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The late afternoon sun was a blazing orange spotlight, casting long, sharp shadows across the outdoor basketball court. The air still hung thick with the humidity of a school day, but the only sound was the rustle of the chain-link fence surrounding the faded court.
Raina, her crisp dark- green school blazer looking strangely formal in the rugged setting, stood motionless. Her dark eyes, usually vibrant and mischievous, were hard, fixed on the boy opposite her. Han, tall and lean, matched her stare, his hands clenched loosely at his sides. Fifteen years of shared secrets, inside jokes, and unbreakable loyalty hung between them, thick and volatile.
"Yes, I did it," Raina roared, the sound cutting through the silence. She didn't sound remorseful; she sounded triumphant. "If she continues to meddle in my affairs, I won't guarantee you that your sister will exist much longer in this world."
A slow, chilling curve appeared on her lips—a smile that promised devastation.
Han's eyes widened, a flicker of raw fear quickly replaced by ice. "Raina!"
She threw her head back, a laugh of pure, unadulterated vengeance echoing off the brick wall of the gym. Then, with a calculated swiftness, Raina turned and started to walk away, her blazer swinging slightly.
"That means you are breaking our fifteen years of friendship?" Han's voice was low, cold, and utterly devoid of emotion, a tone Raina had never heard him use.
Raina froze. She stopped dead, her back still to him. That friendship, that deep bond forged in childhood sandpits and high school hallways, was the one thing she truly valued. She closed her eyes tightly, fighting a battle within herself. The desire for complete revenge warred with the memory of their shared past.
Finally, she opened her eyes. The fire was banked, replaced by cold calculation. She turned her head slightly, her face completely expressionless.
"Fine. For you. Only for you," she conceded, the words clipped and flat. "I won't kill her. I will leave her alone... one time." She raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "But you have to take care that she shouldn't interfere with me. Otherwise…"
"She won't," Han interrupted, his own face straight, the tension holding his jaw rigid. "You have to stick to your word."
Raina started walking again. She had taken only three steps when her phone, tucked into the inner pocket of her blazer, chimed relentlessly—a rapid, insistent ding-ding-ding.
She pulled it out, her eyes scanning the screen. She saw a notification: every single premium membership she had carefully accumulated at the city's most prestigious and exclusive nightclub—memberships she had acquired almost entirely due to Han's family influence—had been canceled. Instantly.
Raina bit her lip, a sharp gasp catching in her throat. She looked back over her shoulder, finding Han's gaze across the court.
He wasn't angry. He was smirking.
"This is what you did to my sister earlier," he said, his voice now a low taunt. "Did you think I wouldn't react?"
Han didn't wait for an answer. He turned and left the court. Raina stood alone, staring at the message on her phone, the realization of Han's calculated counter-blow hitting her. She sniffed once, a fragile sound of pain and betrayal that was quickly swallowed by the silent court.
The Humid Trap
Gabriella sat in her Advanced English classroom, the late-day quiet allowing her to concentrate on her notes. She was dressed in the standard school uniform: a pleated skirt and a light blouse, her focus intense as she scribbled in her notebook.
Suddenly, a boy waved at her from the doorway. She went over.
"Gabriella? Ajax is waiting for you at the Indoor Swimming Pool area," The boy told. A girl whispered conspiratorially beside Gabriella . "He looked pretty urgent."
Gabriella's brow furrowed slightly. Ajax? She simply said, "Yes, thanks," and the boy went back . Gabriella returned to her desk, grabbed her phone, and headed out, a small knot of confusion in her stomach.
The Indoor Swimming Pool area was utterly silent. The air was thick and humid, heavy with the smell of chlorine, and the blue-tiled floor was eerily empty. Gabriella's footsteps echoed loudly as she walked past the rows of lockers. She looked around, puzzled.
"Ajax?" she called out.
The only reply was the low, rhythmic hum of the filtration system.
Suddenly, a figure barged through the far entrance, stopping abruptly in front of her. Gabriella flinched, rolling her eyes in recognition.
It was Ajax. He smiled lazily, tying his hands together behind his head. "Are you afraid?"
"What a childish thing to say," Gabriella said coldly, trying to regain her composure.
Ajax shrugged, unbothered. "Maybe. But fun, right?"
"Why did you call—" she started, taking a step forward.
Before she could finish, her foot stepped on something slick. She lost her balance and began to fall backward toward the tiled edge of the pool. Before her brain could even register panic, Ajax moved with instant speed, lunging forward. He grabbed her, preventing her from falling by pulling her tightly against his chest.
In that instant of contact, Ajax's heart slammed against his ribs. He felt a strange, overwhelming rush of feeling—something new, electric, and terrifying. He looked down at her face, inches from his own, and in the bright, humid light of the pool area, he couldn't stop himself. It was love at first sight.
Far away, hidden near the main entrance, a phone was recording the scene. The angle made it look like Gabriella and Ajax were locked in a passionate embrace.
"Perfect," a girl's voice whispered, her eyes shining with dark satisfaction.
It was Anitta, Gabriella's former friend, now a rival in the shadows.
Gabriella pushed herself upright, immediately pulling away from Ajax. He coughed, trying to act normal, his face flushed.
"You're looking… different," she observed, completely calm.
"I—nothing," he stammered, recovering quickly. "Why did you call me here? You said it was urgent."
Gabriella was genuinely shocked. "What? Me? No! A girl told me that you called me."
Ajax's expression turned instantly suspicious. Gabriella's did, too.
Suddenly, they heard a muffled noise near the entrance. Gabriella followed the sound, Ajax right behind her.
A girl darted out of sight down the corridor. "Anitta!" Gabriella hissed, recognizing the figure.
"Do you know her?" Ajax asked.
Gabriella didn't answer. The pieces clicked into place—the false summons, the fake urgency, the setup. She started running. Ajax followed her lead.
Anitta turned a corner and bolted into a vast, unused seminar hall—a forgotten space rarely opened. Gabriella hesitated just outside the doorway, its gloom unnerving. Ajax, breathing heavily, caught up to her.
He was about to suggest checking the seminar hall door. when a door opened right beside them. A familiar girl stepped out, a wide, satisfied smile of pure revenge stretching across her face. It was Evil Erica, and she had an old, faded, but unmistakable injured mark visible on one side of her face.
Gabriella froze, her mind struggling to process the connection.
Erica laughed, a high, sharp sound. "Everything went well."
Ajax immediately moved, stepping forward like a protector, placing himself between Erica and Gabriella.
Erica's eyes narrowed on him. "Are you her new bodyguard?" she sneered. Then she focused her gaze back on Gabriella. "I won't be afraid of Gabriella anymore."
In a burst of pure adrenaline, Gabriella pushed Erica aside and plunged into the darkened seminar hall.
She froze instantly.
Inside, several poor scholarship students—the ones Gabriella often defended—were leaning helplessly against the walls, visibly injured and beaten. Erica's friends, including Harry (Erica's aggressive boyfriend) and Anitta, stood over them, looking victorious.
A voice, cold and smug, came from behind her. "You can't stop me."
Ajax rushed past Gabriella toward the beaten students. "Are you insane, Erica?!" he shouted.
Harry lunged, aiming a kick at Ajax. Ajax moved like lightning, grabbing Harry's leg, twisting it sharply, and sending him sprawling to the floor with a shout of pain. Ajax stood tall, his stance protective.
Gabriella walked toward Erica, her voice trembling with restrained fury. "How dare you harm them!"
Erica chuckled darkly, her eyes gleaming. "You have to see more. More interesting things would happen... soon."
Erica then strode out, followed by Harry (limping), Anitta, and the others, leaving the injured and the two protectors in the vast, damaged hall.
Gabriella stood in worry, her hands clenching and unclenching.
One of the beaten students slowly dragged himself over to her. He looked up, his eyes showing deep disappointment.
"We voted for you," he whispered, his voice weak. "We thought you would never let this kind of bullying happen to us. But… we're disappointed."
Gabriella's eyes flooded with powerful emotion, the sting of betrayal and failure overwhelming her. But she wouldn't allow herself to cry, not yet.
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To be Continued...
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