The Setup
333 Words
Chapter Ten
The next day should have been normal. Classes, homework, keeping my head down. But the minute I stepped into the cafeteria, I knew something was wrong.
The air buzzed with anticipation, whispers rippling like wildfire. Heads turned toward me, smirks spreading across too many faces. My stomach twisted.
Sabrina sat at her usual table, her posse gathered like soldiers awaiting orders. Her smile was too sweet, too sharp.
“Hey, new girl!” she called, her voice carrying across the room. “Why don’t you sit with us today?”
The cafeteria erupted with snickers.
Every instinct screamed to run, but the weight of every staring eye pinned me in place. Slowly, I forced my legs forward, tray trembling in my hands.
When I reached the table, Sabrina patted the empty seat beside her. “Right here,” she said, all sugary innocence.
I sat, my pulse racing. The girls leaned in, circling like sharks.
“So,” Sabrina began, twirling her hair, “what’s it like being claimed by him? Must feel… special.”
Her words dripped poison, and laughter followed.
I clenched my fists under the table. “There’s nothing between us,” I muttered.
“Oh?” Sabrina’s eyes gleamed. “Then you won’t mind proving it.”
Before I could ask what she meant, one of her friends slid a cup across the table. Murky liquid sloshed inside—soda laced with something unrecognizable.
“Drink it,” Sabrina said, her smile widening. “If you’re telling the truth, you’ve got nothing to hide.”
The crowd leaned closer, hungry for the spectacle.
And just as panic clawed at my throat, a shadow fell over the table.
Him.
His hand slammed down, snatching the cup away. His eyes burned like wildfire as he glared at Sabrina.
“Touch her again,” he growled, voice low and lethal, “and you’ll regret it.”
The cafeteria gasped, silence crashing down.
And my world tilted dangerously closer to chaos.
- Writer
