Chapter 2 - THE TRANSFER WASN’T AN UNDERCOVER MISSIONBy three that afternoon, half of Northwood Academy believed Kaia had been planted in the school as a secret investigator.
She hadn’t.
Kaia made that clear immediately.
She sat in Principal Benton’s office wearing a borrowed sweatshirt while her uniform was being cleaned.
Her aunt, Maren Reed, sat beside her.
Maren was Julia Reed’s younger sister and Kaia’s legal guardian since Julia’s death three years earlier.
Across the desk sat Principal Benton, the district’s outside counsel, and an independent student-safety auditor named Simone Parker.
Vice Principal Crowe was not invited.
Neither was Tessa’s father.
That was deliberate.
Kaia said:
“I was not sent here to bait anyone.”
Simone nodded.
“We know.”
Maren added:
“She transferred because her mother’s foundation was funding a student-safety pilot here and Kaia wanted to attend a regular school instead of continuing private academy tutoring.”
That was the truth.
Kaia had spent years in an unusual world.
Morning academic tutors.
Afternoon training.
Weekend competitions.
After Julia died, Kaia eventually said:
“I want lockers.”
Maren had laughed.
“Lockers?”
“And bad cafeteria food.”
She got both.
Northwood seemed ideal.
Strong academics.
Arts program.
Close enough to Meridian Academy for Kaia’s evening training.
And participating in the Reed Student Protection Fund’s independent safety reform program.
What Kaia did not know when she enrolled was that the foundation had recently received anonymous complaints from Northwood students.
The audit already existed.
Adult professionals were conducting it.
Kaia was not evidence-gathering bait.
She was simply one student attending a school already under review.
That distinction mattered.
Simone said:
“The foundation never asked Kaia to investigate students.”
Principal Benton nodded.
“I approved her transfer because I thought this school was becoming safer.”
Maren looked at him.
“Was it?”
May you like
He didn’t answer.
That was an answer.
