Page 137 of The Commons

“Must be Swin!” Pesh says as we hasten toward the Biology Hallway.

“Oh goodness! Thank God. He isn’t dead, right?” I mutter, unease creeping in.

A lone figure in uniform stands silhouetted against the distant end of the Biology Hallway, towering over a shadow… Swin? I hold my breath, hoping Swin is not injured or even worse, dead. And just as I imagine the worst, the shadow suddenly moves.

It’s him.

Swin!

The officer pulls him forward, hauling him through the light into our sight. A smile shoots through my soul as my gaze meets his glacial-green eyes.

He is alive!

“We were mandated to arrest him by Patron De Londe, but he claims it was a mistake, saying he goes to The Commons. Do you know this boy?” the officer inquires.

In silence, Doctor Val stares at him, tears clouding her eyes upon realization that this is her long-lost nephew. “Of course I know him, that’s my star student, Erel⁠—”

“Swin—” he interjects.

“Swin.” Her voice flusters. “Yes, Swin is his name!”

“So, he is enrolled here after all?” the officer asks with wary eyes.

Doctor Val strides over to Swin, pulling him away from the officer. “Of course. Not only is he enrolled, he’s my family! Any issues?”

“No, just a minor misunderstanding. Good day.” The officer bows, then leaves.

Since no student from The Commons could ever be arrested without the permission of The Commons itself, and no one who wasn’t from The Commons knew the school’s anthem, “For The Love of The Commons,” they were mandated to bring him here first.

We find out that Swin had begun singing it as his last resort when Pesh mentioned it. The gun shots we heard were fired to the sky in solidarity of the anthem.

Doctor Val turns to Swin, holding him tightly. “I can’t believe it. It’s you. I’ll let you catch up with your friends for now.” She sniffles, wiping away her tears. Before Swin can leave, she touches his shirt. “And by the way, don’t forget to come to my office. Welcome to The Commons.”

Swin nods, looking away with a smile in his eyes.

“I have to talk to the students.” She looks to us. “See he is taken care of.”

Swin watches as she leaves, then turns to us with an edgy smile. “What happened to all of you? Any word from Levon?”

“We are a long story! But Levon is on the way!” I respond with a smile, happy to know he’s safe.

“Okay, good, phew!”

“Yeah, that’s how we feel. Come on.” Pesh pats his shoulders as we take him away in joyous camaraderie.

“By the way, how did the torture tool go?” Swin mutters, arching a brow.

“Oh, it was nothing. Apart from the feeling of a thousand daggers stabbing me at once.”

What? Pesh knew? “The injection, you knew it was coming?” I turn to him, but Swin interrupts.

“He had an inclination that it was coming, thanks to yours truly, so he wanted to make sure he would be the one to take the grunt before they had a chance to use it on you. They intended to employ it as leverage to compel Pesh to reveal the truth,” Swin explains. “There was only one dose. And it’s lethal from what I’ve researched.”

Pesh turns to Swin, who instantly freezes.

“Are you done?” Pesh’s dark gaze roams over him.

“Oh. She didn’t know. Right…” Swin walks ahead of us, chuckling.