In eighth grade, everything had to sound louder: grades, plans, dreams. Lena ran the school's Bell podcast and liked puzzles that could be solved. On 1 September, she returned to the Primary 7 building, smelling of paint and damp. New blackboards, new rules, and the old corridor in the B wing was still closed. After the summer holidays, the management promised an overhaul, but there was silence behind the caution tape. Lena squinted her eyes as a monitor with a schedule blinked above the secretariat. Something appeared on the list of classes that shouldn't have been there: 3N - history - room 204. There were no N classes in our school, and room 204 belonged to the closed wing. The tall vice-principal grunted and pretended not to see the letters at all. Someone from the younger ones laughed nervously, someone else took a picture. The bell sounded differently, three short tones, like a code no one knew. Olek and Maja stood next to Lena, already ready for trouble. - 'We're going on a long break,' whispered Lena, turning down the microphone at the pin. The old wing smelled of dust and soap, although no one had cleaned here for months. Faded newspapers hung on the wall, but a fresh pin was stuck underneath. Someone had pinned up the plan for 3N with today's date, written in even school handwriting. On the floor lay a student ID: Nadia Nieznalska, from class 3N. The plastic was surprisingly cold, as if it had just been taken out of the fridge. - Who is this? - asked Maja, hiding her hair under her school cap. Olek raised his eyebrows and pointed at the door with the number 204. There was light oozing from under the door, although the electricity had been switched off in the entire wing. The voice of Mr Odrowąż, a history teacher who retired a year ago, came from the radio speakers. He spoke about the uprisings as if a lesson had just taken place, and read out a list of unknown names. The phones stopped at 7:45, the batteries not dropping a cent. On the back of the ID card someone had annotated: If you're reading this, don't be late for the third bell. Three quick thumps sounded and the handle at room 204 vibrated. Lena took a breath, stretched her hand to the handle and her name was whispered from behind the door.