The ride home felt longer than usual.
Layla sat quietly in the backseat of the taxi, staring out the window as the city moved past in a blur. Normally, she would have been talking with Chloe on the phone about everything that had happened at school. But today was different.Today had been… insane. First the assembly,then Elias buying the school,then Liam cornering her in the hallway and now everything felt strangely quiet.
Her phone buzzed in her hand.
Chloe.
Layla answered immediately.
“Hello?”
Chloe’s voice exploded through the speaker.
“ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!”
Layla winced and pulled the phone slightly away from her ear.
“Why are you shouting?”
“Why am I shouting?!” Chloe repeated dramatically. “Layla, the entire school is losing its mind!”
Layla sighed.
“We all know tha
