Chapter 3

"What's the story behind the 'heartless internet friend'?" Elin asked.

Mariah replied, "I'm not entirely sure. Word is he spent years tutoring someone online, and then the second she got into college, she completely blocked him."

I sat quietly in my corner, listening to the gossip. But the more I listened, the more puzzled I became.

Why did Trey's story sound so strangely familiar?

Tutoring someone online only to be blocked immediately afterward… Could the world really be full of such bizarre coincidences?

…

As a freshman advisor, Trey was incredibly approachable.

After class, a few of the bolder students crowded around him to pry for details.

"Mr. Gomez, is it true that you're looking for someone you met online?"

Trey nodded slightly. Resting his chin on his hand, he analyzed the situation. "She should be among the incoming freshmen at either our school or Carthen."

One student actually asked, "If she was just an online friend, why not just let it go? Why go through all the trouble of hunting her down? Do you secretly have feelings for her?"

Hearing that, I couldn't help but perk up my ears from where I sat.

Trey stayed silent for a few seconds—seconds that felt agonizingly long to me.

Finally, he looked up at the student and raised an eyebrow. "If only you channeled this much energy into your studies."

Even so, he smiled at the group and added, "If any of you hear anything, feel free to tip me off."

He tapped his phone, opening up a contact profile from his friends list.

The crowd let out a collective gasp.

"Wait, she deleted her account entirely?"

"Looks like it was an old account, too. Did she seriously delete it just to avoid you?"

"If that's the case, there's definitely a story there."

Everyone grinned at Trey, expecting him to laugh it off like he usually did.

Instead, a rare look of gravity crossed his face. "You think she deleted her account specifically because of me?"

"Yeah, look at her profile info. The account is totally gone."

At that moment, he wasn't the only one stunned. I was frozen as well.

Every single detail lined up perfectly. Could a coincidence like this actually exist?

A growing sense of dread began to pool in my stomach.

"That heartless little thing," Trey muttered under his breath in front of everyone, visibly frustrated.

Things got tense for a moment before Trey collected himself and flashed his usual bright smile.

Standing up at the podium, he had a natural way of making people feel at ease.

"Now that we're officially a group, I'm going to follow all of you on Instagram so we can stay in touch more easily."

Trey went down the line, following everyone one by one. When he reached me, I managed a weak smile.

Sensing my nervousness, he gave my shoulder a reassuring pat. "Alisha, we're already friends."

Being introverted and terrible at socializing, I naturally became the target of Trey's special attention.

"Make sure to actively participate in student clubs. It's a great opportunity to challenge yourselves."

After finishing his announcement, Trey landed his eyes on me with a warm smile. "I'll walk around the club fair with you after class to see if anything catches your eye."

While being singled out brought a tiny thrill, mostly it just gave me massive anxiety.

Trey added, "Student clubs can really sharpen your skills, and they're great for building your social circle. It's a win-win for you."