Campus is abuzz with the news of the fire. Apparently, an employee, working after hours, left some food unattended. Soon, the whole pub was aflame. The official story, published in Hawkwood's paper, is that thankfully, no students were around at the time. A few of the tables were not bussed, including the remnants of a party in the back room that had happened earlier that day. The staff member escaped by breaking the glass door in that room.

The fire department didn't arrive soon enough to salvage much if anything.

Ellie, on her runs around campus, decides to bypass the location of the fire. Even though the fire has been ruled an accident, Ellie knows that criminals often return to the scene of a crime. So, she avoids it more than she avoids the memory of that night. Ellie goes in circles around campus, running on the energy of the Adderall she abuses and thinks about what to do. The Divide is a problem, but so is Poppy. Poppy must know about the Adderall. Something must be done.

Briar feels like a zombie. She feels as if a part of her was permanently made sluggish by being roofied. She goes through the motions each day. Class, laughing with her dormmates, sleep. No one can tell apart who she pretends to be from who she is. In her dorm room, she lets it out. She has sobbing fits where she pounds on the floor, and she throws her textbooks at the wall, hoping her next-door neighbour will complain to campus police, and they will come knocking. She wants someone to care. It seems no one does.

Kai's wound was superficial. It heals over a week. He wears long socks in rugby and polo so no one notices the wound. He wonders if his blood is still on the scene. He wonders if he can find a way to blame Poppy for the fire. If he did though, he'd have to give up The Divide, which means giving up on film, rugby and polo. Kai imagines the disappointed look on his father's face. Kai cannot bear to lose anything, let alone everything.

Vieira keeps having panic attacks. In class, in her dorm, alone in her painting studio. Her hands seem to perpetually shake. She's losing it, all of it. Her teachers pull her aside and tell her they expected more from the daughter of Charles Manfred. Her skills are waning, and she doesn't know if they will wax again. Perhaps she is doomed. As long as The Divide is lurking, she'll never paint again.

Jetta plays instruments until her fingers bleed. She puts on bandaids and keeps playing. Soon she will be playing in the masquerade on Halloween. Though she is just one member of the massive orchestra, she cannot fathom stopping. Her scholarship hangs in the balance. She tries to seek out Poppy and find answers, but she cannot find her. She finds out the schedule of every mandatory first-year language class, and Poppy is nowhere to be found.

Felix rages. He feels as hot as the fire all the time, though the lack of nutrition his body receives usually leaves him cold. Poppy must pay. It's her fault that all of this is happening. He's sure she has pissed off the wrong people, and it's not The Divide coming for them, but her enemies. He thinks about her when he is dancing and studying, and when he laughs. She always creeps into the back of his mind. He wants to stop in the field where she grows. He wants to snuff her light out.

Tom puts his acting skills to use. He pretends to be normal, but it is hard to be on all the time. It's tech week, so he only leaves the theatre to eat and sleep. No one knows that he still can feel smoke in his lungs. He's one mistake away from losing it all. If he's expelled, all of the scholarship money that he has been given will have to be repaid. Not only will everything be snatched, but more will be taken. It'll be carved out of him.

Ez reads Fahrenheit 451 again. He reads about fires and imagines the curls of flames dancing before his eyes. He finds indifference in times of struggle unbecoming. He must take a side, and clearly, the better option is not to side with Poppy. Something is up. He tries to find foreshadowing, but life doesn't have the same hints an author leaves behind. More is happening, and he knows he cannot see the real picture. He wants a hood-off, bad guy reveal, but it doesn't seem like it's coming.

Evelyn is so ashamed of herself. If her parents could see her, they might hate her. She took drugs, all over a stupid boy. All of the issues she's ever had before seem trivial. The task ahead seems insurmountable. Everyone is so keen to blame Poppy and The Divide, and she cannot deny that these events are not coincidences, but she feels like she is trying to solve several puzzles at once, with all the pieces jumbled together.

Roman tries not to think about the fire. Instead, they think about the first night, in that abandoned professor's house. Apparently, most of the clubs except the philosophy club dare their new initiates to enter the house. They either steal something, replace something, or take pictures with a polaroid camera. The group debates the ethics of such procedures while Roman considers Poppy and that very first night where she lied for the first time. How many lies have occurred since?

Luis wants to check in on everyone, but he also wants to give people space. He is painting and drawing, and things feel uncomfortably normal. He's worried about the others more than himself. He thinks of Ellie, and the whispering they did at the party about how uptight The Divide is. He thinks about standing up for Briar when someone decided to take advantage of her. He watches Vieira shake in class but says nothing to her. He attends Tom's play and sees the bags under his eyes despite the makeup on his face.

Something must be done. So, he gets in touch with Kai after his rugby game, and they hatch a plan.

Everyone receives notes, but this time from Luis and not The Divide.

~~~~~

I know this is short, but bear with me, the last chapter was aggressively long. Like, super long. The next two chapters will be pretty intense.

NOTE: Please give the next few chapters a chance. I know things might end up feeling out of character, and I'm trying not to spoil anything, but it's intense. Your characters have been pushed to their very limits. They're a little different now than when they began. If it's egregious, please tell me. Just, go in with an open mind.