The weight of the black card in his pocket felt heavier than his entire backpack.
All morning, Elian sat through classes without hearing a word the teachers said.
Equations.
Poetry.
History.
They were nothing but noise.
Background static to the storm brewing in his mind.
---
During lunch break, when everyone rushed to the cafeteria like wild animals desperate for scraps, Elian slipped away.
Not to eat.
Not to rest.
But to plan.
He found a forgotten corner of the school — a dusty storage room behind the old gymnasium.
The perfect place for someone who no longer belonged anywhere.
---
The smell of mildew and old cleaning supplies filled the air.
Elian sat on a cracked crate, pulling out the black card again.
Tracing the silver numbers with trembling fingers.
Was he really going to do this?
Was he ready to become something else?
Something dangerous.
Something the old Elian would have feared.
---
He pulled out his ancient, barely functioning phone.
Typed the numbers into the secret app hidden beneath layers of fake calculators and homework planners.
The app blinked once.
Then opened.
---
Welcome to BLACK BLOOM.
No Names. No Rules. No Mercy.
---
Elian's heart hammered against his ribs.
Inside the app, students from all over Aurelia Academy had posted anonymously:
Videos of brutal fights behind the library.
Gossip leaks about teachers having affairs.
Secret recordings of private conversations.
Exposures of fake friendships, drug deals, forbidden relationships.
It was a dark mirror of the school's perfect image.
The real Aurelia.
Rotten.
Corrupt.
Just like the world outside.
---
There was a small button at the bottom:
Upload New Exposure.
Elian's thumb hovered over it.
Could he really do it?
Could he really fight back?
---
His mind flashed to Liliana's smirking face.
Marcus laughing.
Maya turning away from him, pretending he didn't exist.
---
Yes.
He could.
He had to.
---
But he needed evidence first.
Something brutal.
Something unforgivable.
Something that would shatter them.
---
He stuffed the card back into his pocket and stood up.
A new energy surging through his veins.
He would become a ghost.
A shadow slipping through the cracks.
Watching.
Listening.
Waiting.
Until the perfect moment to strike.
---
The first opportunity came faster than he expected.
---
Two days later, on a rainy Thursday afternoon, Elian was leaving detention — another unfair punishment thrown at him by a bitter teacher — when he heard it.
Voices.
Raised.
Angry.
Desperate.
He followed the sound to the teacher's parking lot behind the school.
Hidden by the falling rain, he crouched behind a dumpster and watched.
---
Marcus — the golden boy of Aurelia — was arguing with Mr. Lenson, one of the younger, reckless teachers known for partying too hard with students.
"You promised!" Marcus hissed, shoving a fat envelope into Mr. Lenson's chest.
"You said my grades would go up!"
"They will," Mr. Lenson snapped. "After the tournament. You want to stay captain, right?"
Marcus cursed under his breath.
"If this gets out—"
"It won't. Unless you're stupid."
"And the pills?"
"Already taken care of."
---
Elian's blood froze.
Pills?
Bribery?
Illegal grades?
---
He whipped out his phone.
Started recording.
Every word.
Every movement.
The rain made the footage blurry, but the voices were crystal clear.
Undeniable.
---
This was it.
The beginning.
---
Later that night, sitting in his freezing bedroom, Elian uploaded the footage anonymously to Black Bloom.
He added a title:
> "Golden Boy's True Face: Aurelia's Captain Caught Bribing a Teacher and Dealing Pills."
No name.
No face attached to him.
Just the video.
Just the truth.
A slow-burning bomb.
---
The post exploded overnight.
By morning, the entire school was buzzing.
Screenshots flying through group chats.
Videos playing under desks.
Whispers rising like wildfire.
---
Marcus was summoned to the principal's office.
So was Mr. Lenson.
Neither came back to class that day.
---
Elian sat in his usual back corner, invisible.
Silent.
But inside, he was laughing.
---
One down.
Thousands to go.
---
And somewhere, across the city, in a skyscraper lined with glass and gold, a woman with crimson lips and a black velvet dress watched the viral video from her luxurious penthouse.
She leaned back in her chair.
Smiling.
Pleased.
"He's finally moving," she whispered.
"Let's see how far you'll go, little prince