Chapter 5: Let's do each other's revenge.
"If you all could just take your seats," a teacher said, tapping the mic.
"Do we just sit anywhere, or are they assigned chairs?" Stephen murmured, scanning the massive hall. Everyone else seemed to know exactly where they belonged. Laughter echoed, students hugged, and took selfies.
"Cell phones are not allowed," the teacher called again, glancing at the students still glued to their screens.
Stephen sighed. "Where should I sit?"
"Stephen?" a familiar voice asked.
Stephen looked up. A flash of shock crossed her face. "It's actually Stephen now," she said, her voice quiet.
Priea smiled, brushing a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "Woah, I almost didn't recognize you."
Stephen offered a tight smile. "Yeah. Wow, I didn't know you went here now."
Priea gave a small, awkward nod. "I do. I, um..."
From across the hall, Hannah watched the interaction with mild curiosity.
Stephen motioned to move. "I'll go find my seat, okay?"
Priea's green eyes scanned Stephen up and down briefly. "Okay."
Then Priea turned and walked away.
"Hello, hello, if everyone could please take their seats," the teacher called again.
"Who was that?" a boy with blue hair asked Priea as they passed each other.
"A girl I used to camp with," she said, brushing it off.
"You guys, I can't believe she actually came back," Clowe said to Sofia and Sage.
Sofia scoffed. "I know. She actually looks cute, though."
Clowe glared. "Shut up, Sofia."
Sofia shrugged. "She does. Sorry, Clowe."
"I think it's pretty sick. I had no idea that she was that twisted," said a boy at the back.
Clowe nodded. "Nick is right."
Sage remained silent, stealing a glance at Hannah, sitting across the hall, composed but distant.
"We have an announcement from your Senior Class President, NK Broussard," the teacher said.
Applause filled the room. NK bounded onto the mini stage, beaming. "Sara's High!"
Cheers erupted.
"Thank you, thank you," NK said. "Wow, it feels so good to be back."
"We love you, NK!" a girl screamed.
NK grinned. "Oh come on. Stop. I appreciate you."
He cleared his throat. "Now this year is going to be a great one. But before we start, I was hoping we could get personal for a minute."
"Get personal, man!" someone shouted.
NK nodded solemnly. "Last year, my intimate exchange made its way into the world. It was a violation of my privacy." He looked down, then up again. "Honestly, I'm still recovering."
Hannah sat still, her gaze fixed on him. Her jaw tightened.
"It made me reflect. And I realized that... actually..." NK paused. Then his voice took on a theatrical edge. "Hannah Lipitin, could you stand, please?"
The room fell silent.
Hannah glared at him.
"Please stand," NK repeated.
Everyone turned. Sage looked stunned. Sofia and Clowe snickered.
Hannah slowly stood. Her aura was calm, but her shoulders held tension like a wire pulled taut.
NK looked at her. "Hannah, I just want to say how sorry I am for what happened to you last year."
He turned to the crowd. "And to any of you who watched or shared that video, I sincerely hope you take the time to examine why you did that."
Back to Hannah. "So, Hannah, it's in your honor that I'm founding a new club."
Two boys stepped up, unfurling a banner.
"The Six Hetero Men Championing Female Identifying Students League."
A mix of laughter and cheers followed. NK grinned.
"For all the men in Sara's High who want to do better."
"Be Allies!" he declared, raising his fists.
The room erupted. Someone shouted, "I want to be an ally!"
Hannah stood frozen. Applause rang out, but her face remained stone cold.
Stephen stared at the chaos around her, the bizarre fanfare, then at Hannah's calm fury. Without hesitation, she got up and slipped out after her.
---
"F**k!" Hannah slammed her palm against the wall.
Stephen hesitated at the doorway, then stepped into the quiet, blue-and-yellow room.
"Hannah?" she asked softly.
Hannah sat on a chair, breathing hard.
Stephen approached. "Just checking on you. Are you okay?"
"He's even worse than you described," Stephen added.
"I don't know how I'm going to spend an entire year in this school," Hannah muttered.
"I feel you," Stephen said. "I talked to Priea for, like, one minute, and it felt like dipping my toe into Dante's eighth circle of hell."
Hannah gave a dry laugh. "This sucks shit."
Stephen leaned against the wall beside her. "You know... we could hire people to take them down."
Hannah turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "What? Like a messed-up TaskRabbit?"
"Yeah," Stephen said, warming to the idea. "Someone unconnected to us. A high school hitman or woman or NB."
Hannah stared at her, shocked. Then a slow smile curled on her lips. She stood.
"You're right," she said.
Stephen blinked. "Wait—seriously?"
"Absolutely. They deserve to pay for what they did to us," Hannah said, her voice steady, dangerous. "But we can't go after them ourselves."
She stepped closer.
"We should team up and do each other's revenge."
Stephen met her gaze. For the first time that day, she smiled—wide and fierce.
"Now that sounds like a plan".