Enjoy the chapter everyone, I’m curious as to how you feel about Trisha and Naomi now. Just a forewarning, this chapter involves graphic bullying. Read at your discretion.

  - S. Redd

  "Ow—hot!" I blow desperately through the lid of my coffee cup, trying to cool the scalding hot chocote inside. The tip of my tongue goes numb as it’s singed by the nigh molten liquid.

  "I put milk in it like you asked. Don't bme me." Luna giggles beside me, taking a careful sip of her own drink.

  "Sooo, how about we get right into it!" Starr leans forward eagerly, barely containing her excitement.

  "Alright, Starr. Enlighten me on the whole Trisha situation." A knowing smile creeps across her face. I gnce around the café; Matthew said he'd meet us here to expin everything. It makes sense he'd know about it, being close with Trisha and all. Maybe the basketball team called an emergency meeting. Not an uncommon occurrence during lunch.

  "So, as you've heard, Trisha's boyfriend broke up with her st night. Apparently he caught feelings for some other girl. Isn't that crazy? Well-deserved, though."

  "We get the point, Starr. Just keep going."

  "Right, right. So it's this freshman named Ello. She's cute, pretty reserved though. Apparently she's got some serious depression and problems with substance abuse."

  Luna's fists ball up on the table. "Those two are tormenting her. It makes me so mad—she's a sweet girl. Just keeps to herself."

  I can tell she's genuinely upset; her tone has that edge it only gets when something crosses a line. It's justified, but I doubt any of the staff will do anything to stop it—or even have the power to.

  "So Trisha and Naomi are bullying this Ello girl?"

  Both of them nod.

  "It's a bit more than that, actually…" Starr reaches for her bag with an ominous look. Her long purple nails tap against her phone screen before she sets it on the table between us.

  "We have our little bitch here, isn't that right, Ello?"

  Trisha's voice erupts from the tinny speaker. On screen, she yanks a leash, the other end chained to a colr around a short girl's neck.

  So that's Ello.

  "Bark, bitch!" Naomi circles her like a vulture, yanking back a fistful of white hair. It's short—there isn't much to grab—but now that I'm looking closer, the ends are jagged and uneven.

  "They didn't…?"

  Luna nods grimly, confirming my suspicions.

  "They cut her hair."

  There's a gre in Luna's eyes I don't see often. Protective. Furious. From that look alone I can tell Ello isn't weak, which somehow makes this worse.

  "B-bark! Bar—gh—"

  I watch the video closely. They spped her. She just took it.

  "Do it better. Get on all fours."

  Ello drops to the floor without hesitation, barking like a dog while Trisha and Naomi descend into ughter.

  "This is the girl you left me for, Elijah!?"

  There's a lot happening in the video, but what interests me most is Ello's demeanor. She doesn't seem scared, not really. But she shows no real signs of resistance either. I really do feel bad, though. Something about this doesn't add up.

  "Who owns you, bitch? Let everyone know, don't be shy!"

  Trisha's words match the cruel smile pstered across her face. In the background, Naomi pulls out some kind of outfit and a bag.

  "I—I'm T-Trisha and Naomi's dog."

  Nobody could make me say something like that. Which makes me wonder—is there another reason Ello's putting up with their torment?

  "Good doggy!"

  Naomi opens the bag and drops a treat on the floor. Ello crawls to it without being told and chews it down. They've been doing this for a while.

  "Now, doggies can't wear school uniforms, so we brought you a new outfi—"

  "I don't need to see any more."

  I stand abruptly, my coffee cup crumpling slightly in my grip. I knew those two were bad, but this is worse than I thought. I toss the cup in the trash and take a deep breath before sitting back down.

  "You see why we hate her now?" Starr asks, her expression almost triumphant.

  Yes, Starr. I see it now. She seems to read my thoughts and smiles.

  "How did you even get this video?" I raise an eyebrow.

  She presses a finger to her lips, feigning mystery. "I've got my ways…"

  "Trisha recorded it on her phone st night," Luna cuts in ftly. "She was showing it off to everyone. Sent it to a bunch of people too."

  Thanks, Luna.

  "So are you gonna go kick her ass?"

  Starr's suggestion is tempting. Very tempting.

  "I can't just go around beating up spoiled high school girls."

  Her smile doesn't waver. "I thought you'd say that. We didn't need you to anyway. Your girlfriend's got it covered."

  I turn to see Luna looking away, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks.

  "I wasn't going to just let her badmouth Ello in the locker room," she mutters.

  Am I feeling proud? Obviously. Luna stood up for her.

  "Yeah, but she got kicked off the volleyball team for it," Starr adds.

  "What?!"

  Luna ughs awkwardly while Starr looks at me like I'm missing something obvious.

  "What? You thought Trisha would let a punch from Luna slide?"

  Wow. I can’t believe I missed that... Trisha deserved it, though.

  "So that whole thing from this morning…"

  Luna nods.

  "Yep. She was trying to make me jealous. It's pathetic, even for her."

  "You probably did get jealous, Luna—having Trasha put her hands all over your man," Starr teases.

  I stand up, exasperated, and the sound of Luna’s empty coffee cup bouncing off Starr's shoulder echoes behind me.

  "I'm gonna wash my hands."

  The yelling and giggling fade as I push into the bathroom and lock the door behind me. I swear those two don't realize we're in a public space. I turn on the tap—cold at first, gradually warming up. A lot of people are scared of Trisha and Naomi. I just found out they're like the queens of the school. Beyond that, everyone seems to have their own groups. Luna and Starr are pretty high up on the social dder too—well-known and naturally liked,but they stick to one group of friends: us. Matthew's another story. He's kind of like—

  The buzzing in my pocket interrupts my thoughts.

  Drying my hands as much as I can, I quickly reach for my phone.

  "Great…"

  I lean against the sink counter, rereading the number over and over. Yeah. That's them.

  To my surprise, the phone starts vibrating again. They're calling me?

  I'm a lot calmer than I was st night—I must have been in shock before. I swipe right and press the phone to my ear.

  "Hello?"

  Heavy breathing is all I can make out from the other side. I hold still, listening closely. Then suddenly, it's interrupted by ughter. Low, eerie ughter. Before I can react, the call ends.

  What was that?

  The phone buzzes again. A new message:

  "Sorry. I couldn't bring myself to speak to you yet. The first time you hear my voice, I want it to be in person. Though I should say: you have a beautiful voice, Micheal. It will be thrilling to find out what kind of screams will come from it."

  My eyes scan the message over and over. What a weirdo. From the way he was breathing, it's safe to assume it's a man.

  Another buzz.

  "I just needed to remind you of my existence, Micheal. Don't forget that you're already pying my game. Keep a close eye on that girl. She's your first challenge. Let's see how many people you can save. No need to reply—you should be heading to css soon. I'll see you sooner than you think."

  The day just keeps getting better.

  I slip my phone back into my pocket and head out of the bathroom. The girls are waiting for me near the door. He knows where I am right now, but I can't see him anywhere. I scan the café, my eyes sweeping over every corner as we walk out.

  "Can you stop fantasizing?!"

  Ouch—Luna hitting me is one thing, but Starr?

  "What?" I snap out of it, blinking.

  Luna frowns at my harsh tone. "Are you okay? You're completely lost in thought."

  She's right. I didn't even realize we were back at school already.

  "Yeah. Sorry. The whole Ello thing is just… really crazy."

  The two of them nod, their expressions darkening.

  "Micheal… try talking to her," Luna says softly, almost pleading. "Starr and I have both tried, but she seems reluctant to open up to us for some reason."

  I hate seeing her look at me like that.

  "Of course. Has she been at school tely?"

  "After a video like that going public? No way!" Starr's reply comes with a dry, humorless ugh.

  "Actually, I saw her yesterday," Luna adds. "I'm not sure where she spends most of her time, but maybe you can ask some of the other freshmen she hangs around with."

  It's sweet that she thinks I'd find anyone. Something tells me Ello's probably on her own.

  "I'll see you two after school."

  We head up the stairs to the front entrance. The girls wave before heading to their next css.

  So. A girl is being treated like a dog, and Luna's been kicked off the volleyball team.

  I guess it's time to pay a visit to the so-called queen.