[Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] “You’ve just been staring at me all day. Are you good?” Lila Moloney’s insatiable curiosity had landed on Asher Wagner, the long-running Dux of her cohort at the prestigious Forestglade College. No longer the prim and proper poster child for their school’s strict regimes upon returning from summer holidays, Lila couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something disturbing lurking beneath this change. Perhaps it was the way that he spoke to her, upon being paired for an English project, or the way that his askew tie and tousled hair was so jarringly mismatched from the usual tendencies that he’d had over the past nine years. Year after year, he put in the most amount of effort out of anyone in their cohort in all facets of the College’s metrics of pride – attendance, intelligence, sporting prowess, rule-following, and uniform-wearing – but now, when faced with their last two years at school, he looked to be giving up. Lila was dead-certain that he was hiding something, her voracious appetite for answers being practically genetic. But, as she starts to dig for answers, she discovers that everyone surrounding them has secrets they’re trying to hide, practically begging to be revealed – including her emerging feelings for Asher. Will she uncover the truth underpinning his transformation? Or will it remain elusive, obscured by the concealed desires, goals and identities of those around her – including her own family? And just how is she meant to survive the trials and tribulations of high school life whilst pursuing the verity of the mysteries shrouding everything she thought she knew? And remember – trust no one, not even the missing. *Set in Australia | Mystery and romance are main themes | Note - swearing present, though not excessive | Posting Saturdays | CWs: Stalking, bullying, sexual harassment, references to suicide, violent murder of a person under 18 [note - fair way into the story and not glorified]*