WAS IT CHRIS?

Chris’s POV

I unlocked my phone and clicked. My W******p opened. I read the message I had sent.

“I’ve moved on. You left me for another guy, thinking I would mourn the relationship forever. But hey, bitch! I’ve moved on. I believe you’ve found love too.”

—With an attached video.

She reacted to the video with the emoji of a middle finger raised in the air, as if to say fuck you!

When Tessa Walker first broke up with me back at Toland High School, I promised myself I would make her pay—and regret ever leaving me for a random new guy who had joined Toland High just days earlier. Now I was hearing that they had broken up and that she was coming to Elitis High, perhaps to reclaim what she had once thrown away.

My eyes darted to a figure standing beside me.

“So it was you,” she said with teary eyes. “You’re behind this,” she whispered.

I tucked my phone back into my pocket.

I glanced around. A few students stood afar, chatting. The coast around us was clear. I had been sitting alone on the school field before she came.

“Me? Do you even know what you’re talking about?”

“It’s clear that you’re nothing but a whore!” I lashed out.

She landed a slap on my cheek.

“You’ll regret this, Chris!”

My head turned with the impact of her slap. I placed my palm on my cheek and faced her again.

“Fuck you, bitch!” I snapped.

She stepped back and stared into my eyes, pain creeping into her like a trail of soldier ants, then dashed off. My chest rose and fell.

I thought I could love her, but she was just a cheap whore—nothing more.

I took out my phone again and dialed a number. It rang twice before the person picked up.

“She broke up… I’ve lost her,” I said in a hoarse voice.

“Okay, I’ll catch up with you soon,” I added before the call ended.

I walked toward the other side of the field. We were having another class, and as I entered, all eyes turned to me. I glanced around quickly, examining their stares.

What? I asked in my mind.

I placed my earpiece in my ears as I walked to my desk and listened.

A call came in, interrupting the music. I glanced at my phone’s screen—no caller ID. I looked around, this time a bit more seriously. Then a message popped up from the same hidden number:

“Meet me in hall 05 in Makimama Way by 4.”

I squinted. Makimama Way was at the far end of the school building, where the bushes stretched into a dark forest. Students hardly went there, and a signpost always stood as a warning about the danger in that area.

I couldn’t reply to the message. The reply button was blocked.

I leaned back in my chair and scanned the classroom. Everyone was minding their business.

Was this one of Ava’s tricks? I asked myself. A silent laugh escaped from my lungs.

The teacher came in shortly after. As he taught, I kept glancing at the door now and then. Ava didn’t come in. Liana didn’t either. Kia was also absent.

But her friends were in—sitting at their desks, listening to Mr. Johnson’s teaching.

The class felt so boring without them—Ava especially. I heard the teacher talk, but I wasn’t listening.

“Chris,” he called, snapping me out of my thoughts. My eyes widened at him.

“See me in my office after class.”

I nodded, trying not to let anxiety take over me.

When the class ended, I followed behind him to his office. He dropped a heavy book in front of me. I wasn’t the class captain. I was his assistant—and I wasn’t even doing anything that resembled the duty of a class captain or assistant. There was no responsibility attached to the title. We were just like every other student.

“Bryan is not in school today,” he said. “So I want you to record a seat number in your class. We’re having a new student tomorrow.”

My heart skipped. So soon? She’s coming so soon? I thought as I carried the book back to the classroom and recorded the seat number as he asked. I returned it to his office and placed it on his desk.

He ran his finger through the pages and stopped at a blank space.

“Tessa Walker,” he said.

“That’s her name. Write it here.”

My fingers trembled. My handwriting came out messier than when I wrote the seat number. I passed the book to him.

“You may leave,” he said.

Just then, another message caused my phone to vibrate.

“Come now!” —from the same hidden number.

My heart pounded. I grabbed my school bag and walked toward the hall on Makimama Way.

My patience was gone. Curiosity consumed me. I quickened my steps and soon reached Makimama Way. My heart raced even faster as I approached Hall 05. It stood just ahead.

I climbed the stairs that led into the hall.

Who could this be?

Why here?

My chest tightened.