By Thursday, almost all the first years are equipped by RedRow. The first one to download and explore the app had been Harley, of course, but next day onwards, the first year students began to receive the link from their seniors. The senders were second years—they didn't even have to send it to everyone. Once a few students realised what this was, it was a matter of time since they shared it with every single person they knew.

Samuel Andrews has his phone gripped between his fingers, so tight that he could feel the heat beginning to spread from his phone to his hand. There are cracks on his screen as if someone had thrown it across the room and let it shatter. His own face isn't better. He is standing on the terrace all alone with a fresh black eye and a swollen cheek. He doesn't know how to get back to his room without being faced with a million questions by his dorm mates.

"You shouldn't have come here, Sam. You don't belong. Fuck, how'd you even get in this school? You're a goddamn loser." His brother, Nate had laughed minutes before it all went down. "Being in this school is a different thing. How fucking dare you spy on me, you fucking bitch? You were following me, weren't you?"

Sam couldn't even utter a single word. The girl with his brother, whose name he'd heard was Penny, walked up to him with a wide smile on her face. She had an eerie vibe around her, with those exaggerated expressions, dyed hair and thick eyeliner. "Nate, let it go. He looks so cute, you really wanna assume he'd been spying?"

Nate scoffed. "Give me your phone."

"What?" Sam croaked out. He was frozen again. It happened everytime he faced his brother like this.

"I said—" Nate reaches forward, his hand outstretched as he reached for his phone. "Give me your fucking phone." And that was it. He snatched it from his brother. As if all the luck in the world was in his favour, the phone was already unlocked. Nate's lips curled up in a smile, his eyes darkening as he switched the video off. He looks up at Sam, shaking his head. "You're such a fucking bitch, you know that?"

"What is it?" Penny asked rushing up to Nate's side. Nate let her see the screen. Penny's face dropped as she saw the video for five seconds, then taking the phone from him and taking a step back. She began to laugh, her eyes trained on the video. "I like this guy."

Something about her words pissed Sam off. He reached for her but Nate pushed him back. Sam stumbled, balancing himself last moment. Before he could register any of it, Nate's fist collided with his cheek. Pain vibrated through his jaw and his heartbeat quickened, the fear reopening the wounds he thought he had left behind. He spat out, coughing as he took a step back—away from Nate.

"You're up to this shit again. Making me the goddamn villain." Nate took the phone from Penny. His fingers worked through settings, resetting the phone to factory mode, wiping all of its data. He threw the phone down hard, the small crack sound audible to all the people present on the terrace. Penny shows no reaction. Sam's eyes glisten—not because of the pain, but because Nate had hit his jaw. Hard. "Focus on your studies, kid. Stay out of this."

"Give him one more, you know. For good luck." Even though Penny didn't show it on her face, she was pissed. Her eyes betrayed that emotion. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Nate had been thinking the same. He grabbed Sam's collar and he grunted, a pain expression on his face.

"I'm sorry," Sam said reluctantly.

"You don't mean it."

That is how Samuel Andrews ended up with a broken phone and a ruined face.

***

If there is one thing Rhett had realised in his first four days here at Redville, it is that Atlas Ariti would never talk; he'd only listen. Maybe that is why he has found to like his company so much. They had first met on the day of the orientation, sitting next to each other, but they had known each other for longer. Shortly after the rankings were out in the public, Rhett found Atlas online. He'd found him fascinating so they had talked for a bit on and off till the session began.

Atlas was quiet, never really voicing out his opinions but Rhett was aware of how smart he was and what went behind those eyes of his because in the end, he is a student of Redville after all. He wouldn't have been here if he wasn't a schemer.

Rhett found himself waiting up for Atlas everyday after classes. They would meet up, go to one of the cafes, discuss about their days, and talk about everything. On their first day here, he saw her for the first time. Walking out of Rayon, pausing for a second, looking up at the sky before she walked over to the bicycle stand. It had started to rain, then, and he wondered if she'd walk in the cafe he was in and sit. Maybe they could've talked that way, but she didn't.

In the rain, she took one of the bicycles and cycled back to the dorms—or wherever she was headed. The thought of her makes his blood curl now. Even as he sits with Atlas, stirring his coffee, he can't get her off his mind. He doesn't know what's so appealing about that girl but something really is. Maybe it's the way she carries herself with confidence or maybe it's the way she seems just not care about the impossible feat she has achieved.

He clicks his tongue.

It doesn't make sense, really.

A girl who sets a new record by her shaking performance in one of the most difficult entrance exams in the country and her name has never been on the education side of the newspaper for some olympiad or an international level exam. A girl who effortlessly secures the first rank in her dance programme but has never won a single competition. No evident social media presence, no awards, no titles—nothing.

It fascinates him. It makes him want to scream to himself.

Where did I go wrong? Why can't it be me?

He couldn't help but let the jealousy get to his mind.

"Okay, spill. What's on your mind?" Atlas asks, his voice as soothing as ever. "You're thinking about Harley again, aren't you?"

Rhett nods. "I mean, yeah. I'm just surprised."

"You're jealous of her." Before Rhett could protest, Atlas holds his hands up, adding, "which is understandable. It's okay to be jealous of her. No one expected her, it's alright."

"No one expected her—that's the problem, for fuck's sake. It's annoying how she got in like this. Do you think she paid her way into the school?"

Atlas shrugs. "You can pay your way into the school but you can't really pay your way to be the top scorer. Even the board members have some morals."

"So, you don't think she paid her way into the school?"

"No." He takes a sip of his coffee, leaning back. "She's the real deal, Rhett. Have you seen her dance scores? They're perfect. Only Summer's gotten perfect dance scores for their entrance. It's alright not to be as good as her right now but you'll get better. I don't know how good she is right now but you're not at your best. You realise you still got an amazing score, yeah?"

"Compared to her I didn't," Rhett mumbles.

"That's what I'm saying. Get better. Be her competition. If you beat her, then that's something to be proud of."

"You think I can?"

Atlas let out a sigh. His lips tugged upwards in a smile. It wasn't really kind, no—it was assessing, dangerous, scary, even. "You think you can't?"

It hit him then. Atlas is the fourth ranker as well, being one of the representatives. He could've been third, second or even first if it wasn't for Harley. Him, Atlas and Ana have had a real close competition as well. It could've been any of them. And the reason he is at Redville isn't because he is good, but because he can be better—even best.

So, he smiles back. He can put aside the jealousy now, not let it stop himself from growing. He sets a new goal for himself, one he never thought he'd need to when he was giving the entrance. He had thought he was the best and that was his mistake. He isn't the best, but he will be.

"I will."

That is the moment Rhett Carter decides that he is going to beat Harley Kingsley and be on the top of it all.

***

"You're gonna play with her, aren't you?" Mason says, his eyes tired. He is a third year Cepheus student in the dance program, a member of the Red Primas led by Summer Laurent. He is sitting in Asher Hale's room at the moment with a lot many people but it's night now. He can't wait to get back to the comfort of his own room and go to sleep. It's the first friday tomorrow. First Fridays are important for the first year dance students and he wants to be completely awake when he's watching them.

He isn't usually that thrilled to look at his juniors' skills but this year, things were different. Harley Kingsley has entered the picture, knocking everyone off their footing, and even if she didn't show it, Summer Laurent is beyond pissed at her for scoring just as much as she did. In Summer's world, there's no one better than herself and if someone enters to take her crown, she will do anything in her power to knock them out.

"Of course, I will," Asher says with a smile. "It's fun to do so, honestly."

"What, it's fun to play mind games or what?" Mason asks lazily.

Penny snickers beside him. "Of course it's fun to play mind games."

"You're just gonna fuck everyone's mental health up," he mutters under his breath.

"Look at him, our local mental health advocate," Lily says, rolling her eyes. She's laying on the bed, her shoes on the bed, her eyes on her phone but her attention on everything happening around her. There are dark circles under her eyes which she hides every morning before she meets Val. Val would probably fuss around it all and Lily doesn't like all that.

"Levi isn't gonna like your shoes on his bed," Mason mutters. Lily ignores him, just shrugging and going back on her phone.

Asher lets out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "She's smart, I'll give her that, but I wanna see how smart."

"You wanna see if she's smarter than you," Mason comments.

"She isn't," Penny says. "But if she is, I really do want to see a showdown between the two. It'll be so fun." Her smile is wide, excitement evident in her eyes. She's still in her school uniform. She and Nate had been on the terrace, met Sam, then parted ways before returning. Nate had said that he'll be back in a while but he wasn't. Penny guessed that he was out for a smoke—again.

"You really just want to find a girl to crush on," Lily points out,

Penny shushes her but doesn't deny the statement. She hasn't yet met Harley but she seems pretty cool to her. Plus, she's pretty. She has the confidence she carries that makes Penny want to walk up to her and talk but she wouldn't. Atleast not yet.

"Look, what I'm saying is, we'll see how good she is tomorrow," Mason says, getting up from the bed. "Tomorrow's an important day for them. They just don't know it yet. It's going to catch all of them off guard. It'll be fun." He walks over to the door, yawning. He looks at all of them, smiling. "I'm gonna go sleep. I'm tired as fuck. Goodnight."

He leaves the room without waiting for anyone else to say anything. Lily and Penny exchange looks and shrug.

"What's up with him?" Lily mutters.

"Nothing," Asher says. "Guess he's still pissed about the second year guy thing."

Realisation spreads across Lily's face and she nods, understanding. "He shouldn't be pissed. That guy's a bitch. He isn't gonna do the job."

"He'll have to," Penny chimes in. "I'm pretty sure Nate and Ash have something against him."

"Where's Nate, though?" Lily asks Penny.

"I have no idea."

The two girls turn to Asher again for answers—they always do. Asher smiles, taking out his phone and checking the time. "He isn't gonna meet us tonight, probably."

"Why?" Penny asks. She doesn't like how she's left out on the sidelines in this group sometimes. It pisses her off, mainly because they were the ones who dragged her in their mess in the first place. She looks at Asher expectantly but he just shakes his head, like it's none of her business to know it.

Once again, she's back to her first year, back without Lily in the picture, back when she didn't have anything to do with all the rumours and the shit. She's back to the terrace on the day when she was with her, looking at the stars in her eyes, her heart fluttering in her chest. The memories of that year are still vivid in her mind and she can do anything to erase them but there's no going back now.

Are they really gonna mess her up too? Like they messed her up?

Suddenly, she's hit with the realisation why Mason's pissed at them for using Reece. He knows just as much as she does that once they start playing with someone, they don't stop until it's too late.

With a sigh, she gets up with her heart heavy and walks out of the room without a single word.

***

Nate blows out a puff of smoke, his mouth burning. Today's been a long day in between dealing with Sam and setting up a meeting with him. The guy he was supposed to meet is in front of him, standing with confidence. His hair's a mess, the top buttons of his shirt unbuttoned.

"You're telling me," Nate begins, "that you've done absolutely nothing yet? You haven't even met her?"

The guy shakes his head. Nate scoffs in disbelief, shaking his head as he sticks the cigarette back in his mouth. He exhales again, the smoke masking the guy's face as he coughs. The blond doesn't even look scared. Nate isn't surprised, he's impressed. He really CAN fake all of it, can't he? The fact that he was able to stand like this in front of him without having to report anything is genuinely commendable.

"You have nothing more to say, huh?" He hits his head—not too hard but enough to catch him off guard. "You know, if you're not able to get me something by the end of this week, you know what's gonna happen." He grabs his hair, forcing his attention to be focused on only him. "You know what's at stake, don't you? One wrong step and you're gone, you get me?"

"Yes," the guy replies, unfazed.

Nate isn't convinced but he lets him go anyways. The guy steps back, straightening his shirt and adjusting his hair.

"Give me till the vacations, Nate. That's the least you can do."

He drops the cigarette, annoyed. Crushing it under his feet, he says, "The end of this month. If you don't have anything by then, you're down. Got it? I don't care how you do it. Be her friend. Date her. Fuck her. I don't give a fuck. Just fucking do it."

The guy just nods.

Nate takes a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. "Leave," he says to the guy, who obeys at once. He waits till he can't hear his footsteps anymore and takes out his phone. Clicking on Asher's contact, he types out a single sentence.

Nate: it's done.