8:30 AM – Ridgewood High, Monday
The sky hung low with gray clouds, like the universe itself was brooding. Bee Rivera strutted through Ridgewood's front doors in a cherry-red blazer two shades too bold for a Monday. Her heels clicked like gunshots across the hallway tiles, each step a declaration: she wasn't just surviving the gossip storm—she was the eye of it.
Students parted for her like she was Moses and they were the Red Sea. Phones were out. Eyes followed. She didn't flinch.
Her phone buzzed.
@RidgewoodReveals:
Rumor has it Bee's past is coming back to bite—and someone's got receipts.
She scoffed. "Let them try."
As she approached her locker, Kai was already there—hood up, posture casual, like he hadn't dropped a social nuke last week. He gave her that lazy smirk she loved to hate.
"You look ready for war."
Bee popped her gum. "That's 'cause I am."
He handed her a flash drive, all nonchalant. "You'll want to see this."
Before she could demand answers, the warning bell rang.
"Guess history can wait," he added. "Your legacy, though? Kinda urgent."
---
10:47 AM – Janitor's Closet (a classic)
Bee plugged the drive into her laptop, fingers tight on the trackpad. Her pulse thumped in her ears.
A grainy video loaded. Blurry hallway footage from months ago. It showed a girl—her—getting shoved. Crying. Screaming. Then another angle: her, lashing out. A hand slamming a locker. Her voice echoing.
A dubbed voiceover followed: "She's unstable. Violent. Dangerous."
Bee's breath caught. "This is… fake. It's edited."
She slammed the laptop shut and stared at Kai. "Where did this come from?"
Kai shrugged, arms crossed like this was all normal. "Someone hacked the school servers. They want to ruin you."
Her throat went dry. "Who?"
Kai's expression hardened. "Whoever it is… they're not scared of you. But they should be."
---
12:30 PM – Cafeteria Mayhem
The lunchroom was louder than usual. Not from laughter—but from buzz. The kind that wraps around a person like barbed wire.
"She was committed?"
"Did you see the video?"
"Do you think Aiden knew?"
Bee entered, tray in hand, like she hadn't just been digitally assassinated.
She held her chin high. She owned the whispers.
Hailey, three tables over, grinned wide. Serena avoided eye contact. Aiden sat frozen.
Bee's usual table? Empty. For the first time.
Then—Kai dropped beside her, plopping his tray down like it was any other day.
"You're not eating?"
"I'm plotting," Bee replied, stabbing a grape.
He smirked. "Just another Monday."
---
3:15 PM – Library
Kai slid her another flash drive across the table.
"This one's spicy," he whispered. "Server logins."
Bee plugged it in. Her heart nearly stopped.
Username: S.DANE
"Serena?" she whispered.
Kai gave her a look. "Either she's guilty… or she's being framed."
Bee leaned back in her chair, eyes narrow. "Guess we find out which."
---
5:00 PM – Bee's Bedroom
She sat cross-legged on her bed, revenge planner open. Glitter gel pen in hand.
Violet – Humiliated
Hailey – Shook
Serena – Up next
Her burner phone buzzed on cue.
Unknown Number:
Keep poking the hive and I'll burn it down myself. – K
Bee chuckled, lips curling.
"Oh baby," she whispered to no one. "Try me."
She applied her lip gloss like it was war paint.