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𝙑𝙊𝙇𝙐𝙈𝙀 𝑰. ── CASUALTY OF YOUR DREAMS!

❛ 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆 ❜
─── chapter eight! ❫

008. ╱ ✹ ⠀⠀ ❝ green flags turned red
from all my bleeding. . . i fell quickly
for words, misleading. ❞

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     FLUTTERING HER EYES OPEN, KYNLEE MANRAL IMMEDIATELY BROUGHT A HAND UP TO SHIELD HERSELF FROM THE HARSH UV RAYS. The lights were breaking through gaps in the windows and she squinted. "¡Ay, Dios mío!" she murmured, cringing at how hoarse her voice came out.

     Damn, she sounded rough.

     Lowering her arm, she swept her gaze around. The blue walls of Amber Freeman's kitchen were gone and it didn't take long for it to dawn on her that she was at the hospital in a rather large room. It was eerily quiet, aside from an intermittent beep going off, and appeared to be sometime in the morning.

     Her eyebrows formed a jagged line. Maybe the police showed up and everyone was rescued.

     To the left of the hospital bed was someone Kynlee only knew of by name— Sidney Prescott. Prior to seeing her at Amber's house, Kynlee had never spoken to or met Sidney. Since her parents attended Woodsboro Middle when the first string of murders happened, neither knew her. They weren't old enough to be part of the OG friend group or know them.

     Sidney was slumped over in a chair with a hand pressed to her cheek, keeping her head from falling. Her eyes were shut and she was asleep. Luckily, she didn't seem to be injured from what the black-haired girl could tell. Minus from the stab wound in her abdomen.

     Next to the woman was another chair with Pa's signature tan jacket and Malik's baseball cap on it. So, the two were there or had been. Glancing down, she finally noticed the white and blue flannel blanket draped over her that Ibrahim always kept in his cubicle at Dragonborn Ink. Additionally, she noticed that she wore a hospital gown and a new sling. The upper half of her right arm and shoulder were bandaged up. She could only assume that the wounds on her right leg, the left side of her torso, and her stomach were bandaged as well.

     All right, the whole gang was there.

     Well, if that was the case, where the hell were they?

     "Sidney Prescott?" Kynlee's words were incredibly quiet, but the woman somehow heard her.

     Stirring awake, Sidney sat up. She hadn't realized that she'd dozed off. "Kynlee," she breathed, running her fingers through her hair, "hey. When did you wake up?"

     "Uh, now," the girl replied, still puzzled as to why Sidney was there and Pa, Malik, and Ibrahim weren't.

     "How are you feeling?"

     Kynlee shrugged, wincing a second later at a dull spike of pain that flared up her body. "A little out of it, I think... I'm guessing someone gave me painkillers or something." Sidney nodded in confirmation. About an hour ago, the teen had been given another dose of morphine to help her sleep and wake up painlessly. "Where... Where's my dad?"

     Sidney picked up on the dubious expression being directed at her. "He and Malik went to get breakfast. They wanted to make sure you didn't have to eat hospital food. Ibrahim is with Chad." Before she had a chance to explain why she was there, there was a gasp.

     "Chad?" Kynlee's dark brown eyes lit up with relief.

     Thank God. Thank fucking God.

     A small smile tugged at the corner of Sidney's lips and she nodded again. "Yeah. He's stable and recovering down the hall."

     "W-What about everyone else?" Kynlee stammered. "Mindy, Tara, Sam—" Her heartbeat accelerated on the heart monitor and she felt almost out of breath.

     Inclining forward, Sidney rested a hand on her knee. "Hey, take a breath. Calm down. It's okay," she reassured her gently.

     Doing as she said, Kynlee took a deep breath and let it go slowly. "Okay, okay," she whispered, ignoring the discomfort she felt in her chest.

     Once she'd settled down, Sidney cleared her throat. "Sam, Tara, and Mindy are alive and safe. They've all been released."

     This information caused the tattooed girl to pause. Released? Wait... There's no way she's been unconscious for an extended period of time. Right?

     "How much time has passed?" Kynlee asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "And what about Liv? Richie and Amber?"

     Sidney wore a slight frown as she answered, "Two days. Liv, Richie, and Amber are dead."

     Oh. Oh.

     Blinking, Kynlee was frozen to the spot and unsure of how to react. Richie meant absolutely nothing to her, he was simply the guy who shot her, but Liv and Amber? They were her friends and she cared about them. Even if Liv probably didn't like her all that much and she wasn't her biggest fan either. Not to mention, Amber and Kynlee had dated for almost eight months. If the breakup hadn't happened, she likely would have fallen for the Freeman girl.

     "Tara confirmed to me that you and Amber dated. I'm sorry for your loss." If anyone knew how it felt to be betrayed by someone they dated and then have that person become a killer and try to kill them... it was Sidney Prescott. The same thing happened with her and Billy Loomis, and it took her a while to move on from Billy and what he did. It wasn't easy.

     A tear fell down her cheek and Kynlee brushed it away. All she could think of to do or say was, "Who killed her?"

     "Tara. Shot to the head."

     At least Tara got to get revenge on the person who likely attacked her.

     "Good," she muttered, trying to hold back the rest of the waterworks. After everything Amber did, she didn't deserve the tears, and Kynlee was sick of crying. "She was a shitty girlfriend and the reason why Wes and Judy are dead."

     Another frown spread across Sidney's face. She knew exactly what the poor girl was thinking and feeling, and she wished she didn't. Nobody deserved to suffer at the hands of Ghostface and lose their loved ones in the process. Especially kids. She also knew that the Manral girl was likely criticizing herself for being upset over one of the killers dying.

     "I hope you know it's okay to grieve the loss of the version of Amber you knew," she spoke softly, providing a tiny smile of comfort. "It's okay to be upset about her death."

     Forcing a nod, Kynlee wet her lips. "Thanks..." she paused and tried to gather herself. "I-I don't mean to sound rude, but why are you here? We don't know each other."

     "I loosely know your father. Ibrahim gave me my first tattoo back in twenty-eleven." That didn't fully answer the question. Sidney elaborated further when she received a blank stare. "You sustained a lot of severe injuries. I wanted to make sure you were okay. I've been through this a lot. I've lost a lot of people I care about to the dipshits who keep putting on that mask. If you ever want to talk, I want to let you know I'm here."

     It was the same offer she gave to Sam Carpenter a few days ago.

     "Thank you. I appreciate that," Kynlee fiddled with her fingers and added, "I'm sorry about Dewey. I didn't know him that well, but he saved my life. Even though he accidentally shot me."

     Laughing, Sidney tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thanks. He was one of the good ones."

     Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and the black-haired girl watched as Sidney got up to get it. Maybe it was Pa and Malik with breakfast.

     Twisting the handle and opening the door a couple of inches, Sidney poked her head out. When her line of sight settled on the group standing in the hallway, she almost smiled. The love and devotion this friend group had for each other was sweet.

     "How is she?" Mindy and Sam asked in unison.

     Sam was positioned behind the wheelchair that Tara sat in while Mindy stood closest to the door. Next to the Carpenter sisters was Ibrahim, who was pushing Chad in a wheelchair identical to Tara's. They were all eagerly hoping to see Kynlee.

     "Is she awake?" Tara and Chad spoke in unison as well, silently praying that their best friend had finally woken up.

     Glancing at Ibrahim, Sidney cracked a quick smile at the apologetic expression he wore. "She just woke up," she replied, and everyone took a collective breath.

     Sidney glanced over her shoulder to Kynlee using the remote controller for the hospital bed. She was adjusting it so she was in a fully seated position. Despite all the injuries she endured and how sore she undoubtedly was, Kynlee was still persevering. Sidney couldn't help but identify a small part of herself with her.

     "Your friends are here," she raised the volume of her voice a bit. "Do you want me to let them in?"

     Averting her gaze upward, the tattooed girl immediately nodded. There was nothing she wanted more in that moment than to see her friends.

     Sidney turned her attention back to the four. "Like I said, she just woke up. Be gentle with her," she advised, giving each of them subtle looks of warning.

     "Of course." Sam placed a hand on Tara's arm to keep her from trying to get up and sprinting inside. This was all Tara had been talking about for the last two days— seeing Kynlee.

     Opening the door wider to let them in, Sidney stepped to the side.

     A wide grin formed on Mindy's lips and she ran into the room. "I knew your sexy ass was going to make it!" she cheered, coming to a skidding halt when she got to the hospital bed. Sitting down, she grabbed Kynlee's face and left kisses all over. The sound of Kynlee's laughter filled the space. "You never said "I'll be right back," and didn't have sex. Sure, you drank, but that's only one out of three. All things considered, you did great for your first horror movie!"

     Rolling her eyes, Kynlee snorted. "I almost kicked the goddamn bucket 'cause I have a smart mouth, so I wouldn't say I did that great," she argued, grateful nonetheless that she was alive and so was everybody else.

     "You're alive," Ibrahim pointed out, and Kynlee peered around Mindy to see Ibrahim rolling Chad toward the bed in a wheelchair. Behind him, Sam was approaching with Tara also in a wheelchair. "That's all that matters, Lee-Lee."

     "Exactly." Sam agreed.

     They were safe. They were all safe and sound.

     A rush of relief flooded her nervous system and Kynlee felt herself relax against the mattress.

     Ibrahim situated Chad on the right side of the bed, about two feet away from Kynlee, and Sam placed Tara on the opposite side. Mindy moved and stood next to Tara while the adults positioned themselves at the end of the bed.

     "God, I thought you were dead, K," Tara breathed, in tears at the sight of her best friend. Feeling a tug on her hand, Kynlee looked down to see Tara's fingers curling around her own. She took her hand and gave a gentle squeeze. "When I found you..."

     "Found me?" Kynlee echoed in confusion.

     An awkward silence settled amongst the group, and Mindy glimpsed at Sam. Everyone, minus the black-haired girl, was well aware of all the events that went down in the Freeman house two nights ago. Obviously, Kynlee wouldn't know everything since she was with Chad and then unconscious for most of that night. What if she didn't recall what happened in the kitchen, though? Could she?

     Sam eyed the teenager carefully. "Kyn, what's the last thing you remember?"

     Kynlee wanted to shake her head in disbelief but had to remind herself of the knife being held to her throat. "Are you seriously telling me," she choked out, "that I have to die so you and your rebound Reddit boyfriend can reach your dreams of reinventing a movie franchise that won't matter fifty years from now?" Immediately, Amber and Richie glared at her. "Do you realize how fucking delusional you sound?! Give me a break, please."

     A surge of anger flooded Amber's nervous system and she acted on impulse. The knife was swung down and she stabbed Kynlee on the left side of her torso. A bone-chilling scream filled the room and the women flinched. Amber jerked the blade out and struck twice more.

     "Stop!" Sidney screamed, finding it in her shift back onto her knees.

     "No!" Sam's mouth fell open and she went to stand up, but Richie aimed his gun at her. Not wanting to risk being injured further so she could fight back, Sam sat back down.

     A loud thud sounded after Amber stepped away and let Kynlee fall to the floor. Her vision blacked out for a second, but she came back in time to hear Amber talking to her.

     "We're not done. I'm coming back for you."

     Kynlee struggled to breathe her next words. "Que te jodan, perra."

     In another fit of anger, Amber drew her foot back and sent two blows— one to the stomach and another to the side of her head.

     Wheezing, Kynlee rolled onto her backside. She coughed roughly, blood bubbling from her mouth as she turned her head with great difficulty. Her eyes landed on the puddle of blood that was flowing from her back, chest, torso, and leg.

     It took a second, but Kynlee eventually responded, "Que te jodan, perra." The twins and Ibrahim blinked, blank stares on their faces. They had no idea what that meant. Only the Carpenter sisters understood. "I said that to Amber, and then everything goes black. Why? Did I regain consciousness or somethin'?" Her line of sight bounced between her friends, and she felt a pit of dread settle in her stomach.

     "After I shot Amber, I found you in the kitchen..." Tara swallowed harshly, trying her best to keep it together. "You weren't breathing," she inhaled sharply and shook her head. The mental image of Kynlee Manral lying in a pool of blood and unresponsive haunted her. "Anyway, before I start crying for like the fifth time, I'm just really fucking glad you're safe and alive. I love you, K."

     Kynlee's facial features softened, and she clutched onto her hand. "I love you, T."

     For the first time since he entered the hospital room, Chad joined the conversation. "How um, how are you feeling?" he asked, struggling just as badly as Tara was not to break down. He'd barely been able to talk or think about anything but Kynlee since he woke up in the back of an ambulance.

     When their eyes locked, Kynlee noticed how he was on the verge of crying. A frown crossed her lips, and she went to extend her free hand but was reminded of the sling she wore. "If I could, I'd hold your hand too." Her comment made him chuckle, and her heart swelled. "But uh, I'm fine. Kind of high on painkillers, I think. So, I don't feel much pain right now. I'm just hungry, honestly."

     "That's great because Dee just texted. He and Malik should be back here in half an hour," Ibrahim read off his phone. "They're getting breakfast and some other things."

     Kynlee nodded, maintaining eye contact with Chad. They were stuck in a never-ending, unofficial staring contest. However, it was broken by Sam Carpenter's declaration.

     "I uh, I want to apologize."

     Sweeping her gaze to the woman, Kynlee raised an eyebrow. Apologize? For what?

     "Kyn, I'm sorry. I feel like I should have done more to protect you from Amber and Richie. I just sat there with the gun to my head and watched while Amber—"

     "Sam, stop," the tattooed girl sighed. "Amber was going to kill me regardless of anything you did. Richie fucking would have if she didn't. Besides, as you said, there was a literal gun to your head. I'd rather you live than get shot for trying to interfere and we both end up dead. Está bien."

     Clearing her throat, Sam let out a shaky breath. "I'm just really glad you're okay."

     Off to the side, Mindy observed her brother's body language and the longing inscribed on his face. Yesterday, he'd filled her in on his and Kynlee's attack. Not a single detail was left out and she was well aware of the questions he was now riddled with. For her, the answers were obvious, but for someone who lived in constant denial of his feelings for his best friend and hers for him, it was unclear.

     There was a lot that the two needed to discuss and that was never going to happen unless they were alone. So, she prepared for herself to be rewarded Best Sister of the Year and clapped her hands together.

     "Well, I am in need of a quick caffeine fix. Anyone wanna come with?" She looked at Sam, Tara, and Ibrahim, gaining their attention. Then, she purposefully darted her eyes to Kynlee and Chad and jutted her chin toward the door.

     Tara was the first one to get the hint. "Hell yeah," she grinned. "I haven't had any in days. I think I'm going to start getting the shakes soon."

     Scoffing, Ibrahim slid his phone into the back of his pant pocket. "Don't get me started. If I don't drink any of my Herbal tea at least twice a day, it feels like the world is caving in on me."

     Discreetly, Sam shot Mindy a thumbs up and reached for Tara's wheelchair. "What type of Herbal tea?" she asked Ibrahim, pulling her sister away from the bed.

     The four began to head for the exit, leaving the other two befuddled.

     Mindy held the door open, letting everyone out. "We'll be back later," she told Kynlee and Chad. "No sex in the hospital bed, it might not hold you both."

     Jaw slackening, Chad sat up. "Mindy!" he immediately called his twin out, giving her a 'are-you-fucking-serious' expression.

     Kynlee scowled and threw a middle finger in the air. "I hope the door hits you in the ass on the way out." She did not appreciate the comment at all.

     Winking, the curly-haired girl smirked. "You got thirty minutes!" she shouted and slammed the door after her.

     Throwing her head against the pillow, Kynlee stared up at the ceiling. "¡Está loca!"

     "Está loca is right," Chad grumbled, shaking his head.

     A gasp escaped her and she brought her gaze back to him. "¡Ay, Dios mío! You're finally learning!" An ecstatic smile appeared.

     Chad laughed and rolled his wheelchair as close as he could get without knocking over any of the medical equipment. "I've been catching on for a while, all right. Give me some credit now," he replied, pushing out of the chair and leaning most of his body weight on his right leg.

     Taking note of his actions, Kynlee narrowed her eyes. "Chad, what are you doing?"

     "Getting comfortable," he grunted, sitting on the bed and adjusting himself until he was satisfied. There was less than a foot separating them, but he wanted to be closer.

     "Clearly," she snorted, tucking her hair behind her ears. "How are you feeling?" That was something she'd been silently wondering ever since Sidney told her that the jock was alive. He'd sustained a lot of stab wounds and lost a lot of blood. "I-I wasn't sure if you made it or not... I was really fucking scared that you didn't. Amber told me that she killed you and it—" A lump caught in her throat and she forced it down. "If I hadn't blacked out, I was going to kill her for hurting you."

     This time they could hold hands and Chad interlaced their fingers together.

     "Thankfully, you didn't have to do that. Tara got it taken care of." He tipped his head toward the door and they each cracked a smile. "I wasn't sure if you made it when I regained consciousness and you weren't there. Nobody would tell me what happened to you when we got to the hospital. I was fucking petrified," his voice lowered and a melancholy tone was present. "It wasn't until you got out of surgery yesterday afternoon that Sam told us what happened and Andi updated us on your condition. Apparently, it was touch and go for a while."

     Wetting her lips, the black-haired girl hummed. "I figured when Sidney said two days have passed."

     Chad stared at her for a moment before asking, "Did you mean it?"

     Kynlee furrowed her eyebrows, puzzled. Well, that was random. "Mean what?"

     "That you love me." Chad clarified, feeling his chest tighten. The confession had also been bugging him since he woke up in the hospital. He needed to know if she meant it in the way he interpreted it.

     Teetering her head to the side, she was a little lost. "Well, yeah. Of course, I meant it. You know I love you." This was her way of beating around the bush and they both knew it.

     Of course, they loved each other as friends but the way she told him, "I love you," with such sincerity and delicacy had him wondering if she now meant it in a different way. 'Cause he most certainly did. It'd just never been something he expressed or made a move to share.

     Their friendship was the most precious and sacred thing in his life and he wouldn't trade it for the world. He never wanted his romantic feelings for her to muddle the waters, though. He didn't want to ruin the dynamic they had, but he'd known since freshman year that he liked her as more than a best friend. He knew but never wanted to make a big deal out of it.

     So, he pretended like the feelings weren't there and eventually dated a few girls that he had developed crushes on. The relationships were real and he liked all of them, but there was that nagging voice in the back of his head telling him that Kynlee was the one. He didn't listen to that voice often, but now he was.

     "I do. I know that, but I..." Chad was struggling to find the rest of the words to complete the sentence. Part of him didn't know how to coherently articulate what he was thinking and feeling while the latter wanted to get straight to the point.

     Kynlee could see a whirlwind of emotions playing out on Chad's face, each of them battling the other out. There was an internal battle happening inside of him and she didn't say anything. Usually when this happened, she waited for him to work it out on his end and then reach out to her first.

     A tense silence was stretched out between them and Kynlee was starting to believe that the conversation was going to end there. She didn't want to reiterate her confession if it was possible that he didn't feel the same way. If she needed to, she would stick with the best friend facade and pretend she only meant those three words in a platonic manner. It'd worked for years now and still could.

     Suddenly, with a mixture of gentleness and determination, Chad reached up and cupped her cheek. Blinking, Kynlee watched him lean in and diminish the distance. Like the other night, their noses brushed and a furious blush overtook her features. She could feel his breath faintly fan over her lips and it took everything in her not to kiss him senseless right then and there.

     "Chad..." she whispered, unsure of what she was even trying to say. All she knew was that when she talked, their lips touched and neither party moved. If this went where she wanted it to, there was no going back and part of her really didn't care.

     His eyes were locked with hers and he untangled his other hand from hers. He moved it to her thigh and trailed it up to her waist— all the while being mindful of her injuries. His heart was racing with nerves and he could hear hers doing the same on the heart monitor. Both of them were equally nervous about this shift. That much was obvious by the way neither of them did anything.

     However, nothing about this situation was going to change unless one of them did something. So, Kynlee flickered her eyes down. It took all the courage she had to tilt her chin up and lightly press her lips to his. It wasn't exactly a kiss; it was more so a soft brush and testing of the waters to confirm that this was what he wanted too.

     And it was.

     Closing his eyes, Chad erased all the space left and ran his thumb across her cheek. Her lips were softer and smoother than he ever imagined and he hummed quietly.

     Kynlee was almost melting under his touch. Their lips meld together in a perfect fit and there was a gentle urgency behind the kiss. They'd each been dreaming about this moment as much as the other had.

     With each kiss, the intensity grew and she wanted more. The burning of her lungs though made her pull back slightly and Kynlee exhaled shakily. Good God. Before she could fully catch her breath, Chad dove back in. Goosebumps erupted across her skin and she reached for the collar of his hospital gown.

     Slowly, the kisses morphed into small pecks. "I... love... you..." Chad murmured in between each one, drowning in how good it felt to be with her like this. It was mind-blowingly better than he thought it would be.

     Breaking into a grin, Kynlee accidentally broke off the kiss. "I lo—"

     There was a loud knock at the door and the pair jumped apart.

     "Y'all better be confessin' your fuckin' feelings or else you ain't getting breakfast!" Malik Cyrus could be heard from out in the hallway.

     Kynlee's jaw dropped and she wanted to punch him. "Malik, fuck you!" That man had the worst timing.

     "Dude, come on!" Chad yelled at the same time.

     Andi Manral's voice came next. "Chiquita, did either of you confess or not?"

     Swiveling her gaze back to Chad, Kynlee sighed. "They suck," she grumbled, running a hand through her hair. If she had it her way, she'd endlessly make out with Chad with no interruptions.

     "They do, but don't let them stop you from what you were going to say," he chuckled at her deadpan stare.

     "You already know what I was going to say."

     "Do I?"

     Leaning over, she wrapped her fingers around the collar of his gown again and tugged him close. "Yeah, you do," she whispered, pecking him on the lips.

     Chad smiled cheekily, returning the gesture. "I love you."

     "I love you."

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❝ you were on my 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 all the 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. . .
𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 out a 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 for 𝒕𝒘𝒐. . .

what i'd 𝒅𝒐 in a room 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆, only 𝒎𝒆 and 𝒚𝒐𝒖! ❞

╭⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀╮

¡Ay, Dios mío! ━━ Oh, my God
Que to jodan, perra ━━ Screw you,
bitch
Está bien ━━ It's okay
¡Está loca! ━━ She's crazy

╰⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀╯

     ANDDDDDD WE'RE AT THE END OF VOLUME ONE!!!!!

     (the chynlee kiss is everything to me. yes, the ship name is chynlee until someone can come up with something better. pls someone help me come up with something better 😭)

     i'm so proud of myself for sticking with this story and being so consistent. this is my favorite story i'm currently working on, i swear.

     i'll see everyone in Volume Two!!

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˒⠀𝑹𝑬𝑴𝑰𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑹. . . ▬⠀⤸

Thank you all for taking the time out of your day to comment on this story. It means a lot and helps the story be spread to a broader audience &&& allows me to grow as an author. All I ask is that people vote on each chapter, please. As a creator, it takes time to write and develop stories. So please, vote on every chapter. It means a lot more than I could ever express.

Don't forget to vote & comment!

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˒⠀𝑪𝑶𝑷𝒀𝑹𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻. . . ▬⠀⤸

❝ All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be
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photocopying, recording, or other
electronic or mechanical methods,
without prior permission of the author,
except in the case of brief quotations
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other noncommercial uses permitted
by copyright law. ❞

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