The library was unusually quiet that morning. Chloe had arrived early, determined to read for her Friday paper without distractions. She settled into a seat by the far window, opened her textbook, and began skimming through pages. A few minutes in, her eyes caught a phone left carelessly on the desk next to hers. She looked around, no one seemed to be claiming it.
Curious but with good intentions, she picked it up, glanced around again, and quietly slipped it into her bag. "I'll drop it at Student Affairs when I'm done," she muttered to herself and returned to reading.
Hours later, after closing her notes and packing up, she walked out of the library straight to her apartment .
Chloe tossed her bag on the bed, humming softly as she unzipped it. She pulled out her books one after the other, but paused when her hand brushed against something that wasn't hers.
She pulled it out slowly. the forgotten phone she had picked up earlier at the library.
"Oh shit," she muttered, "I completely forgot about this."
She stared at the screen. No fingerprint lock. No passcode. Just an open door.
Out of pure curiosity, she tapped the screen and it came alive. She swiped up.
Unlocked.
"No way," Chloe said under her breath. "Who doesn't lock their phone in this evil school?"
She clicked on the gallery first, just to see if she could figure out who the owner was.
And there they were, endless mirror selfies, party pics, library snaps. It was unmistakable.
Melanie
Earlier that day, Melanie had gone to the library with Talia and Rina to revise for their Friday paper. The three of them were seated at their usual spot near the back window, deeply buried in notes and random side chats. At some point, Melanie had dropped her phone on the table, distracted by a discussion Talia was leading.
Time flew.
After hours of studying, Melanie got tired and rushed out with the girls, eager to grab food and rest her head. In the middle of the haste and chatter, she forgot one important thing, her phone.
Chloe's brows shot up in disbelief. "Damn. This is gold."
She dropped her spoon on the tray beside her, suddenly forgetting her food. She had no love for Melanie, not after that public embarrassment she caused at the cafeteria. The hisses, the insults, the slut-shaming. Chloe had swallowed her pride that day, but now… now fate had handed her a weapon.
"Let's see what your shady little self is hiding," she said, a wicked grin spreading across her face.
She opened WhatsApp.
Right at the top, a pinned group chat named Hotheads, with Talia and Rina.
She tapped.
Most of the messages were gossips, insults, class gist, exam stress rants, until Chloe scrolled up a bit further and froze.
Rina's message stood out in green:
Rina:
"Do you think Bella has seen the message from that anonymous IG account? I mean, it was kind of brutal lol."
Melanie replied just underneath:
"She has. It's obvious she literally ghosted him not long after it was sent. Mission accomplished lmao."
Chloe's mouth dropped open.
"What the actual fuck…" she muttered, sitting up straighter.
Chloe hissed under her breath.
"You snake…" she whispered. "So you were the one who sent those messages? And Bella actually believed it?"
Disgust boiled in Chloe's chest. She may not have been Bella's biggest fan, but this? This was foul.
Out of instinct, she minimized WhatsApp and opened Instagram. Still logged in as Melanie. She held down the profile icon and checked the switch accounts option.
Three usernames appeared.
Her eyes narrowed at the one that stood out:
truth_teller
She tapped it.
Logged in immediately.
The bio read:
"Some people need to hear the truth, even if it hurts."
She leaned back on her bed, still gripping the phone tightly.
"Melanie, you messed with the wrong one. This tea is about to be piping hot."
Chloe sat on her bed, her eyes glued to Melanie's phone. She had just read the chat between Melanie, Talia, and Rina, a sickening confirmation that Melanie had been behind the anonymous Truth Teller account that caused chaos between Bella and Justin. Her fingers trembled slightly as she scrolled further.
She tapped on Melanie's DMs and froze when she saw the message to Bella , the same anonymous message Bella had once shown Justin. Without opening it fully, she could already tell. Her lips curved into a half-smirk, half-snarl.
"So it was you," Chloe muttered under her breath, disgust creeping up her spine.
She tapped again, this time going into the gallery. And there it was, a collection of secret photos taken from across the Sugar & Brew cafeteria. Chloe's eyes widened in realization. "Wait… these were taken that day?" she whispered, zooming into one where she and Justin were seated. "That sneaky, low-life snake," she hissed, a dry laugh escaping her lips. "Melanie really stooped this low to ruin them?"
She felt sick.
Chloe looked away from the phone, then back again with fire in her eyes. "Nah… this can't stay hidden. It's time someone wipes that stupid smirk off your face Melanie," she said aloud, grabbing her own phone and snapping clear pictures of the evidence , the group chat, the messages, the IG account list, and especially the anonymous DMs to Bella.
"This is enough," she whispered, exhaling sharply as she stood up. She checked the time ,she still had a few hours.
She opened the wardrobe and grabbed a light jacket, then glanced at Melanie's phone one last time. "Let me not go too far," she said with a mocking chuckle, shaking her head. She slipped Melanie's phone into her tote and headed out.
***
By the time she got to Student Affairs, the reception was quiet but still open. She walked in and approached the receptionist's desk.
"Hi, I found this phone earlier today in the library," she said calmly. "I meant to bring it sooner but got caught up."
The woman smiled and took the phone. "Thank you for being honest. We'll hold onto it in case the owner comes."
"No problem," Chloe replied coolly. "I'm sure they'll come running once they realize what they lost."
With that, she turned on her heel and walked out, her heels clicking with purpose as she headed to her car. "Now, time to end Melanie's little game," she muttered, unlocking her phone to start planning her next move.
***
Melanie was pacing the small room in their hostel, visibly agitated. Her bag had been emptied, the table checked, even under the bed , nothing. "I swear I had it with me," she kept repeating, eyes darting around the room.
Rina sat on the edge of the bed, brows furrowed. "Are you sure you didn't leave it in the library?"
"That's the only place we were after class," Talia added, standing with her arms folded. "You probably dropped it while we were packing up."
Melanie exhaled sharply. "I was using it before we left. Like right before. How could I just… forget it?" She ran a hand through her hair. "Oh my God."
"Well, there's no point panicking here," Rina said, standing up. "Let's go back and check the library. It might still be there."
Within minutes, the girls were back on the campus road, walking briskly toward the library. Melanie was mostly silent, a hundred thoughts flying through her head.
When they arrived at the library, they went directly to the area they had sat earlier.
"Excuse me," Melanie said to a girl nearby. "Did you see a phone here? Maybe earlier today?"
The girl looked up, shaking her head. "No, sorry. I didn't."
They asked two more students sitting around, but everyone had the same response, no one had seen a phone.
Talia sighed. "Okay, time to try Student Affairs. If someone picked it up, that's the most likely place it'd be turned in."
"I hope it's there," Melanie muttered, already walking ahead.
At Student Affairs, the girls stepped up to the reception desk.
"Hi," Melanie said, slightly out of breath. "Please, did anyone by chance drop a phone here? I think I lost mine."
The receptionist, a middle-aged woman with glasses hanging from a chain, looked up from her system. "Can you describe the phone?"
"Yes! Um… it's an iPhone 11, red, the screen protector is cracked a bit on the top corner."
She nodded, bent down behind the desk, and came back up holding the phone.
Melanie gasped. "Oh my God! That's it!"
"This was dropped off not too long ago," the woman said, handing it over.
"By who?" Talia asked curiously.
"A lady, young. Didn't leave her name," she replied with a small shrug.
Melanie hugged the phone to her chest. "Whoever she is, she's a lifesaver. Thank you so much."
"Please be more careful next time," the receptionist smiled.
"Definitely," Melanie replied. "Trust me, I've learned my lesson."
As the girls walked out, Rina nudged her. "See? Told you it would turn up."
"Yeah," Melanie muttered, still shaken. "Thank God."
The girls stepped out of Student Affairs, the warm sun hitting their faces as they walked down the concrete path back toward their hostel.
"I swear," Melanie said, still clutching her phone tightly, "I've never panicked like that over a phone before."
"You practically lost your soul," Talia teased with a smirk.
"I'm just glad it wasn't stolen," Rina added. "At least whoever found it had the decency to return it."
Melanie exhaled deeply, unlocking the phone to make sure everything was intact. "Everything's still here," she said, scrolling through. "I honestly don't even remember dropping it. Like… I thought it was in my bag."
"You were distracted, babe," Talia replied. "We were all rushing after that exam."
"True," Melanie nodded. "Anyway, whoever dropped it off… I owe them big time."