The main task on the first day of school was “getting acquainted”: getting to know the campus, the classmates, and the teachers.
Most of the students attending this private school were children from Micano’s upper-middle class. Quite a few of them had already been in the same class since elementary school and were long familiar with one another. As soon as they met, they gathered in small groups of twos and threes, excitedly sharing what they had seen and done over the holidays. The room buzzed with chatter—everyone was extremely outgoing.
Aside from those clearly acquainted with one another, there were also a few students standing alone. They were probably like Everly, having transferred up from other schools and knowing no one in the class. After looking around for a while, perhaps wanting to appear sociable, they quickly found others in the same situation. Strangers banded together into little groups of their own.
And so, in just one morning, several small cliques had already quietly formed within the class.
Everly had no intention of joining any of them.
To her, middle schoolers were still a bit too immature. If she were to make friends, at the very least they’d have to be high schoolers—otherwise, they simply wouldn’t be able to hold a proper conversation together.
At times like this, the “cool girl” persona she had adopted back in elementary school was still quite useful. Because Everly was pretty, several student groups extended olive branches to her, inviting her to join them and hang out. But her responses were consistently cold. No matter who approached her, it was the same triple reply: “Thank you, sorry, not interested.”
At first, some of the rejected students felt annoyed, thinking this girl who came out of nowhere was far too arrogant and didn’t know how to appreciate kindness. But soon, a well-informed student slapped his forehead and suddenly shouted in the crowd, “I remember now! She’s Everly from Lemot—‘Ice Queen’ Everly!”
Everly from Lemot? Ice Queen? Who? What?
“Charlie, if you know something, hurry up and tell us!” one of his friends urged, telling him not to keep them in suspense. The surrounding students immediately lowered their voices and pricked up their ears, ready to eavesdrop.
Charlie was clearly enjoying the attention and flattery from those around him. Chin lifted, he swept a smug glance across the classroom. Under everyone’s eager, expectant stares, he loudly spilled everything he knew about Everly:
“You guys know Lemot Town, right? A few years ago, wasn’t there a massive sandstorm there that killed a lot of people? I heard from my cousin who lives in my town that at the time, it was thanks to four people stepping forward and leading the townsfolk to shelter that even greater losses were avoided. Otherwise, the whole town might’ve been wiped out. And Everly Minas was one of those four! So she’s very famous in Lemot—loved and welcomed by the entire town. As for ‘Ice Queen,’ that’s her nickname at school. She’s proud and aloof, cold to everyone, never giving anyone a pleasant expression—just like the Ice Queen in the fairy tales…”
His speech set the entire class buzzing.
“What? Something like that really happened? Is it true?”
“I know about the sandstorm in Lemot! My great-aunt was working at Micano Central Hospital back then. She went to Lemot after receiving a request for help. When she came back, she was out of sorts for days. When we asked her about it, she would only say that many people had died there and refused to say anything else…”
“Everly saved the town from the sandstorm? But judging by the timeline, she would’ve only been in third grade, right? Doesn’t anyone find that strange?”
“But she really is cool. She’s so cold to everyone—even when Elrond and his group invited her, she didn’t give them the time of day…”
Whispers overlapped as people discussed Everly’s legendary past—some in awe, some skeptical, some openly admiring.
Yet when they finished talking and turned—whether openly or covertly—to glance at the girl quietly reading in the corner of the classroom, they were all struck by the sharp, frosty aura that seemed to surround her. Without exception, the same thought rose in their minds:
Everly Minas truly had every right to be arrogant.
Everly, who appeared calm on the surface but was inwardly curling her toes in secondhand embarrassment: “…”
—Alright, that’s enough, stop talking! Why is it that even after graduating elementary school I still can’t shake off the nickname “Ice Queen”?!
Thanks to Loudspeaker Charlie’s enthusiastic promotion, even though Everly kept to herself and didn’t join any campus clique, no one dared to pick on her. On the contrary, as one of the rare “lone wolves,” her reputation and popularity at school were unexpectedly good. Most people treated her in a friendly manner.
Everly was very satisfied with her current state. She sincerely hoped her three years of middle school would pass as plainly and peacefully as a glass of boiled water. Therefore, one day a month after school started, when a classmate stopped her after class and tried to invite her to explore the abandoned teaching building in the school’s northwest corner, Everly refused.
Horror Movie Survival Rule Four: stay away from desolate ruins, campsites, ancient castles, forest villas, suspicious caves, and places like that.
In horror films, such locations often conceal unimaginable dangers—serial killers, vengeful spirits, cultists, ancient beasts… In any case, the beginning of many movies is set off by a group of reckless cannon fodder running around without fear of death. Everly had no interest in becoming one of them.
“Really not going? Elrond and Eric are going too. I heard they found a manuscript in the library. It says that back in the 1930s, when the old school building was still a chapel, someone secretly imprisoned a witch beneath it. They’re planning to go there to look for the witch!” The student, perhaps thinking Everly found a simple exploration boring, tried to sweeten the deal.
The result was an even firmer refusal.
“Not going.”
Only an idiot would go!
Exploring abandoned ruins was dangerous enough as it was—and now they were adding a witch legend on top of that? Wasn’t that just doubling the danger?
Not only did Everly refuse to go herself, she also worried that the students who were so determined to sneak off to the abandoned teaching building in the middle of the night might bring back some filthy things. So, in a display of maliciousness helpfulness, she secretly tipped off several seventh-grade homeroom teachers—her “home-room teachers”—letting them know that a large group of students was planning a nighttime escapade.
As a result, that evening, under the teachers’ supervision, the students never managed to carry out their adventure and obediently returned to their dorms. Everly felt she had prevented a potential disaster, quietly took credit for it in her own mind, and happily dove back into the sea of her studies.
However, she had clearly underestimated the boundless curiosity and rebellious streak typical of students this age.
Only a few days after the night-raid on the abandoned building had been canceled, the same student appeared again.
He leaned in mysteriously and told Everly that someone had brought a Ouija board to school, and the classmates were planning to hold a séance that night in the sewing classroom. He asked if she wanted to join.
Horror Movie Survival Rule Five: never participate in dangerous games.
Here, “games” include—but are not limited to—pen-summoning, disc-summoning, Ouija boards, Bloody Mary, strange apps that suddenly appear on your phone, and so on.
Naturally, Everly had no intention of participating in such a risky activity. But, to prevent the careless classmates from accidentally summoning malevolent spirits and bringing trouble to her grade, she didn’t immediately refuse. Instead, she asked a few questions, hoping to fish for more information from the student.
“When is it happening? Tonight? Who’s participating?”
“I don’t know the details either. You see, last time when Elrond and the others organized the expedition to the abandoned building, someone leaked it midway, and they didn’t end up going. Later, they investigated, but couldn’t figure out who leaked it. So this time, they’re not announcing anything in advance. If you’re interested, I can put your name down, and you’ll get a text notification when it’s time.”
“…”
—Not bad, at least they were trying to keep it secret!
“I’ll pass, then. Not interested,” Everly waved her hand, refusing the unknown classmate once again.
Sure, she could have signed up, waited for the text, and then backed out midway to sabotage the event a second time. But honestly, that was way too much hassle. By nature, Everly didn’t get along closely with most of her classmates. If the leaker turned out to be connected to her, her position at school could become awkward—or, at worst, she might even attract discrimination or bullying.
No one is obligated to constantly cover for a bunch of reckless, clueless kids. She’d already reported once—more than enough of her goodwill. If they were so eager to court death, let them go.
With that, Everly quietly let the matter slide and put it out of her mind.
…
The following days passed without incident. Whether the séance never took place, or it did but luck prevented the summoning of anything malevolent, she didn’t know.
The anomaly occurred about two weeks later.
It was during a music class.
At Fino Academy, music was an elective, and the classrooms were large, often hosting multiple classes at once.
During this lesson, the music teacher taught a new song and invited students to come up on stage to perform. A girl from the neighboring class named Laura eagerly raised her hand and volunteered.
Everly knew this girl—she was among the few at the top of the seventh-grade social pyramid. She often hung out with Elrond, Eric, and a few others, and was the only girl in their small clique. Her mother was a professional singer, and Laura had studied vocal music from a young age. Proud of her clear, pleasant voice, she never missed a chance to showcase her talent in front of others.
As the students took turns performing, Everly planned to sneak a little break, secretly working on a couple of Sudoku puzzles. But just as the gentle accompaniment began, Laura on the stage suddenly frowned, her expression twisting in apparent pain.
“What’s wrong with her? Why isn’t she singing…”
“I don’t know.”
The quiet murmurs of the classmates next to her caught Everly’s attention. She looked up and saw Laura staring wide-eyed, her hands trembling uncontrollably as they clawed at her own neck.
“What’s wrong, Laura?” the music teacher asked, turning off the accompaniment and stepping forward with concern.
Laura didn’t answer—or perhaps she simply couldn’t. She seemed completely unaware of what was happening. Her eyes darted around, filled with terror and a plea for help directed at the teacher. Her mouth opened wide, her hands clawing harder at her neck.
“Huh… huh… huh…”
The music classroom was a tiered lecture hall, acoustically designed so that sounds from the stage reflected off the steps, amplifying them for the students. Even sitting in the back, Everly could clearly hear the strange, unsettling “huh-huh” noises coming from deep within Laura’s throat.
At first, the music teacher thought Laura might be choking on something she ate. She quickly moved behind her, wrapping her hands around Laura’s abdomen, bending her knees to brace against Laura’s back, and pressed firmly with her arms.
“Pff!”
A noticeable swelling traveled up Laura’s neck from bottom to top. As it reached her throat, Laura opened her mouth, and a black object shot out.
It was a spider, the size of a small black plum.
Jet black, its surface rough and bristly, it immediately sprung all eight thick, saliva-coated legs the moment it hit the floor. It scuttled at lightning speed toward the nearest student, causing a wave of screams throughout the classroom.
Just as the spider was about to climb the steps toward the first row, a brave boy finally stepped forward, reached the chair, and stomped the spider flat.
“Squish.” The huge, grotesque spider was crushed underfoot, its body smashed into fragments, leaving a puddle of yellowish-green slime. The boy breathed a sigh of relief, expecting cheers and praise from his classmates—especially the girls—only to be met instead with a fresh wave of screams.
One after another, the cries were far more intense than before, filled with terror and shock.
Following the example of everyone around him, the boy turned to look behind him.
At the center of his gaze, on the stage, Laura—the girl who had just vomited a live spider—was now violently clawing at her throat. Her mouth was stretched impossibly wide, forming a long “O” shape between upper and lower jaws, as if her lips might tear apart at any moment.
Within that “O,” her dark throat resembled a fountain, continuously spewing finger-sized black spiders. Every spider was alive. As they forced their way out of her throat, swollen and writhing like intestines, their bristly black legs scrambled across her teeth, tongue, cheeks, and hands, quickly covering her entire body. From her as a center, they spread outward in every direction.
And it didn’t stop at her throat. Even her eyelids began to sprout thick, hairy spider legs—one, two, three… one massive spider after another crawled out of her eye sockets, her ears, her nostrils, and every other orifice on her body.
Eventually, Laura’s body was entirely enveloped in spiders. No skin was visible. Her body reached a critical breaking point. Standing there in full view of everyone, she collapsed with a thunderous crash, like a ripe watermelon smashing to the ground, turning into a pool of bright red blood.
Within the blood, countless spiders scuttled and crawled in all directions, slipping into every corner of the classroom, vanishing from sight amid the students’ screams and cries.