LET'S BREAK THEM

The hallway was drowning in pink. Balloons clung to the lockers like desperate hands. Cupcakes sat on the admin desk, pink frosting, gold sprinkles. Whispers followed me down the hall. Low. Sharp. Everywhere. It was my 18th birthday. And everyone in Westbridge High knew it. Because Ben told them to. Or at least, I thought he did. Ben promised me a surprise. "Just wait by the fountain after last period, Kudo. Trust me," his text read this morning. With a heart emoji. My heart did stupid things when I saw that emoji. It always did. For 2 years, Ben Carter was mine. The arrogant son of the Carter Group. The guy who wore tailored suits to school like it was a boardroom. The guy whose last name was on the new science wing. The guy who could buy the school and probably had. And somehow... he chose me. Kudo Evans. Scholarship girl. Broke. Invisible. The girl who ate lunch in the library because the cafeteria was too loud. I believed him. I believed the late-night calls. The notes tucked in my locker. The way he looked at me like I was the only real thing in a room full of fakes. I walked to the fountain with shaking hands and a stupid smile on my face. My palms were sweaty. I even wore the necklace he gave me last month. Silver chain. Small pendant. Cheap. But I polished it every night and pretended it was expensive. Because when Ben gave you something, it felt like gold. But he wasn’t alone. Arya Lane was there. Student Council President. Carter Group’s business partner’s daughter. Perfect hair. Perfect grades. Perfect last name. She was wearing *my* favorite dress. The cream one with the lace back. The one I showed her in the fitting room 2 weeks ago. I told her I couldn’t afford it. She said "it’s cute on you." And she was holding Ben’s hand. The entire senior class was watching. Phones out. Recording. Waiting. My stomach dropped straight through the floor. The fountain behind them sounded too loud. "Ben?" My voice cracked. It sounded small. Like a kid’s voice. He looked at me. Those cold, familiar eyes that used to memorize my face in the dark. Then he turned back to Arya and pulled her closer. Like I was nothing. Like I was air. "Who?" he said. Loud enough for everyone to hear. Too loud. "Oh. You mean Kudo? She’s just... a friend. From my charity project." A laugh rippled through the crowd. Ugly. Wet. "A charity case," someone whispered behind me. "She thought he actually liked her," another girl giggled. "Scholarship girls are so desperate," a boy said. The floor under me disappeared. Arya smiled sweetly. Too sweetly. The kind of smile that cuts. "Happy birthday, Kudo," she said. Voice like sugar and glass. "Ben was just trying to be nice to you. Don’t take it the wrong way." My chest felt like it was being ripped open in front of 500 people. On my birthday. With cameras rolling. Ben didn’t even look at me again. Not once. Like I had never mattered. Like the last 2 years were a typo. And in that moment, something inside me broke. Something loud and old and tired. And something else... woke up. Something cold. Something clear. Something that didn’t beg. They called me a liar. They broke me. They filmed it. And I let them. But I won’t let them again. Now I’m going to break them. ... They called me a liar. They broke me. They filmed it. And I let them. But I won’t let them again. Not ever. Not one more day. Now I’m going to break them. Piece by piece. Until there’s nothing left of them to hurt anyone else.