> AUDIO FABRIC UNBOUND. ALL MICROPHONES, ALL SPEAKERS, ONE SYSTEM.

He clicked it.

He clicked it.

> ACCESSING SUBNET. ROUTING AUDIO DIRECT.

The teacher, Ms. Alvarez, was droning about the Treaty of Versailles. It was a perfect moment.

“Wait,” Hendricks whispered. “The pattern. It’s not random. The sounds… they’re all from a specific online sound board. The one I blocked. The kid’s favorite.”

For three days, Northwood High was a quieter, sadder place. The hallways were just… hallways. When someone dropped a tray in the cafeteria, there was no perfectly timed sad trombone to lighten the mood. When the principal made a boring announcement, no one followed it with the price-is-right-losing-horn . Leo had become a silent artist without his brush.