For the next several minutes, the disciplinary committee members continued to ask him all sorts of questions, some straightforward, some clearly designed to trip him up. They probed into timelines, asked for exact descriptions of his surroundings, and questioned the behaviors of each of the missing students.
Ethan maintained his role with perfection. He played the traumatized survivor, equal parts ashamed and terrified. His hands trembled just the right amount. His eyes watered on cue. When they pressed too hard, he stammered or choked on words. Not once did he offer definitive answers. Just maybes. Just shadows of recollections.
"I think it was Gerald who was arguing with Damon… or maybe it was the one with the blue spell ring. I'm sorry, everything was happening so fast."
The instructors frowned and continued with the questioning, but eventually, they all agreed that this was a colossal waste of their time.
