His phone buzzed during third period.
Phei glanced at the screen under his desk, face carefully blank while the teacher droned on about equations he'd solved in his head weeks ago.
Delilah:Meet me. East gardens. Fire pit lounge. Now.
Another message landed before he could pocket the phone.
Delilah:Don't bring Sienna or Maddie. Come alone.
He stared at the words longer than necessary.
Three weeks ago, a summons like this would have twisted his gut with dread. What fresh humiliation had she engineered? Would Danton be lurking with his fists ready, or would it be something more surgical—some perfectly staged scene to remind him he was still the outsider, still tolerated at best?
Now?
Now he was simply curious.
Delilah had been orbiting him for weeks; and his observations confirmed it: she was at full activation.
Three positive impressions.
That is all it took.
