The Quiet Was Final

I lifted my head slowly, my gaze icy as I asked him point-blank for the first time, "Do you actually like me?"

He paused, taken aback. Then, he broke into a smile. "Of course I like you, you goof."

That night, he steadied me, his care feigned as he tucked my drunken body into bed, cooing softly.

"Sleep tight. You need to be up early tomorrow."

Soon after, the door clicked shut.

Time passed, and then the door swung open again. A few boys' snickers slithered through the gap. "Where is she? In here? Don't worry, we've got this covered."

The following day, the school auditorium was filled to the brim.

The presentations from top-tier universities were about to start, and the whole school, including many parents who had come especially for the occasion, was abuzz with anticipation.

Someone scanned the room, puzzled. "Where's Tessa? She's one of our stars, and I've heard top universities around the world are fighting over her!"

In the crowd, Jocelyn stood with her arms crossed, a smug smile playing on her lips as she leaned against Eric.

She whispered to Eric with a hint of glee, "Just wait until Tessa shows up. Let's see how she'll handle this."

Then, looking up at him, she asked, "Ready?"

Eric's eyes were unfocused, his attention lost to the screen of his phone.

The screen was flooded with missed calls from that morning; none of them were answered.

"Uh...I'm all set," he mumbled, clearly nervous.

At the heart of the stage, the school honchos kicked off the event, and the giant screen started rolling out slick ads from all the fancy schools.

Then, the feed from one of the elite schools glitched out.

Before anyone could react, a steamy, twisted scene was broadcast for the entire school to see…

A girl panted and moaned, those breathless sounds sending heat through the crowd as the auditorium went wild in a flash.

"What in the world?!"

"Who's behind this?!"

"Who's that girl?!"

The school honchos' faces went pale, and they scrambled to kill the feed, but they were freaking out because nothing worked. The system was on the fritz!

The place went nuts in no time.

Someone in the crowd hollered, "Hey? Doesn't that voice sound a bit familiar?"

Jocelyn could not stop smirking, arms folded like she was in the front row at the best show in town.

"Tsk! Doesn't that sound a lot like Tessa? No way, right? The brainiac's got some game after all, huh?"

Eric looked like he had swallowed a lemon, trying to cut in. "Cut it out, guys, just…"

However, Jocelyn shot him a look, her voice dropping even lower as she said, "Having regrets? Too late for that."

While everyone was buzzing, the girl in the clip turned her head slowly, and then bam! Her face was out there for the whole school to see.

The place blew up.

"Holy cow! It's her?!"

"How can it be?!"

"Is this for real?"

Jocelyn's smirk looked ready to split her face, and she screamed as if she were furious, though it was obvious she was enjoying every second. "See for yourselves! This is your so-called goddess Tessa! Does someone with her kind of morals even belong in a top school?!"

She spun around with her nose in the air, all set to unleash another round of fury, but the scene on the screen stopped her short.

Her face drained of color, and she let out a scream like she had been struck by lightning.

"No way! No way!

"Shut it down! Shut it down now!"