"You have a call" is what Jude says to me when she wakes me up. "Calls, actually. Your phone has been going off every fifteen minutes. It's annoying."

With a sigh, I reach for my phone and see that I have two missed calls from Mason, seven from Iris, one from Kai, and one from Seb. However, it's the last, the most recent call that catches me off guard. It's my dad. I haven't talked to in months. I never thought he'd call me but he is, which means he probably wants something from me. I don't call him back.

Instead, I get up from bed and freshen myself up. Then, I consider giving Iris a call but think against it, realising that I would have to hear her whiny voice for minutes before she gets to the point. I call the only person who feels like would get to the point immediately without stretching the topic. I click on Mason's contact and he picks up quickly after three rings.

"You sure seemed like you were going to get a hangover," he says to me and I can hear the smile in his voice. "You drank more than I did."

I shrug. "Is that what you called me for?"

"I knew you could get impatient but I didn't know you were this impatient, Harley." I click my tongue in annoyance, rolling my eyes and he laughs. "Anyways. Iris has been bugging me a lot and says that she'll blame both of us if we don't plan on meeting her today. Normally it wouldn't bother me this much but she's called me thirteen times since this morning and sent me a hundred texts and it's getting so fucking annoying for me so do you mind meeting today at four in the studio? It's mostly booked today so we'll have to share it with someone but yeah there's no other option."

I let out a sigh, running a hand through my hair and closing my eyes. "Yeah. Whatever. I'll be there."

Just when I cut the call, my phone begins to ring all over again. Irritation creeps under my skin as I furrow my brows to read the contact on screen. My dad. I would have declined the call if I thought that he'd give up. It's him first. Then it will be Seb. And then it will be Mom. Or maybe even my sister, if she can.

"Morning, dad," I mutter as I accept the call. I try to hide the annoyance in my voice and I know I'm doing a good job at it when Jude glances at me, noticing the sudden change of tone and chuckles. Good that someone's finding this entertaining because I most definitely am not.

"It's almost noon," he says, his voice low and cold. I do sense that he's trying to be kind but I know that he cannot be so. Especially with me. "Did you just wake up?"

Almost noon is still morning, I want to say to him but I don't. "Yeah," I say. "Why did you call?"

He sighs in disappointment. "Is it bad that I want to make sure that you're okay? I haven't talked to you in months, Lee."

"Exactly my point." I run a hand through my hair, breathing out. "Just tell me what happened that made you remember that I exist?"

There's a pause. I can literally see him fuming on the other side but even if he is, he tries not to show it in his voice. "Next month, there's a dinner party here. You've never attended it before but this time, you have to. For the sake of my reputation, do it."

The annoyance running through and through my head only seemed to increase. "I'm not doing that. You've never cared about it before. No. I'm not coming."

"Harley," he breathes out. "You don't have a choice. Usually it would be your sister attending these but since-"

"Then why don't you fucking ask her to attend it again?" I snap. "I do not fucking care about your work. Not even a little bit."

"You know I can't-"

"Cool. I'm not interested at all."

With that, I hang up. I know what he must be thinking. I know how angry he must be at me right now but if there's something I've learnt from living with him, it's the art of ignoring what people, even when they are close to me and their opinion on me should matter to me, said no matter what. Never let it get to your head, I'd tell myself. Just do what you have to do.

But ignoring them doesn't mean that I've no memory of them. Their words do get embedded in my mind even though I try my best to remove them. I just don't know how to yet.

I go for lunch with Jude, who then parts with me to talk to Ana and her other friends. Ana waves to me once and I smile back, going to sit with Rhea and the others who called me over the moment they saw me enter the cafe. I notice the seniors still here - the cold glare Cammy is throwing to me, Reece glancing at me momentarily, Sean looking up at me as I walk over to the others, Nate, Asher and all the others sitting there, some of them giving me looks so amused as if something's changed overnight.

And that's when I remember. The bet with Asher. I owe him now. I groan internally thinking about it and speculating about whatever it is he may ask me to do. Lunch passes by with me thinking about my dad's call and participating in the conversation with the others. I can never not be entertained by Ryker and Rhea's bickering.

I decide to sit outside in the complex courtyard for a while after lunch. Students are hanging out here lazily. I don't find any of the dance students here, though. Not that I'm looking out for them—it's just that I need a break from those people.

"Hey," I hear someone next to me. I look up to find Atlas Elias, who is still maintaining his spot under the top ten.

"Hi," I say, looking back at my phone. "What's up?"

He sits down next to me with a sigh. I close my phone, indicating to him that he has my partial, if not full attention. "Nothing. I realised I haven't really talked to you much like I have with Ana and Rhett. You don't seem like a social person though."

I scoff. "I don't really like to talk much unless someone else starts the conversation. Besides, small talks are annoying as fuck and I don't have any business with many people around here." He chuckles, shaking his head. "And if someone has anything to do with me, they approach in the most hostile way possible."

"Yeah, well, you are quite popular around here." He leans back on his palms, looking up. He's wearing shades of brown, and now that I think about it, every time I've seen him outside the school, he's wearing some calm colour that defines his vibe. His vibe and energy is even calmer than Ana which makes me think why he even came to a place with such a hostile environment in the first place.

"So, why did you want to talk to me?" I ask him after we sit silently for about half a minute.

He lets out a small breath. "I heard about the whole Iris thing. You know she's Rhett's girl?"

My eyes literally go wide when I hear that. I turn to him raising my eyebrows in disbelief but he's not exactly looking at me. I didn't expect this. Rhett and Iris? That's literally the last thing I expected to happen and the most ridiculous thing I've heard today. I thought he'd have a better taste in girls. Instead his choice turns out to be the worst girl I've come across during my time here.

"By the looks of it, you didn't know about that," he laughs.

"Rhett and Iris? I need a fucking moment to catch up," I mutter under my breath.

"That was the exact reaction I had when he told me." He leans forward, a smile on his lips. "They've been dating for a little over a week, I guess? And Rhett isn't happy about his new girlfriend being harassed by you."

"Harassed?" I echo. "Don't you all have such a way with words?"

"Hey, I'm just telling you what he said to me." His voice sounds a little offended, making me smile.

"Is he gonna talk to me about it? Because I'm definitely not entertaining him."

"Maybe he will. He's hard to figure out."

I bite my lip, a new question forming inside my head as I debate whether he's the right person to ask or not. "Was he serious about the 'I want to see who is better so the first examination we're gonna face each other' thing?"

He looks at me for a second before letting out a heavy breath. He nods thoughtfully. "Yeah. I don't blame him though. Technically, he's broken the records as well. Just by point one percent but he's still done that. But then you come along-" he pauses, "No offence. You come along with a fourteen percent lead? That's something no one expected at all. And he didn't take it the right way. Even now, I'm pretty sure that half the students think you're some rich motherfucker who's paid her way to the top."

I don't say anything. I did know about how Rhett had broken the records as well but I didn't know how bad of an effect the whole situation would have on him. I almost feel guilty but then I decide that it's just the gap in our abilities. It's not like I can make him feel better by holding back. That would only make it worse.

"What do you think, Atlas?" I ask him suddenly. "Do you think I paid?"

"I don't know. At first, I did. But I don't know anymore. Maybe you really are some kind of genius overachiever. Maybe you aren't. That doesn't bother me. But from what I've noticed from the whole Iris situation, you're the kind of person who's so fucking confident in herself that people may consider you to be overconfident sometimes. But you aren't." He twists the silver ring on his index finger while staring at nothing in particular. "If you don't perform, you'll drop down by twenty five but it won't matter to you much. You'll catch up in no time. Iris will be the one who'll be at a loss. And honestly? Good job at that. I don't like how she thinks she's smart anyways."

The last statement makes me smile. Most of the people who have confronted me about the whole thing do not like me doing what I did. However, besides Mason, Atlas is the only person who thinks it's a rather good idea to do this.

"You need guts to do something like that," he adds a final comment. "So yeah. There's that."

I don't say anything for a few moments before I turn a bit to face him. He's looking at me with a calm expression, waiting for some kind of reaction from me. My lips curl up in a small, amused smile. "Looks like I won't hate you after all."

***

Fifteen minutes before the meeting time, I change into my plain white t-shirt and black shorts for practice. When I reach the studio, I see that we're sharing the studio with Luis and Kai, whose choreographer, with the worst luck is Nate out of all the people. He's talking to Mason while Luis and Kai practice some moves that maybe Nate has asked them to perfect.

"Hey," Kai says with a soft smile, pausing for a moment. "Pretty surprised you're actually practicing. You know, since, uh, Iris is your partner. She threw a tantrum once. Because she hated Sunday practices."

I scoff. Nate's gaze flick to me, his lips tugging upwards in a small smile. He mutters something to Mason, who then immediately looks in my direction and smiles. Their conversation ends and he walks over to me, checking his phone for the time. It's exactly 4:03pm and Iris isn't here.

"Pretty sure she's gonna be late," Mason breathes. He's trying his best not to look annoyed. "I'll kill her if she is a minute later than 4:15. I'm not wasting my Sunday for this out of all the things."

I agree with him. For the next few minutes, I warm up a bit before sitting down next to him as he explains the concept and the basis of the choreography. I hear him and I realise that in one days' time, he has done a cool job. Especially when he had spent the past twenty four hours getting wasted with his friends. Minutes turn into a fucking hour and Iris doesn't show up. I can see Mason losing his cool as he sits next to me. He's even called her a few times but she hasn't picked up.

"Your duo, Iris and you," he says, "has become one of the talks around here. Pairing the best student with the worst never turns out to be good so people are actually waiting for the next evaluation. Expect an audience next Friday."

"Yeah, well, there won't be anything for them to see," I tell him and he scoffs. "Either she'll completely ghost us or she'll end up with a broken nose or something."

"Who's gonna break her nose? You?"

I sigh, leaning back as he types something on his laptop, trying to choose one of the six songs he shortlisted. "Maybe." I shrug. "I would do that if my strikes in any way were strong enough."

"Kick her while you're wearing heels," he suggests. "Or rather, just throw a heel at her face."

"Exactly what I was thinking."

He puts his hand up for a high five. Bored, I return it. "Partners in crime," he says monotonously. "Partners in plotting Iris' murder. She really did call be seventeen times before I had to postpone a fucking date for you both."

"Oops" is all I say because it would take a person a lot to actually do what he did. He isn't really getting much out of choreographing for us. Right then, the sounds of the others in the room stop. I look up and follow their gaze that is resting at the door. Nate's eyes flick to me as he presses his lips, asking Luis and Kai to focus. It's as if he's aware of the outburst that's about to happen.

Iris Hart stands there, wearing a shirt over her tank top and tights. She's looking at us with a smile that is making me really want to get up and beat that smug expression out of her face. But I don't because when I look at Mason, I know he's thinking about the same thing. The only difference is that he might actually end up doing it.

"Where were you?" he asks, his voice dangerously calm and low.

"On a date," she shrugs. "Sorry I'm late. I forgot to tell you guys that I'll be an hour late." She looks at her phone for the time. "An hour and fifteen minutes, actually."

The way she's saying it as if it's no big deal... It's so damn annoying. She did this on purpose. I have no idea what the reason is but I know she's done it on purpose. Her smug smile, her body language, her voice - they're all confirming it.

Mason scoffs. "You forgot to tell us? How cool of you."

She rolls her eyes. "As if it matters to you both. Harley there can score enough points for both of us, can she? She is the best, after all, isn't she?"

"So, you weren't here because you thought she'd get enough for both of you?" Mason says and I almost laugh out loud at his tone. "You do know you still get judged individually, right? That's your logic? Damn, that's exactly why you're at the bottom."

Iris shrugs again. I want to laugh at her and her ways. I would think that she's kidding if it wasn't her doing this but it is and she's far more ridiculous than I thought she would be. This hasn't happened in a long time but seeing a dancer like her get accepted at Redville is what's pissing me off the most.

"You both have to practice together so that you can get the sync right. You both need practice. More than the others, in fact, because the level of skill between the two of you is so different." He presses his lip in a straight line and glances at me. I can see how annoyed he is by her but at the same time, he has nothing more to say.

"Oh, come on," Iris whines. "I know all that crap. Harley's at the top of the class. There's no way I can catch up with her in a week even if she brings her skills down to half. She'll get us the score we need. I at least will stay at zero even if I mess up multiple times, I guess."

I bite my lip. "You're saying that you're going to depend on me the whole time?"

She doesn't answer but her smile gives her away. Fine, if she wants to be like this then I'll be much worse. Not that I'm not already, but...

"If I lose twenty five points, I can still be placed in the top twenty, Iris," I say, lifting myself up. "I have a twenty seven point lead from the second ranker. Not that I care about the rankings anyway. I have nothing to lose."

I stop in front of her and a confused expression covers her face. "What are you implying?" she asks me, the confidence that was previously apparent in her voice drops down to next to nothing.

"Look, Iris," I begin, biting my lip once as I rethink whether I really want to do this or not. I do. "I've had the most annoying day today and you're certainly not helping. So, here's the thing. You're kinda depending on me too much here so I-" I drag the word as I take a step backward "-am not performing until you catch up with me."

Her mouth falls open. I hear Mason laugh behind me. Kai and Luis are staring at us and I can feel Nate's gaze burning on the back of my head as well. "What?" Iris says. "You can't do that."

"I can. And you're dumb if you really thought I wouldn't do something like this. I can and I will. You had zero interest in doing this anyways so I'll just smile and nod as well. It's fair enough, isn't it? I'm not going to show up for practices until I know you've catched up to my skills." I pause, sighing. "Losing twenty five points would make you drop to the last rank, wouldn't it?"

She swallows and looks at me like she can't believe me. I get why she doesn't but she - and everyone else - should know that I don't joke about things like these. I wouldn't with her, at least, because she's fucking pissing me off. I didn't get much satisfaction from seeing her face like that but I did for just a few seconds. And it felt great.

"You aren't saying anything to her?" Iris looks past me at Mason. I walk back to my bag and pick it up as my eyes meet with Mason. He doesn't understand what I'm doing. I mouth him a little 'trust me' and her sighs, looking at Nate for reassurance. He gives a nod with a small smile as if he's trying to suppress his laughter.

Mason breathes out and shakes his head. "Nope. She looks like she's decided. If you ever want to show up for practice, Iris, text me once and I'll let you know when. I can't reschedule my whole day for you and your annoying as fuck tactics."

Iris bites her lip. "But-"

"I'm leaving now, Mason," I say to him. "See you around."

Without waiting for a reply, I begin to walk out of the room. Kai and Luis resume their practice but I don't fail to notice the confused look Kai shoots at me. I know he's going to call me later. Considering this event to have taken place of both Iris and Luis, I won't be surprised if the whole school knew about it by tomorrow morning.

Just as I've almost left the room, Iris grabs my arm to stop me and I do, only to shoot her a glare that just makes her let me go and freeze. "Don't touch me," I say to her in a low voice. She doesn't say anything and I leave the studio, making my way out in the open. No one stops me from exiting as I make my way to the area where I met Reece once, when he told me that a vent wall exists at this school as well. It isn't empty right now but I don't mind it. I just want to think for a while.

Iris Hart does not belong to Redville. I have no idea how she made it through the entrance. She deserves to be under the last ten ranks, I'm sure of that. She may have been a good dancer outside and she may have been average in academics but she's way below average by the Redville standards. Recalling her behaviour from the day when we repeated our audition routines, I can tell that she lacks the confidence too. She does not have a strong mental strength.

She's fucking weak.

And that's exactly why I'm so sure that what I'm doing will work. She'll break once and she'll fall down so bad because she doesn't know just how high a person like her is standing by being here at Redville. She doesn't deserve to be here but I know just why she had been accepted here. The instructors and Val see something in her and I think I'm beginning to see it, too. Val paired the two of us together on purpose, to make her taste and sense how far behind she is and how hard she needs to work.

She wouldn't even realise it when it hits her.

She will be the first one to crack under the pressure of becoming a professional dancer, whether she likes it or not.

I'm almost halfway to the dorms when my phone rings.

Asher.

***

The common room is cold when I enter it.

The windows are wide open, making the curtains flutter as the wind gushes inside the room. There's no one but one guy here other than me, his feet propped up on the table as he leans back on his chair, reading a book. Usually, I would expect more people to be here at this hour but since it's a school night, most of the students are either asleep or hunched up doing their homeworks in their rooms.

"Hey," Elliot greets me without looking up at first. Then, he keeps the book down, giving me his full attention. "Where were you?"

"Out."

He nods, knowing that I wouldn't elaborate. Without giving it much thought, I walk towards the table and reach for one of the water bottles, pouring some in a glass and gulping it down. I won't say that I'm not tired but I'm not sleepy either. I'm up to date with all my assignments as well. I keep the glass on the table and pull out the chair, taking a seat in front of him.

I eye the cover of his book. The Wuthering Heights.

"So," he says, dragging the word on. He props up on his elbows, eyes on me as if he's trying to read me but he can't. "Did you hear about it?"

"Hear what?" I ask him because I genuinely have no idea what he is referring to. This guy really needs to learn how to be on point instead of trying to be mysterious because he's really shit at that.

"Right. Yes. You don't exactly keep track of the stuff on the school forum. I forgot." He takes out his phone and opens the forum, keeping it in front of me. His eyes are on me as I read the news.

Last year batch - top of the houses arriving tomorrow for

Redville Summer Fest discussion.

Melpomene: Diego Matias

Clio: Clara Elvar

Calliope: Isaac Harrison

Euterpe: Gabriel Liamme

"Gabriel Liamme," I say out loud. "Is he related to Arlo Liamme, by any chance?"

He laughs at that, taking his phone back from me and leaning back. "Yeah. Nephew."

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Because it means trouble for you. It's obvious that they're all gonna want to meet you. And you forget Diego. It was his record you broke." He runs a hand through his hair with a sigh. "You do know what happens at the Summer Fest, right? It's a big thing around here."

"Yeah, I know what it's about. The graduates of the previous year return for some performance as a form of an extended farewell or something. Right?"

I've read about this in my sister's diary. She performed in it once during her first year and then never, ever did it again. I could literally hear her words and feel the hype as she wrote the words. Sometimes when I read her diary as a source of comfort, I wonder whether she ever considered becoming a writer. She would have done a great job at it, honestly.

Elliot nods. "Yeah. That's what it is. And it's the first major event open to the public during the year. And that's why your performance there adds to your grade."

I try to suppress a scoff but fail. "You mean that a fucking farewell party where people who are not even a part of this academy anymore will perform with us is going to contribute in our fucking ranks?"

"Exactly. Your reaction is what was mine when I heard it from my brother," he tells me. "He said that I'd better be good there and climb up the ranks."

I open my phone to look up for the Redville Summer Fest, finding so many youtube videos with recordings of it. They're all of shit quality but I play one anyway, one that was recorded two years ago. I notice that everything is being produced by the performers - from the music to the props to the storyline to everything. Every single thing has been done by the students themselves.

"It's a three day event, huh," I mutter under my breath.

"Yeah. Right before the exams." I can hear the reluctance in his voice. "How convenient."

"Elliot, do you really care about your ranks?" I ask suddenly.

He shrugs again, leaning forward on his elbows. "Not really. They're just a way of creating competition between students. And even though there are a lot of advantages to graduating from the top five, I think there are enough for me if I just survive through school." He smiles a bit. "Because as you know, I've got so many assignments piled up that I cannot even solve. Won't be surprised if someone commits suicide from the study pressure here."

The word suicide stings me.

"Me neither, honestly," I say. "But I thought it was obvious that a Redville student has to be someone who can manage the pressure." I pause, looking up to him with a small smile. "Don't kill yourself, though, Elliot. If that's what you were implying."

He laughs. "I'm not suicidal. Don't worry."

We sit there in silence for a while before I look up, finding him playing with his fingers while he thinks about something. I don't know why but I find his company oddly comforting sometimes. I also know that there is nothing that he's going to make me miss that's related to the school and he doesn't even get anything in return.

"You'll catch up," I say to him and judging by his expression, I see that he didn't expect me to say it. "I mean, sure. You're slow. But you'll catch up. You're actually very smart if you think about it."

He scoffs. "Jeez, thanks. Didn't take you for the 'motivating' kind."

"Was it bad?"

"Hearing you say that isn't exactly something I expected but you calling me smart? I'll believe it. Only because it's coming from you."

Before I can say anything else, I hear someone yell outside the building. "Fuck you!" the person yells loudly, followed by a lot of chatter and other people's voices yelling at them to stop. Our window is open so we hear it more clearly than we could have. Elliot and I lock eyes before the two of us simultaneously rush to the window. I hear him laugh and cuss under his breath as the two of us lean forward, watching the scene with pure amusement.

It's Lily and Cammy who are fighting, with the latter clutching her nose. I see Summer, Mason, Nate, Asher, Sean, Ella, Adelyn and Reece there too, standing around and trying to calm the whole situation down. Looking around, I realise that we're not the only ones watching. By now, a fourth of the dorm complex is peering out of their windows, watching as the fight goes on.

"You fucking bitch!" Lily yells again, stepping forward despite being grasped by the arms by Adelyn and Summer both. "You did it on purpose!"

"Fuck you, asshole!" Cammy shouts at her, removing her hand from her nose and her face is covered with blood. Blood drips down her face and she looks fucking ugly like this, making me squirm. Reece steps in front of her, putting his hands up to keep her from walking anymore. "You started it. You're the one at fault."

"Why don't you fucking understand anything at once, you fucking cheat?" There is something in Lily's voice that's different. As if there was previously a leash that was controlling her words but all of that has built up to an outburst like this where she has no control on what she is saying and doesn't care of what people even think if they hear her. "It would take me literally one fucking second to expose you."

"Lily, calm the hell down," Asher says to her, stepping in front of her. "You're not thinking straight at all."

"Fuck it, fuck it, fuck it," she literally screams, making even me flinch at how high and screeching her tone is and how damaging it must be for the ears of the people who are downstairs. "I literally do not care."

"What the fuck is happening there?" Elliot mutters under his breath. Though his voice sounds tired, there is an amused expression on his face. Adelyn steps in front of Lily and cups her face, whispering something to her. Lily's expression softens, and I can see the others sigh in relief. Just when Adelyn steps away from Lily and the latter's gaze falls on Cammy again, she lunges on her, landing another punch on her face again.

Cammy lets out a small screen, more blood coming out of her face and mouth.

"Both of you, stop it," Asher almost yells and I can see him lose his composure as well. Just what had they been talking about? Judging by the expression of everyone else, it didn't just involve Lily and Cammy. It involved all of them.

"What's happening here?" A new voice booms across the open area - a guard. None of the spectators stop watching as the guards and the people outdoors break Cammy and Lily apart. I watch them when I hear Elliot sigh and shift, still watching everything.

Nate looks up then, right at me and our eyes meet. Something in his expression changes as if he's debating on something. I know if I ask him something, he wouldn't tell me. He won't because by the looks of it, it seems something serious. And he's certainly not the kind of person who would confide in me out of all the people. I look away, stepping back to the table and taking my phone which is now erupting with notifications.

"Night, Elliot," I say to him.

"Night," he replies with a yawn.

I walk back to my room, finding Jude asleep. Going to my corner of the room and drawing the curtains so that if she wakes up she doesn't see what I'm doing, I walk over to my bed and sit down, my legs folded.

Rhea: Did y'all see it???

Kai: The fight? Yeah.

Rhea: That Cammy girl has a busted lip and a broken nose. Stan Lily for clear skin.

Ryker: What did I miss?

Kai: Lily and Cammy had a cat fight.

Rhea: It wasn't a catfight.

Kai: Whatever. They still fought.

Rhea: Fair enough.

Rhea: [Download Attachment, 235kB]

I download the video she sent. She recorded the whole thing. I close my phone and keep it aside, my hands reaching for the bedside table. I open the drawer and take out the diary that I always keep there after I come back from classes. I flip it to a certain page, reading the words over and over again, trying to figure something out.

I grab a pencil and a spare piece of paper, fidgeting until something clicks in place. My fingers run over the blacked out words - words she didn't want me to read. Then I take my pencil and jot down a few names on the paper. Leaning back, I furrow my eyebrows and tap the pencil against the open page of the diary as if staring at it is all it takes for me to do it.

After a few minutes of staring pointlessly, I lean forward again, imagining the page without the blacked out words. The words. The names. It clicks in place in a moment and I feel a laughter escape my lips. I feel like I'm out of my mind everytime I do this. It feels euphoric to be one step closer to my goal. The mania, the risk, the adrenaline. Everything is perfect this way as long as there are no miscalculations.

Jude enters the room shortly after I pack everything up and sit with my laptop open. Her smile is the widest I've ever seen. I raise my eyebrows at her, confused. "You seem too happy today."

She looks up at me for a second and her smile widens. "I am." She looks back at the screen, resuming the typing. "Very."

"What's up?"

"I'm officially a member of the Redville swim team!" she exclaims, dropping her phone once again.

I blink once before the news hits me. "Hey, that's so cool-" I'm not even able to complete the sentence when she speaks up again.

"I know, right? It's so cool. I'm one of the three first years selected this year and I've got one of the best times in holding my breath underwater. Do you want to know my time?" I don't even need to ask her to continue because judging by her excitement, she is already overhyped about it and will tell me even if I'm not listening to her. "I've got two minutes and nineteen seconds."

"God, that's a lot," I comment.

"It is!"

She continues to ramble about swimming which is definitely not my forte. I don't know much about it and yet, I listen to her like I do because that's what is making her happy. When she finishes, she goes back to texting whoever she was talking to and I go back to my bed, opening my laptop to check my mail and reply to whatever's necessary. When I go to my spam mail and scroll, I find something I hadn't seen before. Something I missed and it's something important.

I move my cursor over it, reading the subject and the sender's mail over and over again before I slam my laptop shut, a chill going down my spine as panic overcomes me and I try not to scream or destroy something. I drum my fingers against the closed laptop, biting my lip to stop me from doing something. When the feeling of anxiety does not go away, I grab my covers and pull them over me as I try not to fidget, not bothering to shut the lights.

That night, when I finally sleep, the nightmares return to me.