MARY POV
It had been three weeks, and we were still yet to find a phone similar to Philip's.
Actually, with Lee and Peter's help, we knew what Philip had been up to these past few weeks. But knowing wasn't enough. We needed to hurry.
We only had four months until graduation, and somehow, that felt terrifyingly close.
Our days as seniors were slipping away faster than we expected, and there were still so many things left unresolved.
Like Mary and Ruby getting into a fight.
Or Lee and Lana kissing—which they both insisted was a mistake.
A mistake.
Yeah, right.
I still didn't believe them.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice the person walking toward me until—
Bam!
"Oh, shit. I'm sorry!" I quickly bent down to help her pick up her things.
Then I saw it.
Her phone.
I froze.
My eyes widened, and a slow grin spread across my face.
Finally.
I picked it up, staring at it like I had just found the missing piece of a puzzle we'd been trying to solve for weeks.
"Finally," I muttered with a smirk.
The person cleared her throat.
I looked up.
And my smile practically doubled.
"Brenda."
She blinked, looking surprised.
"You remember my name?"
"Why wouldn't I?" I asked, handing her the phone. "I don't forget pretty people."
Her cheeks immediately turned pink.
I almost laughed.
"Is this your phone?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
"Yeah." She took it from me, looking confused. "Why do you ask?"
"Nothing."
I hesitated for a second before giving her my best innocent smile.
"Can I get your number? Maybe we could chat sometime."
She looked at me expectantly for a moment before smiling.
"Sure."
She opened her phone and scanned the QR code.
"You're looking weird today," she said.
I raised an eyebrow. "Weird?"
"Maybe it's because I haven't seen you in a while."
I gave a small laugh.
"Yeah. I've been on a lot of suspensions lately."
Her eyes widened.
"Whoa. I didn't take you for that kind of person."
"Neither did I," I joked.
She laughed softly.
"I think this year has been the best since I met my friends," I said, glancing away for a moment.
"That's for you, not me," Brenda said sadly. "I don't really have many friends."
My smile faded.
"Hey, don't worry about that."
I suddenly had an idea.
"Are you free this evening?"
She looked at me curiously.
"Do you mind hanging out with me and my friends? We're having a girls' night."
She hummed thoughtfully.
Then she nodded.
"Sure."
"Great."
She smiled before waving goodbye and walking away.
I watched her disappear down the hallway.
Then I looked down at my phone.
A grin slowly returned to my face.
I couldn't wait to tell the girls what I'd just found.
---
"You are saying we're hanging out this evening, and I'm just hearing about it now?" Ruby complained.
I rolled my eyes.
"I'm at Xavier's. No, let's postpone—"
"Don't you get it?" I cut her off, already tired of her whining. "We finally got a chance!"
Ruby groaned.
"Ruby, please get your ass back to Lana's."
"Fine, whatever," she muttered.
She paused before looking at me suspiciously.
"Do you think she'll agree to your request?"
"I don't know yet."
I shrugged, trying not to look too excited.
"But I can't wait to get rid of Philip. He's so annoying."
I crossed my arms.
"And he keeps pulling strings behind the scenes. Like when Lucas and Pedro stole my chemistry project. Somehow, they had all my notes and rough sheets too."
I clenched my jaw at the memory.
"Maya hasn't even spoken to me since then. It's annoying, guys."
Lana chuckled.
"Yours better remember Peter is still on crutches."
We all burst out laughing.
"Honestly," Ruby said between laughs, "I think he's like a child asking for attention."
"Attention?" Lana yelled, her laughter instantly disappearing. "He almost killed me!"
"Okay, okay!" Ruby raised her hands defensively.
I couldn't help laughing again.
"Yeah, I think so too," I said. "But why hasn't he done anything to Lee yet?"
The laughter slowly died down.
Everyone looked at me.
"It's like he's warning us," I continued. "We all got our fair share except Lee."
A shiver ran through me.
"Or maybe he's planning something big."
Lana's expression darkened.
"God, he's so creepy."
She rubbed her arms as though she could physically shake off the thought.
"When are we meeting? Let's just get this over with."
I smiled.
"Relax."
Then I remembered something.
"By the way, Ruby..."
She looked at me.
"Have you made up your mind yet?"
"About...?"
I gave her a knowing look.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about."
Ruby's face immediately turned red.
She bit her lip, something I'd noticed she did whenever she was trying desperately not to smile.
"I think..." She looked down, suddenly shy. "I like him. Just a little bit, girls. Not much."
Lana snorted.
"Whatever you say."
"Whatever," Ruby muttered.
We all laughed.
And somehow, we just kept talking.
For a moment, everything felt normal.
No Philip.
No revenge.
No secrets.
No fear.
Just us.
It was almost amusing how close we'd become.
Because deep down, we all knew that in just a few months, everything would change.
Graduation was coming.
And soon, we'd all go our separate ways.
Maybe that was why I wanted to hold on to moments like this.
Because I had a feeling that once we left this place...
Nothing would ever be the same again.