work.”

  Sarah stood up and brushed off her skirt. “Guess we’ll have to find Hashta later.”

  Michigo rolled her shoulders. “No choice. Let’s go.”

  Roselle exhaled and slipped the crumpled note into her pocket.

  With that, the group split up and head back to their respective classes.

  Time slipped away like sand through fingers. Roselle sat at her desk with her chin propped up on her palm. Her teacher fell asleep right at the front of the classroom. A tiny trail of drool threatened to spill from his mouth.

  The students had given up on paying attention a long time ago. Some whispered in small groups, others doodled in their notebooks and a few bold ones had pulled out their phones under their desks.

  Tori, who shared the class with Roselle was busy crafting tiny paper airplanes and launching them across the room. One got a perfect spiral before landing in another student’s hair.

  Roselle sighed. If school was always like this, the people said it was a waste of time would be proven right.

  Then—

  RIIIIIIING!

  The final bell blared and when it did, some of the students grabbed their bags and sprinted for the door.

  Tori stretched. “Freedom!”

  Roselle stood up and stretched her arms before leaving the class.

  Roselle met up with Sarah and Michigo at the school gates. Tori stretched her arms over her head. “Welp, you guys have fun with… whatever this is. I gotta bounce. Gymnastics calls!”

  Roselle gave a small wave as Tori jogged off toward the gym.

  Michigo adjusted her schoolbag. “I’d love to help find Hashta, but I gotta hit Karate club. I’m this close to ranking up.” She held up two fingers. Barely apart. “One step away from blue belt.”

  Roselle blinked. “You’re still green?”

  Michigo squinted at her. “And what’s that supposed to mean, no belt?”

  “N-Nothing.” Roselle quickly corrected herself. “Just thought you’d be higher by now.”

  Michigo sighed. “Sensei’s tough. But I’ll get there.” She pointed at Roselle. “Don’t start anything crazy without me, got it?”

  Roselle smiled. “No promises.”

  Michigo groaned. “Ugh, why do I even try?” She turned to Sarah. “Watch her, will ya?”

  Sarah gave a lazy salute. “Aye aye, captain.”

  With that, Michigo took off toward the Karate club, leaving Roselle and Sarah behind.

  Roselle’s eyes narrowed. “Alright, time to find Hashta!” she declared.

  Sarah frowned slightly. “You know, they already found out a lot of information,” she said cautiously. “What if we just wait and tell Harty at the detective club meeting?”

  “That’s true, but…” Roselle’s hand reached into her pocket and she pulled out the crumpled note from “Your Friendly Gamer, Hashta”.

  “I need to talk to Hashta ASAP,” Roselle murmured.

  Roselle and Sarah moved through the school courtyard, stopping students here and there to ask about Hashta.

  “Hey, have you seen Hashta today?” Roselle asked a group of students leaning against the fence.

  One of them shrugged. “Hashta? Haven’t seen her since, like… last week.”

  Roselle frowned.

  Sarah tried the next group. “You guys know where Hashta hangs out after school?”

  A girl with glasses tilted her head. “No clue. She’s always been kinda random. Sometimes she chills in the computer lab, sometimes at the arcade, and other times she just vanishes.”

  “Wait, the arcade?” Roselle’s ears perked up. “You mean Silver Star Arcade?”

  The girl nodded. “Yeah. No idea if she still goes there though.”

  They kept asking around, but the answers were the same—nobody had seen Hashta at school. To Roselle, it felt like she was dropped off the face of the earth.

  Sarah sighed. “This is weird. She sent you that note, but she’s nowhere to be found?”

  Roselle’s gripped her bag that was on her shoulders. “Yeah… Something’s definitely up.”

  Roselle crossed her arms. "We should check out this Silver Star Arcade place, then. I remember where it is."

  The moment she said that though, doubt crept in. ‘Do I?’

  It was strange—she thought she knew, like a memory half-formed but before she could dwell on it, she noticed Sarah’s face had changed.

  Fear.

  A deep, unsettled kind.

  “…Wait. Did you just say Silver Star Arcade?” Sarah’s spoke barely above a whisper.

  Roselle blinked. “Yeah? What’s wrong?”

  Sarah’s face tightened. For a second, she looked like she was going to say words; however, her face changed just as quickly into a forced smile. “N-Nothing! Just… surprised, that’s all.”

  Liar.

  Roselle wasn’t an expert in reading people, but Sarah wasn’t even trying to hide it well. Her friend was nervous. That made Roselle even more determined to go.

  The duo made their way toward the Silver Star Arcade. They passed by a small park—one Roselle barely paid attention to before.

  But this time, something else caught her attention.

  Sarah’s face. Just like the other day, she was sweating.

  Roselle narrowed her eyes. “You know, you can’t hide it.”

  Sarah flinched.

  “You’re nervous about something,” Roselle pressed. “What is it?”

  Sarah bit her lip and kept walking.

  Roselle reached out and grabbed Sarah’s wrist firmly. “Sarah.”

  Sarah stopped for a minute. Then, she spoke. “…I just…I don’t think going there is a good idea. It’s…a bad place…”

  Roselle’s frowned. “Sarah, someone’s pretending to be me, doing shady stuff and leaving my name in places I’ve never even been. If this arcade has something to do with it, tell me. ”

  Sarah’s eyes darted around. Then, in a low tone, she muttered:

  “It’s bad because people do…’it’ there… Yeah… that’s it…”

  Roselle’s mouth fell open.

  Sarah quickly waved her hands in front of her. “Just… avoid the back rooms,” she said while flashing a non-convincing toothy smile.

  Roselle narrowed her eyes. “Okay… I didn’t know you were into watching that kind of stuff.”

  Sarah nearly choked on air. “I’M NOT!” she shouted. Her face went beet red. “It was an accident, okay? A complete, total, horrible accident!”

  Roselle smirked. “Uh-huh. Sure.”

  Sarah groaned and covered her face with her hands.“ I’m trying to give you a serious warning here!”

  Roselle raised an eyebrow.

  Sarah peeked through her fingers before sighing. “Look, just don’t go wandering into places that say ‘Employees Only,’ okay?”

  Roselle and Sarah finally arrived at the Silver Star Arcade after several more minutes. The neon lights from the entrance, laughter, game machines and excited chatter was all about.

  Sarah looked around curiously. “There’s a big crowd today …”

  Roselle raised both of her fists up to her face. “Let’s see if we can find Hashta in this crowd!”

  Roselle and Sarah ventured into the arcade past groups of excited players and flashing game screens.

  Then, Roselle’s eyes landed on a little girl gripping the steering wheel of a Jet Boat Racing arcade game.

  The girl’s face was scrunched in deep concentration. The screen showed her boat skimming across the virtual waves, dodging obstacles—until she wasn’t.

  WIPEOUT!

  The words flashed in big, bold red letters, accompanied by the sound of a virtual crash. The girl’s lips trembled.

  Something about the scene felt… oddly familiar.

  And then it hit her.

  A memory.

  She was smaller. Her hands were even tinier than the girl’s in front of her. She remembered sitting on a booster seat, legs swinging trying to control a Jet Boat Racing game. The thrill of speed, the excitement of overtaking other racers—it was all so much fun.

  Until it wasn’t.

  WIPEOUT!

  The game blared the failure screen.

  Her heart had dropped. Her face had scrunched up, just like the girl in front of her now. And then—tears. She had turned in her seat and reached up with grabby hands.

  "Mommyyyyy…!"

  Warm arms had lifted her. A soft hand had patted her back.

  “It’s okay, sweetie. It’s just a game.”

  The memory faded as quickly as it came, leaving Roselle blinking back into reality.

  The little girl sniffled but stubbornly swiped at her eyes and reached into her pockets for another coin to try again.

  Roselle exhaled. A small smile appeared on her lips. She then turned to Sarah—

  Except… Sarah wasn’t there.

  Roselle’s shoulders stiffened. “Sarah?”

  No answer.

  She spun in place and scanned the crowd.

  Nothing.

  Her hands balled into fists.

  “Sarah, where did you go already?!” she half-stammered and half-growled under her breath.

  One second, they were standing together. The next, Sarah had just vanished.

  This arcade was packed, sure, but Sarah wouldn’t just leave like that… right?

  Roselle began to move through the crowd of people in the arcade when she accidentally bumped into a group of guys who were engaged in discussion. The guys turned their attention to her with angry looks.

  Roselle stiffened. She could feel their eyes drilling into her like she’d just stepped on their prized game console.

  ‘This…isn’t…good.’