SINTRIA PALACE. Its history was written in a thick, five hundred page book. The thing was dusty, yellowed, and buried in a corner of the school library, forgotten by time—and by everyone else. No one had even touched it in years.
Rumor had it the hotel was built using seven demon children, trapped and mixed into the walls like twisted bricks. Built in 1950, people used to hunt those demons, thinking they'd bring luck and customers. And sure enough, Sintria Palace used to be packed.
But not for long.
The demons wanted sacrifices. One by one, guests vanished.
"And that's when the hotel got shut down. Pfftt!" A girl in a teal-blue top laughed under her breath, flipping past the first page.
"A hotel built with demons? Who writes this crap? No wonder nobody reads thi—"
Thud!
The book fell from her lap. A guy and a girl had bumped into her shoulder as they walked past in the hallway.
Jessica's eyes lit up as she whispered to herself, "Joan ...."
Her crush. Obviously.
Joan didn't even glance at her as he scoffed, "Why the hell are you reading in the middle of the hallway?"
"A-ah, sorry," Jessica stammered. But he was already gone.
She bent down to pick up the book, which had fallen open to page eight. There, a full drawing of the hotel stretched across the paper.
Jessica tilted her head. "Kinda creepy, actually."
The longer she looked, the more she noticed ... shadows. Humanoid figures. There were seven of them.
"One," she counted, pointing at the figure standing on the rooftop.
"Two," another one at a top-floor window.
"Three," a shadow in a window across the building.
"Four," someone hanging from the big tree outside.
"Five," a shape right in front of the main door.
"Six," another shadow peeking through a window.
"Seven," and finally, a figure standing near the fountain.
She squinted. Were they ... flickering?
Dark flames started to rise off the shadowy shapes. Black fire. Her whole body tensed.
"Jessica!"
She jumped, nearly dropping the book again.
It was Winter. That sweet, innocent smile on her face like always.
"You scared me," Jessica muttered, hand on her chest.
"You're the one hiding in here. Come on, they're looking for you. Back to class."
Winter slid her own book into the shelf and started walking.
"Wow, it's already that late?" Jessica checked her watch. She quickly closed the book but couldn't help one last glance at the drawing.
The shadows ... were gone.
Where did they go?
"Jessica, come on!" Winter called again.
Jessica shoved the book back onto the shelf and hurried after her.
***
"So, what were you reading?" Winter asked as they walked side by side down the hallway.
"Oh, I dunno. Just some ancient book about a hotel built with seven demons or whatever. It was weird," Jessica shrugged, furrowing her brows.
Then her face lit up as she turned around and walked backward, still facing Winter.
"By the way, soon you're gonna fall all over New York and make everything beautiful!"
Winter looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "What?"
"Because it's almost winter!" Jessica beamed.
Winter laughed, lightly smacking Jessica's arm. "God, you're such a dork. You really love winter, huh?"
"Totally! Winter is—"
Bam!
Jessica crashed into someone.
Silence.
She didn't need to look. She knew exactly who it was.
Serena Rayanji. Cheer captain. Queen of the school. Standing there, her smoothie spilled all over the floor.
"Oh. My. Gosh. What the hell is your problem?!" Serena snapped.
Without warning, she grabbed Jessica's hair and dragged her into the bathroom. Winter followed quietly, unsure what to do.
Inside, Serena glared down at her like a hawk.
"You seriously think your pathetic little body can bump into me and just walk away?"
"I-I didn't mean to! I swear, I'm really sorry! I can replace your snack—"
"I'm not in the mood." Serena turned to Lucy, one of her gang. "You still got your juice?"
Lucy handed her a bottle. "Here."
Serena opened it, stepped up to Jessica—who was backed against the wall—and without hesitation, poured the red juice all over her white school uniform.
Jessica stood still, eyes shut tight.
The cold juice soaked through instantly.
Serena grabbed her chin harshly, forcing Jessica to look at her.
"You're lucky I'm not in the mood to break you today. But do that again, and I'll snap your arm, got it?"
Then she shoved Jessica aside and walked out.
After a moment, Winter crept in and wrapped her arms around Jessica.
"Are you okay? I'm so sorry ... I didn't know what to do."
"It's fine. Let's just go home."
***
Tang! Tang! Tang!
As soon as the final bell rang, students flooded the school hallways like bees out of a hive.
Jessica moved through the chaos, searching for someone. She spotted her on the first floor.
"Lucy!" she called out.
Lucy stopped and turned with a death glare.
"I told you not to talk to me at school. Are you deaf?"
"Why? What did I do? Why don't you want people to know we're sisters?"
Lucy walked up, pressing her finger into Jessica's forehead with every word.
"Because. You're. Ugly."
"I'm Lucy Harrison. The popular girl. And you're just ... a loser. You think I want people knowing you're related to me? Hell no. So keep your mouth shut and play along unless you want even worse."
Jessica's eyes welled with tears. Lucy scoffed and walked off.
***
"I'm home," Jessica said, quietly opening the door.
"Hey, lil' sis!" Sam was the first to greet her, petting their dog, Kkami.
"Hi, Kkami," Jessica smiled and crouched down to pet the excited dog.
"My baby girl's home! Come eat!" Mom called from the kitchen.
"Where's my coffee?" their dad, Javiero, muttered from behind his paperwork.
"One sec, hon, I'm still cooking."
"Mom! Where's my blue dress?" Lucy yelled from upstairs.
"Already in your closet, sweetie."
Lucy appeared, noticed Jessica, and rolled her eyes. "Ugh. The loser's back."
But Jessica remembered what her cousin Ray once told her.
'Even if life gives you a thousand reasons to cry, you only need one reason to smile.'
And that reason was her family—well, most of them.
She had Sam. Her parents. Little Jammy, her baby sister. That was enough.
"Everyone! Gather around! I've got an announcement!" their dad suddenly said.
"What's up, Dad?" Sam asked.
"LUCY! GET DOWN HERE!"
"Ugh, fine!" Lucy yelled back.
They all sat at the dining table.
"Jessica, take off your jacket, it's hot," Sam said.
"I'm fine," she lied. She couldn't let them see the stain on her uniform.
"Okay, listen," Dad said. "We're moving."
"What?!" Lucy looked horrified.
"We can't afford rent anymore. So we're moving into an old hotel your grandfather left me. Just for a few months until I fix it up."
No one said anything.
"I'm okay with it," Sam finally said.
"Me too," Mom added.
"Absolutely not!" Lucy barked.
"Lucy, honey, we don't have another option."
"We vote," Dad said. "Majority rules."
Sam and Mom raised their hands. Jammy was too young to vote. Now it was Jessica's turn.
"What about you, Jessica?"
She hesitated. She didn't want to leave home. But she didn't want to make it harder for her dad, either.
"I'm with Sam."
"Awesome. Three to one. We move in two days."
"What's the name of the hotel?" Sam asked.
"Sintria Palace."
Jessica froze.
No way.
That was the name from the book.