GENERAL EDUCATION BUILDING: AUDITORIUM

The main classroom was easy for us to find: the building's entrance area consisted only of a small staircase on our right and a large hallway leading to big, intimidating doors. After walking through the doors, we found ourselves at the side of an auditorium filled with at least a hundred seats.

The entrance was in about the middle of the room, with seats arrayed to our right and left. To our right, the room sloped upwards, ending in a door to what appeared to be a projection room. To our left, it sloped downward until it leveled off in a lecture area, with a table, a computer, and a large, white screen hanging down against the wall.

Rocky sat near the back of the room, wearing his headphones and looking oblivious to the world. Therion sat a few seats away, staring straight ahead. I noticed Morgan sitting near the front, but Morgan sat next to him, ranting about something angrily, so I decided it was best to avoid that area. I led Katy and Emily to a cluster of seats near the middle of the room and sat; Emily and I next to each other, with Katy a row behind.

The seats were cushy and new, but their comfort actually felt kind of eerie somehow, like it was incongruous with the energy in the room.

Emily noticed, too. "My word, what a strange feeling," she said, shivering slightly. "I feel... alone, somehow. Or exposed? Something."

Katy was about to reply, but at that moment, Juliet walked in, and that occupied Katy's attention pretty fully. Juliet was flanked by JP, Earl, and Jane, who all looked pretty unhappy about one another. Juliet, totally oblivious about any potential tension, waved to me cheerfully and led her little group to some seats near the front.

"Who is that?" Katy breathed, her eyes practically popping out of her skull.

"Juliet. Um, I kind of think she's a longshot for you. She seems pretty traditional."

"You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take, my dear," Katy said, a dreamy smile settling on her face. "Introduce me after class, okay?"

Emily scrunched up her forehead in thought. "Actually, you miss zero percent of the shots you don't take, right? You can't miss a shot that doesn't exist."

Katy squinted at her. "Every shot that doesn't exist is a miss."

"No!" Emily actually seemed kind of legit bothered about this. "That would mean everyone is missing shots all the time they're not shooting. There's an infinite possible shots, but we don't infinitely miss."

Katy glanced at me, then back at Emily. "The point is just that you can't succeed if you don't try."

"Oh." Emily tilted her head slightly. "Well, you could by accident, though, right...?"

"Romance isn't logical, Emily!"

Very luckily, I heard a friendly greeting, and I looked up to see that Lucina, Bepi, and Rodrigo were standing in the aisle waving to me. I beckoned them over.

Rodrigo sat next to me, hesitantly tapping the cushion with his foot before doing so. When he settled in the seat, though, he grinned. "What wonderous ducks you must have here to produce such soft down!" he exclaimed.

Katy jumped to her feet, took Lucina's hand, and led her over to sit next to her. I tried to ignore that and focused instead on introducing everyone who hadn't met one another.

The seats had desks attached that you could pull up and set in front of you, so Lucina set hers up, placed her notebook on it, and wrote me a message: What did you find out?

I explained everything I had encountered, especially describing the graffiti, which it turned out no one else had seen. While I was doing that, Nicole walked in and, surprisingly, sat down next to Therion.

As soon as she sat, a deafening burst of feedback blared from a hidden speaker, and Monokuma literally fell down from the ceiling and landed in the middle of the table at the front of the class.

He rubbed his behind (why would he mimic experiencing pain? I vaguely wondered) and then scrambled to his feet. "Attention, students!" he shouted. "Class will now begin!"

There was some scattered chatter from the room, but a shrill voice shrieked from the front row, "The instructor is speaking! Give him your full attention!" I noticed a beret barely sticking up from a seat; Ashley had been here the whole time and I hadn't noticed.

Monokuma put his hands on his hips, annoyed. "You are grown-ups now, and so it's your choice to pay attention or to goof off and suffer the consequences," he snapped. "But I'm afraid that this introductory session is an exception. So all of you suckers listen to me and shut up!" He leaned forward, scowling. "I said, listen to me!"

I glanced around; most students were staring at him in bafflement. But in the back row, Rocky had on his headphones and was just nodding his head to some beat.

Monokuma climbed down off the table and scurried halfway up the aisle. "Listen to me!" he repeated. Rocky just stared off into the distance, bopping his head.

That was when Monokuma pulled out a shotgun, aimed it at Rocky's chest, and fired.

The moments after the deafening blast felt like they were in slow motion. Horrible ringing in my ears could not completely block the groaning and grunting that came from Rocky as he clutched his chest, doubled over in his seat. No one else moved but Bepi, who shot to his feet, and Rodrigo, who was still frozen in his seat but whose body tensed like a large cat about to pounce.

"Do I have your attention now?!" Monokuma shouted. He spun to glare grinningly at the rest of us. "Oh, I'm sorry, should I have provided a trigger warning?" His voice dripped with vicious sarcasm. "Well, warning: You might get shot with a gun after I pull the trigger on it."

Rocky still twitched in his seat. "Huugggnnnnghhh," he groaned. "NnggggggodDAMMIT, dude, that HURT!" He rubbed his chest tenderly.

Monokuma rested the shotgun barrel against his shoulder and strolled back down the aisle to the front. "Huh, it was a beanbag round this time," he mused. "You never know with me. I'm kooky like that."

He reached the front and jumped up on the table. "Now, listen up! You're all here for the School of Ultimates program, right?"

"Right!" Ashley answered.

"Well, it's an accelerated program for exceptional students," Monokuma continued. "But the thing we haven't told you yet is that exactly how accelerated depends on you. You could graduate today, or you could graduate in ten years. It depends."

"What the hell does that mean?" JP called out. "How do we graduate?"

"Pu hu hu hu!" There was that awful laugh again. "You only have one class, here. Once you pass it, you graduate. And the class is... The Killing Game."

Barrett stood up, apparently unbothered by the shotgun pointed at him. "What the fuck you talking about?"

"Everybody look to your left," Monokuma replied. "Now, look to your right. Statistically speaking, both of the people you were looking at will be gone by the time this program ends. Only a small number of students make it to the end of The Killing Game. Sometimes, it's only one."

The ringing in my ears and my pounding heart were all I could focus on, but there was suddenly pandemonium; I heard shouts from what sounded like Barrett, Jane, and Nicole. Katy huddled onto Lucina in fear, Emily was crying, Rodrigo mumbled a prayer.

Six quick shotgun blasts silenced the room. Monokuma stood there, pointing the gun straight up, as pieces of ceiling tile and security camera rained down on him. "I know how you spoiled brats were raised. Everyone gets a trophy, right? Well, this is the real world, and in the real world, you don't get to hide away from ideas just because you don't like them! You wont limit my free speech by deplatforming a poor bear who just wants you to kill your friends!"

Even Barrett looked too shocked to act. Monokuma giggled again. "The Killing Game is very simple. Anyone who murders a classmate becomes eligible to graduate. After an investigation period, we will have a class trial where you will discuss the murder. At the end of the trial, you will all vote for who you think the killer is. If a majority of you is correct, the killer will be executed. But otherwise... the killer graduates and all other students are executed."

Emily looked like she couldn't breathe. I put my hand on her shoulder and she gripped my arm tightly.

"...Murder?" Juliet croaked.

"Murder! That's right, there are no safe spaces here at New Hope University! By which I mean there are literally no spaces where you will be safe, because everyone's going to be trying to kill you!"

"Wait," Barrett grunted. "So... this is Saw? We're in fucking Saw?"

"No!" Monokuma shrieked, waving his arms around. "This is very different from Saw!"

"Fuckin' sounds like Saw to me."

"It's not..."

"Excuse me." A clear, confident voice spoke up from the back of the classroom. I turned to see Therion, looking forward with interest. "How long does this go on?"

"As long as it takes! Well... actually, a killing game gets kind of silly with only three or four students left, so when we get to that point, we just make you write a big paper, or something."

Therion frowned. "Your rules are ambiguous. What counts as murder?"

Monokuma shook his head. "We'll cross these bridges when we come to them."

Therion blinked. "No, not reasonable. Have to know, or we can't plan."

Somehow, this was the most frightening thing I'd heard yet. His calmness, while saying he might make plans to...

"Murder is murder!" Monokuma shouted. "Don't make this all complicated."

"He's right," Ashley agreed. "What about accidents? Are you operating under the principles of mens rea? What about self defense?"

"Only intentional murders allow you to graduate!" Monokuma answered. "Accidents and suicides are the fault of the victim. But there will still be a trial and you'll still have to guess right! Self-defense is decided on a case-by-case basis."

"What if attack is intentional, but didn't want to cause death?" Therion asked. "Or..."

"Look, I'll work with you," Monokuma promised. "I want you to graduate! It's my job to turn children into productive adults, after all!" He jumped down and picked up a cardboard box on the floor and flung it up into the air, sending the contents spread out all over the room.

Somehow, a black tablet landed directly in my lap. I looked closer and saw it had my name on it.

"These are your personal Kumaputors! They have all the basic information you need. Don't lose them!"

There was a pause as some of us looked at our tablets and some of us just sat in shocked silence.

"What if I get someone else to kill a third person?" Ashley asked. "Am I the murderer, or is it the person who pulled the trigger?"

Monokuma stomped his foot. "The one who pulled the trigger. As long as they did it on purpose. I'm leaving before you ask me any more dumb questions!" And he jumped up in the air impossibly high and disappeared back into the ceiling.

I sat there numbly for I don't know how long. Various classmates were yelling at one another, but I couldn't bring myself to listen. I just stared at the blank tablet screen in my lap and tried to will myself into another reality.

I found myself picturing chess board layouts that were stalemates. One after another after another. They flashed in the reflections on the blank screen.

That could be us, right? Living in stalemate forever?

A felt a soft hand on my shoulder and I jumped in surprise. Lucina looked down at me, sadly. I glanced around, and most of the others had left during my reverie. Only Katy, Lucina, and Morgan were left.

"Oh..." I shook my head. "I kind of... zoned out." My voice was rough, like I hadn't spoken for weeks. "What happened?"

Lucina handed me a note: Juliet made everyone promise not to play the game. Even A and T. Some were very upset; RD and EM took them back to the dorm.

I nodded, grateful that some of my classmates were the leaders I couldn't be. "Are we all going to die?"

"No!" Katy barked, but Lucina didn't look so sure.

Morgan coughed. "Um, another thing? I found something." He held up his tablet. "Look at the school rules, under the main menu. See number 11?"

I turned on my tablet and poked around until I found the general rules. Most were either mundane or horrible killing game rules Monokuma had already said, but number 11... "Any student who successfully escapes from campus will be withdrawn from all classes and no longer considered a student of New Hope University."

We all looked at one another. "We can escape...?" I whispered.

"The rule wouldn't exist if we couldn't, right?" Katy answered.

I nodded, feeling determination tingle through my body. "Okay. We have a goal now."

DORM: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY

I decided that I needed time by myself after everything, so I excused myself to go to my suite for a nap. As I stepped off the elevator, I suddenly realized I did not know exactly which door was mine, and I worried I wouldn't know how to get back. But I glanced and saw names written on the doors as I passed them: Therion Suarez, Giuseppe Perfetto, Ashley Coelho...

I rounded the corner, approaching the general area my suite was. I hesitated when I saw Jane standing in front of me, staring at a door and frowning. She glanced at me and harumphed.

I felt awkward as I neared her; she just stared at a door, which I realized was her own. She was next-door to me, actually. I nodded to her and tried to smile in a friendly way, but her haughty expression made me wither.

But after a moment, she relaxed; it looked like it took a huge amount of effort. "Saya," she greeted. "Be a dear and help me with a brief experiment, would you?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"

"Thank you. Would you try to open the door to your own suite?"

Puzzled, I walked out and grasped the handle to my door. Immediately, a small green light blinked, and I found myself able to turn the handle and push the door inwards.

"All right, thank you," Jane said. "Now, could you try to open my door?"

I grabbed the handle to her room. A red light blinked on, and the door was immovable.

Jane nodded. "All right, final test. Open your door, but don't let your skin touch the handle. Use your sweater."

I was curious, too. Careful not to stretch it out, I placed my hand inside my sweater and grasped the door handle through it. Nothing happened, and the door remained locked.

Jane frowned. "As I thought. The key to your room is your own DNA. Absolutely mad technology." She attempted a friendly smile. "All right, we're done. Thank you."

I looked at her, standing in the middle of the hallway, pointedly not going into her room. I glanced at the long gloves covering her arms, then back up at her face. "We're done," she said again. "Thank you."

Was she so embarrassed about taking off her gloves that she wouldn't go into her room until I left? It wasn't my business, but I suddenly felt very sad for her, still desperately trying to maintain her haughty demeanor in such a position.

I wanted to try something. I pointedly walked to my door, maintaining eye contact with Jane. I pulled up my sleeve and poked my bare elbow against the handle. When the light turned green, I grabbed the handle and opened the door. Nodding goodbye to Jane, I stepped into my suite.

DORM: SAYA'S ROOM

The first thing I noticed was that the message on the wall had already been spackled over. I turned on my tablet and saw that it was still technically morning; I felt like it had been months and months since I had woken up here.

I collapsed into my bed. I wanted nothing to be real.

Would there really be murders? I really liked some of the people I'd met. I could feel myself starting to become friends with them. Was it possible that one of them could try to kill me? Would Morgan or Bepi or Lucida...

My tablet beeped. Groaning, I reached over and turned it on; a grinning Monokuma-face appeared next to a text box. It read: MONOMAIL! Class will be held daily at 10:30 am in the main auditorium! There will be no tests, and you are not required to attend. I'm not your nanny!

I tossed my tablet aside. More nonsense, more torture.

I closed my eyes and remembered, move-for-move, the game I'd had a few months before with the four year-old Taiwanese boy. I had won. I tried to calculate the ways he could have beaten me. Pieces flashed on the board like numbers in a matrix, fainter and fainter and fainter.

The next thing I knew, there was a pounding on the door. I blearily rolled over, grunting, and crankily forced myself onto my feet. I walked to the door, mumbling.

I reached out to open it, and something made me stop. I pulled back my hand. "Who's there?" I called.

A slightly amused man's voice replied. "Giuseppi."

I found myself smiling. "Giuseppi who?"

There was a pause, then: "Please Giuseppi my apology."

I opened the door. Bepi stood there, grinning. Juliet and Rodrigo were with him, looking baffled by our exchange. "We wanted to check out the cafeteria for dinner," Bepi said. "Try to make this all feel as normal as possible. Come?"

I nodded, suddenly realizing I was starving. I stepped out of my room and we started walking to the elevators.

STUDENT STORES: CAFETERIA

Once we had stepped into the building, thee aroma of cooking food greeted us. As we entered the cafeteria, I saw that the panels in the wall were open and delicious-looking food sat there, waiting for us. But even more than that, I noticed Earl Morale literally standing on a table in the middle of the room, shouting boisterously.

"Friends and allies!" His voice boomed like an explosion. "We can't simply sit and argue like nattering children! We must find the leaders of this corrupt institution and seize control!" All the other students stood around him with various degrees of skepticism (the only one I didn't see was Ashley, but whether that was because of her absence or just being lost in the crowd, I couldn't tell).

"Speak for yourself!" Rocky argued. "Motherfucker's got shotguns!"

Nicole grimaced. "I touched one of the fences, and a flame thrower popped up and pointed at me, like Robocop! Wherever the people planning this are, they're probably protected."

"I would never claim some of us won't be incinerated," Earl said. "In war, there are always come casualties. But if we harness our strength, we can be the victors!"

"You don't know that," Emily fretted. "We don't even know where to go or what to do. Whoever's running this might be a thousand miles away!"

"This is bullshit," Barrett grumbled. "I want this place burned to the ground, but I'm not following some military fucker to do it!"

Earl looked to Bepi and Rodrigo for help. "My comrades-in-arms, stand with me! We must find the head of the snake and cut it off!"

Rodrigo looked baffled, but he shook his head. "This world is strange and unknowable to me. I will protect those around me at all costs, but I cannot aggress against an enemy I do not understand."

Bepi just shrugged. "I agree with Tank Guy, but I don't like throwing untrained civilians in the middle of a fight."

"Yeeah, man," JP agreed. "I took tae kwon do when I was a kid, but I can't fight robocop flame throwers."

I was feeling overwhelmed. I took a step forward and called out, "Hey!" ignoring the heat in my face and neck a everyone turned to look at me. "Um. This fighting isn't doing any good. Can we take a step back, here?" Encouraged by their continued silence, the volume of my voice increased. "From what I can tell, we have three options. Right? We can try to find the people running this..."

"Decapitate the snake!" Earl shouted.

"...yes." I nodded to him as diplomatically as I could. "We could do that, we could try to escape, or we could... actually participate in this killing game." I looked around at everyone's serious faces. "And... and we all agree to not play the game, right?"

Some people nodded and some people glanced at Therion, who had been coolly watching from the sidelines. He tilted his head slightly. "I didn't want to know the rules to play the game," he explained. "Wanted to know the rules so I could break the game."

Juliet looked around hopefully. "So... so officially, we all agree?"

"Fuck you," Barrett spat. "I don't promise a thing. But I ain't stupid, either. I'll save my explosives for the fuckers running this place."

I figured that was as good as we were going to get, with him. "What about Ashley?" Katy asked.

"What about me?!"

I turned to see Ashley standing in the doorway, glaring crankily at us all. She stormed towards the food and grabbed a single banana, which she peeled and began eating with tiny bites.

"We're talking about the killing game," Nicole clarified.

Ashley glared. "I have big plans after school," she snapped. "I'm not going to let any of you slow me down. I came here to excel, and if you didn't come here to do the same thing, then you might as well just get killed." She dropped her banana, half-eaten, into a garbage can, then turned back to us. "But. The rules clearly state escape is an option, I can't win if I'm the only one playing, and I can't intern in Congressman Hart's office like I plan if I'm still stuck in here next summer." She scrambled up a chair and then a table to stand next to Earl. "So let's work together!"

Bizarrely, I felt pretty encouraged by all that. "We still haven't agreed if we want to go after the masterminds or try to escape," I said. "But I don't think it matters at this point, right? Either way, the first step is to fully explore the area, make as complete a map as we can, and document what we have at our disposal."

"Indeed!" Earl enthused. He clapped Ashley on the back, nearly sending her hurtling to the floor. "Coelho and I are the leaders! Wild is the strategist! We can't possibly be defeated!"

"This is bollocks," Barrett grunted.

"I have a suggestion," Bepi spoke up. "Some of us may... work best independently. But given the circumstances, it's important to take steps to keep everyone honest." He glanced around. "If there is a killing, the more time that passes, the harder it will be to determine the culprit."

"Stop talking about killings," Katy protested. "No one's going to kill anyone!"

Bepi just looked at her, then he swept his gaze back around the room. "Nonetheless. I suggest that twice a day, we all meet in the same place. If someone doesn't come, we'll know something is wrong. I suggest breakfast and dinner, because we have a reason to be here, anyway. Say, 9:30 and 6:30?"

"Fuck that!" That was Barrett, of course. "I'm not eating when you say!"

"That's a poor decision," Ashley squeaked. "Think about it. If you come to the meals, then you can just leave when you want. But if you don't, then every single morning and evening, we'll have to come find you. Consider which would be more annoying."

Barrett narrowed his eyes at her, then just threw his hands up in the air and stomped over to the food. He grabbed a plate of french fries, shoved a handful into his mouth, and stormed out of the room.

"...Was that a yes or a no?" Jane asked.

"Clearly, it was a yes!" Earl enthused. "No one can argue with my lovely co-leader! That's why I chose her!"

Ashley looked, maybe for the first time in her life, speechless. Her blush somehow seemed larger than her entire body.

"Hey, can we eat, already?" Nicole asked.

"Excellent idea!" Oblivious to his co-leader's state, Earl hopped off the table and strode over to the food. "I insist that we eat dinner!"

We all sat, scattered around the cafeteria, enjoying our admittedly delicious dinner. Somehow, I ended up sitting with Therion and Rocky. I had thought to bring them out of their shells a little, but I had drastically overestimated their desire to speak.

Still, I tried. "Um. So, Rocky, you told me you were from New York. Where are you from, Therion?"

Therion did not look up from his food. "San Juan."

"Oh!" I smiled as warmly as I could. "I'm from Miami, so I went to school with several people from San Juan."

"That's plausible," Therion replied. "I believe you."

There was an awkward pause. "How did you get into game design?" I asked.

Therion stared at my face, as if looking for some sort of trick. Finally, he just said, "Used to get angry. Big problem. Fights." He glanced to the side, poking at his food idly. "Loved games. Discovered that thinking about the rules of games kept anger away. Do it all the time, now."

Rocky laughed. "Dude, I'm the same way! Tiniest little thing sets me off. But I'm the opposite; if I start thinking, it makes everything worse. I need some beats to drown out my thoughts."

Therion blinked languidly in what I later realized was an expression of surprise. "Not too different, actually. Rhythm is a structure. Games are structure, too."

I leaned forward. "I've always wondered this. What is a game? Why is chess a game but... but say making music isn't?"

"No good definition," Therion replied. "Boring question anyway. Games are games. More interesting is what makes a fun game. Fun games need limitations to avoid chaos and pointlessness, but no limitations that frustrate." He tilted his head at me. "If every chess piece could move to every square, that's stupid. No game. But if player can only ever make a single move, it's annoying. No one will play."

"That is like music!" Rocky exclaimed. "I mean, kinda. A good house song... it's about bringing in all the layers, one at a time, and then putting them together so the listener's like 'whoa, it makes sense!' But you gotta mix it up, too, because if you're too rigid, you can't surprise anyone."

Therion nodded. "Think this game... this bear game. It's a bad game. Too open-ended. A house song that wouldn't make sense."

Rocky grinned. "Hey, like what I said!" He clapped Therion on the back, which clearly did not go over well, though Therion tried his best to hide it.

I, meanwhile, had no reason to hide my smile. These two hadn't made great first impressions, but I was feeling much better about having them around. "I'm still curious, even though you say it's a boring question. What's the most basic game? Like, what's the most stripped-down thing that is still a game?"

Therion opened his mouth to reply, but a series of beeps sounded throughout the room. I glanced down at my tablet.

"Hey!" a voice screeched from across the room. "Did you get my email?"

I jumped to my feet. Monokuma was there, standing on the dessert table, staring at us. "Your kumaputors beep when you get a monomail!"

"I don't think any of us are going to ever say either of those words," Jane remarked.

"Quiet!" Monokuma snapped. "This is why we have to do this! Your generation never learned respect! So that's why this is your official announcement about your chores this week!"

I pulled out my tablet and looked at the email. MONOMAIL! Your assignment this week is: mowing the central quad. Failure to complete chores without a recognized excuse will result in horrifying torture!

"What the hell is this?" JP moaned in despair.

"In my day, we had chores," Monokuma snapped. "We didn't just face-gram on our phones all day! So you're going to do your part to keep the campus clean! We'll rotate every week, and maybe by the end of the year, you'll all have built some character. Or be dead."

Ashley's trembling hand rose. "Dean Monokuma, this says I need to wash the windows, but I couldn't possibly reach all of them. What can I do?"

Monokuma danced over to her and patted her on the head. "Oh, don't worry, my dear student. I'll meet with you individually tomorrow to show you where to find your supplies."

Therion raised his hand. "Killing game question. What happens if two people get murdered at the same time? Or if someone gets murdered during an investigation? Do we have to catch the first murderer or the second murderer?"

"Murder is first-come, first-served! The second murder doesn't count."

"Wait." Therion just stared. "That means, right after someone is murdered, new murders are free. Someone could just shoot me right in front of everyone, and no punishment."

Monokuma nodded. "Do I look like the sort of bear who has a problem with free murder?"

"Oh." Jane looked at him coolly, clasping her arms across her stomach. "What if, say, I stab someone, and then someone else stabs that same person, and then the victim bleeds to death. Who's the killer?"

Monokuma glared as well as he could with his teddy-bear eyes. "Whoever's attack drew more blood. Stop asking questions!" He did a little pirouette and posed angrily. "Ha-cha! Goodight! Remember, class tomorrow is at 10:30! The topic this term will be World History and also Potential Ways to Escape from Campus!"

"Wait, what...?" JP cried, but the bear was already gone.

We all looked around at each other, open-mouthed. "Potential ways to escape?" Emily murmured.

I knew what they said about things too good to be true. But at that moment, anything good was welcome.

STUDENT STORES: ENTRANCE

As I walked out of the hallway, Morgan ran up to me, waving. "Hey!" he said. "Help me check something out, okay?"

I blinked. "Um, sure."

He led me to a door under the nearby stairicase. He pushed it open to reveal a small hallway with just a water fountain and a large set of elevator doors. There was only one button next to the elevator; an arrow pointed down.

Morgan walked to the button and pushed it. The doors lurched open revealing a large, rather dirty elevator car.

"I found this before dinner," Morgan explained as we got on and began to descend. "Where do you think it might go?"

I shrugged. "Monokuma mentioned equipment for our chores. Maybe this is where it's stored?" I almost found myself believing this could be some secret way out, but I knew it couldn't possibly be so easy.

UNDERGROUND PASSAGE: STUDENT STORES ENTRANCE

The doors opened to reveal a dank, underlit hallway leading straight ahead. We stepped off and I felt an inadvertent shiver. The walls were rusty metal, and the floor just stained concrete. Dripping could be heard from somewhere, and ahead of us, lights flickered on and off, buzzing.

"Kinda spooky down here," I remarked as we set off down the hallway. Morgan just nodded, his multicolored hair swooshing across his forehead.

We walked slowly. I suddenly became aware that I was alone in a dark, secluded place with a very nice and handsome boy who I didn't actually know at all and who had been given reasons to murder me. I glanced at him nervously. "Hey," I began, "you were telling me earlier about the people who recruited us. They believed in you." He nodded tersely. "Um. Well, what do you think now?"

He stopped walking and sighed. "I still feel that way," he said. "I think this... game can't possibly be from the people who run this university."

I thought about that. "Who is it, then?"

"I don't know. Someone who took over. Listen to Monokuma when he talks. He hates us. But the people who recruited us don't feel that way. They love us. They made a whole program for us to learn how to thrive."

I frowned. "You still trust in them?"

"I have to," he said. Then he repeated, "I have to." He looked away for a moment. "The world has a place for everyone. I know it."

Suddenly, he burst out into a coughing fit, deep and horrible. I took a step back in alarm. The fit subsided and he clutched his chest, breathing deeply. Finally, he chuckled. "Sorry. Dusty down here."

We resumed walking, and his gait was easy and calm. Everything seemed fine.

UNDERGROUND PASSAGE: JUNCTION

We got to a 4-way junction, dark hallways spreading out ahead and to the side. The setting was especially unpleasant here: there was a grate in the middle of the floor, rivulets of dirty water oozing toward it. The space was rather large and well-lit, but that just showed off how gross everything looked.

"I'm getting less optimistic this is a way out," I remarked. Morgan nodded grimly. He shrugged and started walking straight ahead; I followed cautiously.

At the end of the hallway, ahead of us, we could see another elevator, very similar to the one we'd come down.

GYMNASIUM: WEIGHT ROOM

The bell dinged cheerily and the doors opened to reveal a modern-looking weight room. "It's nice to be out of the tunnel," I said, "but this is just the gym, isn't it?"

Morgan nodded. "Four hallways, meeting in the middle. That tunnel must run under the quad to connect all four buildings." He sighed. "Sorry, Saya. I thought that was going to be cooler."

I smiled. "No, it was a good discovery! We might need it!" I stretched and felt my shoulder pop slightly. "Now that I'm here, I think I'm going to try to get a run in. Do you want to get a workout, too?"

Morgan blanched. "Uhh... exercise? No thanks. But have fun!" He gave his handsome, childlike smile again. Then he just looked at me and said, "I think I trust you." Without saying anything else, he just walked right out of the room.

I decided not to think about it.

GYMNASIUM: CARDIO ROOM

The gym was a bit of a maze, but it wasn't long before I found a cabinet full of gym clothes and a place to change. I found the treadmills, and I ran.

I ran and ran and ran, and when I was done, I knew I overdid it. I was a sweaty mess, and my muscles felt tired in a way I'd almost never experienced. But it was worth it.

I took a quick shower (soap and shampoo provided, luckily!) and tossed my used clothes and towels into the laundry bin. I felt awful but in kind of a perfect way; no thoughts, just aching.

GYMNASIUM: ENTRANCE

On my way out, I noticed the lights on in the yoga studio where I'd found Katy and Emily. I glanced through the glass door and I saw someone sitting in the middle of the room, legs crossed. They were facing away from me, but the dark-blue and black ponytail showed me who it was.

On an impulse, I lightly knocked on the door and went inside.

GYMNASIUM: YOGA STUDIO

Lucina turned to me in surprise, but her stanced relaxed when she saw it was me. She patted the floor next to her. I tried not to look too closely at her welcoming smile, and I sat down where she indicated.

"Yoga?" I asked.

She shook her head. I noticed she didn't have her notebook with her. She pressed her palms together like a shaolin monk and closed her eyes serenely.

"Meditating?"

She nodded, looking happy I understood.

"I'm sorry to interrupt..." I began, but she shook her head. "Okay." We sat together for a moment.

"I have a hard time meditating," I admitted. "My mind tends to just want to run off on its own. Chess, mostly, but sometimes just numbers or ideas or... whatever. It used to make me really anxious. My parents were really worried about me, you know?" Her expression flickered slightly, and I froze. "Um. Anyway, I started running, and I think I kind of meditate when I'm doing that. I try to work out as much as I can."

She gave me a skeptical look, and I laughed. "Hey, don't give me that." I flexed a pathetic little bicep muscle. "I'm weak, but I have good endurance! I can go all night long, practically!" Her expression flickered again, and I cursed myself. I kept saying these wrong things to this poor, shy girl!

We sat for an awkward moment. I coughed. "I guess I should go," I said stiffly, and then I stood up. "Um. Anyway, good to see you."

She blinked, then nodded. Her face was drawn and serious. She looked lonely.

"There's a chess set in my room," I said, surprising myself. "Do you want to play a game?"

She looked surprised, but quickly nodded with an almost giddy enthusiasm. I helped her up to her feet.

DORM: SAYA'S ROOM

We didn't just play one game of chess; we played many. I tried to go easy on her, but I just couldn't sugarcoat it: the chick was BAD.

Still, she laughed and smiled every time, shaking her fist in mock-fury when I won. She still didn't have her notebook, but she seemed happy to just listen as I yammered about the dynamics of the game and whatever else came to mind. Her eyes sparkled.

Eventually, she yawned, prompting me to beep on my tablet to check the time. "Oh god, it's after midnight!" I exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, I totally lost track of time. I get really excited when I play, see..."

She stood and, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, hugged me. It was short and warm, and then she pulled away and gave me a lopsided grin. Then she pointed at the door, raising an eyebrow.

"Um, yeah," I said. "We should probably get some sleep, right?"

Dazed, I walked her to the door and let her out; we waved goodbye and I numbly closed it behind her. I didn't move for a few seconds. Then, I stiffly changed into my sleeping clothes, turned out the lights, and lay down in bed. I didn't sleep.

She didn't know, I reminded myself. No one knows. Relax. No one knows.

I didn't relax. I'm not sure how long I lay there, but eventually, groaning in frustration, I stood up. I walked to the window, took a deep breath, and rested my forehead against the cool glass. I imagined I'd cry from homesickness on my first night at college, but here I was, dealing with much worse things, and I just felt empty.

I opened my eyes and looked out at the grassy quad spread out below me, shadowy and spooky. I froze. There was movement down there.

I squinted and saw, yes, a small figure standing out alone in the grass doing... something. They were wearing dark blue jeans and some sort of black top, and their movement was jerking and aggressive and quick. Then I noticed that they were leaving something behind as they moved. Dark lines.

They were digging up lines in the quad, I realized. Narrow, long ditches that we'd all be able to see from our rooms. I had no idea if anyone else was awake, but it felt weirdly intimate watching this, like sneaking downstairs to catch Santa coming out of the fireplace.

The person worked ridiculously fast, but it was too dark to see what the letters were. I realized the black top was a hoodie, obscuring their body, face, and head; even if they were closer, I'd never know who they were. But then they dashed off to the side and returned with a large, white object... a bucket, I realized. They poured a thick, white liquid into the ditches, letting it run along and fill it up, rendering the lines visible, a ghostly pearl color reflecting in the electric lights dotting the quad.

It was letters. As the person filled the white liquid through them all, I could read it: NHU FEARS US. FIGHT THEM. KILL THE BEAR.

The figure tossed away the bucket and ran towards the dorm; they moved like an insect, fast and darting and silent. But just as they were about to disappear from view beneath me, mid-stride, they pulled down the hood that was covering their head. For just a brief moment, I saw every color of the rainbow glowing in the electric lights, and then it was gone.

Every color of the rainbow?

"...Morgan?"

Fact 1: killing game

Fact 2: killing game

Fact 3: One of the rules says we can potentially escape from campus, but we don't know how

Fact 4: Each dorm room can only be opened by the owner; apparently this has something to do with DNA

Fact 5: Monokuma is teaching a class every morning for an unknown reason

Fact 6: Earl and Ashley have taken a leadership role. We've all agreed to meet for breakfast and dinner every day

Fact 7: We've all been assigned chores. Mine is mowing the quad.

Fact 8: Monokuma's class apparently will give us hints about how to escape?

Fact 9: There's an underground tunnel connecting all four buildings in the quad

Fact 10: Spotted Morgan leaving an anti-NHU message in the middle of the night