The training hall buzzed with energy as students filtered in, some yawning, others already stretching. Ivy arrived with Chloe, Garry, Noa, and Riley in tow, most of them still groggy from a long week.
Garry groaned dramatically. "If I move too fast, my legs will quit. I blame you."
Noa, walking beside him, blinked. "Me?"
"You punched like five times harder yesterday. I swear your thread thing is cursed."
Noa looked faintly pleased. "Thanks."
"That wasn't... okay, whatever."
As they approached the entrance, Ivy caught a glimpse of someone slipping out a side exit, a familiar figure in a school uniform, head down, moving quick and quiet.
"Was that Zhihao?" Chloe asked, craning her neck.
Ivy didn't respond. She just kept walking.
Training started with drills. Garry paired with his sister, which went about as well as expected, a blend of showboating and sarcasm. Riley dodged most of his attacks while throwing comments like, "Maybe aim where I am, not where I was ten seconds ago."
Noa sparred with Chloe, her thread control elegantly redirecting momentum, earning a few impressed nods from onlookers.
Ivy ended up paired with a newer student who managed to misfire a kinetic push backward into a mat stack, then tried to laugh it off like it was intentional.
The session stayed light, full of clumsy bursts, occasional sparks, and one floating student who took a full minute to descend after activating a low-gravity shield at the wrong time.
After practice, Ivy wiped her face with a towel and sat on the bench just outside the hall. She barely had time to catch her breath when Elias appeared.
"You saw Zhihao today?"
Ivy looked up. "Yeah. Kind of. Saw him sneaking out before it started."
Elias sighed. "He's been doing that a lot. Not just training. I checked schedules. He's dodged almost every class since he transferred."
Ivy stood. "We can find him, and ask."
They roamed the school halls, checking common spots, the library, vending machines, empty classrooms. They stopped to ask students, but most gave the same response.
"Who?"
"Brown hair?"
"Uh... don't know him."
Elias frowned. "He's practically invisible to them."
Ivy kept walking. "He'd be somewhere quiet. Somewhere he thinks no one will check."
They reached the Helpers Club room. The door was slightly ajar.
Inside, Zhihao sat at one of the desks, reading a thick book with full concentration. He didn't even glance up.
Ivy exchanged a look with Elias, then quietly approached. She reached out and tapped his shoulder.
Zhihao yelped.
The book hit the floor with a thud. He turned wide-eyed. "What? Oh. It's just you."
"That reaction alone proves guilt," Ivy said.
Zhihao rubbed his face. "I wasn't skipping. I was... rescheduling."
Elias raised an eyebrow. "How many classes have you 'rescheduled' this week?"
Zhihao straightened. "All of them. I mean... I attended all of them."
"Really," Ivy said. "What did we study in history yesterday?"
Zhihao paused. "Time. Stuff. Probably wars."
Elias turned to Ivy with a sigh. "The Helpers Club has a new case."
Ivy nodded. "Zhihao vs. basic education."
Zhihao slumped. "Please don't make a poster."