She followed him into the storage room, the door creaking shut behind them. The room smelled of cleaning supplies, dust, and something else—something that smelled faintly like old books and forgotten corners of the school. It was dimly lit, with a single flickering bulb hanging overhead.

The janitor was already by a metal shelf, his back to her as he reached for something. He turned slowly, his expression unreadable.

“See that boy?” he asked, nodding toward the far side of the room, where a student—someone she barely knew—was standing, sorting through some papers. He wasn’t paying attention to them.

Lily nodded, unsure of where this was going.

“Take his notebook,” the janitor instructed. “Look at the back cover.”

Lily stared at him, confused. “What’s on it?”

He simply raised an eyebrow. “You’ll know when you see it.”

There was a pause, and for a moment, Lily wondered if she should refuse. But she couldn’t. Something about him—the way he spoke, the way his eyes never left hers—compelled her to obey. His instructions were so harmless she thought and yet make that girl treble, yet another task was also harmless, but who knew what this will lead to. 

“I’ll be right back,” she said quietly, walking toward the boy, her heart pounding in her chest. Her fingers grazed the notebook, and as she pulled it from the desk, she saw him glance at her for just a second. He didn’t seem to notice her, though, too absorbed in his task.

Lily flipped the notebook open, scanning the pages quickly. But then her eyes stopped at the back cover. The handwriting was messy, hurried, almost frantic. And then, in dark ink, it said:

“Do it soon. No one will miss them. Behind the grocery store, in that dark alley.”

Lily’s breath caught in her throat. The words were cold—empty. Like a warning. Or a command. She quickly snapped the notebook shut and returned it to the desk, her hands trembling. The room seemed to close in on her, the air thick with an overwhelming sense of dread.

She turned back toward the janitor, who was standing in the corner of the room, his arms crossed, watching her.

“Did you see it?” he asked, his voice low. She told him those exact lines.

Lily nodded, her mouth dry. “What... what does it mean?”

The janitor stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. His eyes, dark and unreadable, fixed on her.

“It means,” he said slowly, “that this isn’t random. You’re not just doing favors. You’re part of something bigger than you realize.”

Lily swallowed, her heart. "What does this mean Whatt are you making me do?" There was something about the way he spoke, something about his certainty, that kept her believe he was not a bad character. What was that girl scared of.

“Now go,” he murmured, his voice almost gentle. “And don’t forget— be safe at you way home.”

Lily barely had time to process his words before he was already moving toward the door. She stood frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do next. Her mind was spinning with the strange, cryptic message she had just read in the notebook.

But as the janitor opened the door, he looked back at her. There was a fleeting moment of softness in his eyes, a brief flicker of something that almost looked like concern.

“Stay close, Lily,” he said quietly. “I want you to help me with this, I have no other way but you.”