CHAPTER 2 — The First Strike of Envy
1393 Words
The next few weeks at Colewood Academy unfolded quietly on the surface, but beneath that calm, something poisonous was beginning to spread.
Kian adjusted quickly to the school’s intense academic environment. He answered questions clearly, submitted assignments early, and impressed teachers with a sharpness that came naturally to him. He didn’t try to stand out—he just couldn’t hide his brilliance.
And Ariella noticed everything.
Sometimes she caught herself staring too long when he solved an equation the teacher struggled to explain. Sometimes she smiled too quickly when his name appeared at the top of graded tests.
She liked him.
She didn’t know it yet—but Vanessa did.
And Vanessa hated it.
---
One morning, Ariella walked into school with her usual grace, but she immediately sensed something off. Students whispered the moment she entered the hallway.
“Did you hear?”
“About the scholarship boy?”
“They said they found money missing from the supply office again…”
“And guess who was seen near there?”
Ariella’s heart dropped.
Not again.
When she rounded the corner, she found Kian standing near his locker, arms folded, eyes shadowed with frustration. He wasn’t angry at the school—he was tired. Tired of fighting battles he didn’t start.
“Kian,” Ariella called softly.
He looked up, and just like that, the hardness in his eyes softened. “Hey.”
“What happened?”
He exhaled slowly. “Someone reported me again.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Apparently not. They said a student saw me near the office yesterday.” He clenched his fists. “I wasn’t even in that hallway.”
Ariella didn’t think. She didn’t hesitate. She took his hand gently—not romantically, just reassuringly. “I’ll help you clear this up.”
Kian froze. Physical affection was foreign to him. So was trust.
“You don’t have to,” he murmured.
“I want to.”
A small part of him warmed at that. A bigger part of him wondered why this girl—this wealthy, admired, adored girl—was risking her own reputation to defend someone like him.
Vanessa saw it from the end of the hallway.
Her jaw tightened until it hurt.
---
During lunch, Ariella and Kian sat together for the first time properly. Not because they planned to—because no one else would sit with him. And Ariella refused to let him eat alone.
“So,” she said, unwrapping her sandwich, “what’s your favorite subject so far?”
Kian blinked. “You actually want to know?”
She smiled. “Of course.”
He hesitated, then answered, “Physics. It just… makes sense to me. Everything has a rule. A reason. A reaction.”
Ariella tilted her head, studying him. “And people don’t?”
He paused, surprised she caught that.
“No,” he said softly. “People don’t.”
Not in his world, at least.
“Maybe you just haven’t met the right ones,” she said gently.
He looked at her for a moment longer than he should have. “Maybe.”
Vanessa watched them from a nearby table, her fork frozen in mid-air, her face unreadable.
Her best friend—her Ariella—was becoming close to someone else.
Someone beneath them.
Someone she didn’t choose.
Her heart churned bitterly.
No.
She wasn’t going to let this happen.
---
By mid-week, Vanessa decided observing wasn’t enough. She had to act.
The school held a small inter-class debate competition that Thursday, and Ariella was chosen as a speaker. Vanessa wasn’t selected—but the moment she learned Kian had been assigned as Ariella’s partner, her jealousy snapped like a frayed string.
She smiled sweetly when the teacher announced it.
But inside, something darker formed.
A plan.
Ariella was excited when she met Kian in the library after school. She loved debates, and she was even more excited to work with him.
“You’ll be great,” she said brightly.
He chuckled softly. “You haven’t even heard me speak yet.”
“I don’t need to. I can tell.”
He didn’t believe her.
But he wanted to.
They shared ideas, wrote points, exchanged books. Their conversations flowed naturally. They laughed—soft, quiet laughs, the kind that built connection without trying.
Vanessa watched from the corner shelves.
She did not laugh.
She did not smile.
She gripped a library book so tightly the cover bent.
Her nails dug into her palm as she whispered under her breath, “Enough.”
---
The next morning, the school buzzed with tension.
“Did you hear?”
“They canceled the debate.”
“What happened?”
“Something about cheating?”
Ariella walked into the principal’s office with dread tightening her chest. Kian stood inside already, his shoulders tense.
The principal frowned at them both.
“We received an anonymous envelope,” he said, sliding a sheet of paper across the desk. “This is the exact debate script the opposing team prepared.”
Ariella froze.
It was true—it was their opponents’ script.
But the principal’s next words hit harder.
“And the handwriting matches yours, Mr. Hale.”
Kian’s eyes widened. “Sir—I've never seen that paper in my life.”
The principal looked tired. “We will investigate further, but cheating is a serious offense.”
Ariella stepped forward immediately. “Sir, Kian would never cheat. He doesn’t need to.”
The principal sighed. “I know you care about him, Ariella, but this is not the first complaint involving him. Until the investigation is complete, the competition is canceled.”
Kian’s heart sank.
Again.
Again he was blamed.
Again whispers followed him.
He didn’t say anything—he just turned and walked outside.
Ariella followed.
“Kian, wait!”
He stopped but didn’t turn.
“Why is this happening?” he asked quietly. “Why do people keep accusing me?”
Ariella stepped beside him. “Because someone is framing you.”
He finally faced her. His eyes weren’t angry—just exhausted. “Why?”
Ariella opened her mouth.
Then stopped.
She didn’t want to think it.
She didn’t want to say it.
But the truth landed heavily in her heart.
There was only one person who could do all this.
Only one person who was always close enough.
Only one person who watched her and Kian with growing resentment.
Vanessa.
But Ariella wasn’t ready to accept that. Not yet.
“Kian,” she whispered, “I promise—I’ll find out who’s doing this.”
He stared at her, searching for any sign of doubt.
He found none.
“Why do you care so much?” he murmured.
Ariella answered without thinking. “Because you don’t deserve this. And because you’re my friend.”
His heart shook at the word.
Friend.
The first he’d had in years.
But only one person overheard the conversation from behind a tree—Vanessa.
Her eyes narrowed.
Her fists clenched.
Friendship?
She was losing Ariella.
Piece by piece.
Day by day.
And that, to Vanessa, was unforgivable.
---
The next day, Ariella walked into class and found something horrible on Kian’s desk.
A note:
THIEVES DON’T BELONG HERE.
Ariella’s voice rose sharply, loud enough for the class to hear.
“Enough! Whoever did this, you’re cruel.”
No one confessed.
Of course they didn’t.
Kian tore the note into pieces silently.
He was used to pain.
But he wasn’t used to someone defending him.
Later that afternoon, Ariella stayed behind to help him with clean-up duty—the punishment the school assigned him while the investigation continued.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said quietly. “You’re not in trouble.”
“You are,” she answered, “and I’m not leaving you alone.”
He looked at her, truly looked.
And for the first time, a small warmth lit his eyes.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
Ariella smiled softly. “Always.”
Vanessa watched from the doorway.
That word—
Always.
It shattered something inside her.
No.
Ariella was hers.
Her friend.
Her person.
Her world.
And if Kian wanted to enter that world, she would make sure it destroyed him.
The first strike had landed.
But it would not be the last.
Not even close.
- Writer
