CHAPTER FIVE: The game behind the smile
1159 Words
Lina didn’t reply to the message.
She just stood there… staring at her phone as if it might explain itself.
“You should’ve stayed quiet. Now it gets worse.”
The words felt heavier now.
Closer.
Personal.
“Lina?” Cassie’s voice pulled her back. “What is it?”
Lina hesitated… then turned the screen toward her.
Cassie read it.
And her expression changed instantly.
“That’s not normal bullying,” she said quietly. “That’s… targeted.”
Lina nodded slowly, her eyes drifting back to the house.
To the lights.
To the shadows moving behind the glass.
And then—to Tiana.
Still standing there.
Still watching.
Still smiling.
“She knows something,” Lina whispered.
Cassie frowned. “About what?”
“I don’t know yet,” Lina said. “But whatever this is… it didn’t start tonight.”
The next morning, Silver Crest didn’t feel like the same place.
It felt… louder.
Heavier.
Like something invisible had shifted overnight.
The moment Lina stepped through the gates, she felt it.
Eyes.
Too many eyes.
Phones lifted slightly as she passed.
“She’s the one…”
“The pool girl…”
“Did you see the video—”
Lina stopped walking.
“…what video?”
The girls ahead of her froze.
Too late.
Lina’s heart started pounding.
“What video?” she repeated, sharper this time.
They exchanged glances… then one of them hesitantly held out her phone.
“Someone posted it last night…”
Lina took it.
And everything inside her went cold.
It was her.
Falling into the pool.
Her panic.
Her soaked clothes.
She stood there, surrounded by laughter.
And then—
Edited clips.
Zoomed-in shots.
Slow motion.
With captions.
“Scholarship girl tries to act bold”
“Know your place”
Lina’s fingers tightened around the phone.
“Who posted this?” she asked.
The girl shook her head quickly. “It’s from a private account… no name.”
Lina handed the phone back without another word.
Her chest burned.
But her face?
Calm.
Too calm.
“Okay, this is getting serious,” Cassie said as she caught up to her. “First the message, now this? Someone is obsessed.”
“Not someone,” Lina said quietly.
Cassie looked at her. “Tiana?”
Lina didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
“Lina.”
She turned.
Ethan.
His expression was different today.
Less relaxed.
More… concerned.
“I’ve been looking for you,” he said.
Lina crossed her arms slightly. “Why?”
He hesitated.
Then lowered his voice.
“You need to be careful.”
A small, humourless smile touched Lina’s lips. “That sounds familiar.”
“I’m serious,” Ethan insisted. “This is going too far.”
“It already has.”
Ethan glanced around before stepping closer. “Tiana doesn’t just humiliate people for fun.”
Lina raised a brow. “That’s exactly what she does.”
“No,” he said. “She does it when she wants something.”
That made Lina pause.
“What do you mean?”
Ethan held her gaze.
“She’s not just trying to embarrass you,” he said slowly. “She’s trying to break you.”
Silence.
The words settled deep.
Uncomfortable.
Real.
Lina swallowed. “Why me?”
Ethan didn’t answer immediately.
And that hesitation?
It didn’t go unnoticed.
“Ethan,” Lina said, her voice tightening, “what do you know?”
“I don’t know anything for sure,” he replied. “But—”
“But what?”
Before he could finish—
A loud voice cut through the hallway.
“Attention everyone!”
The crowd shifted instantly.
All eyes turned.
Tiana.
Standing at the top of the stairs like she owned the school itself.
Lina’s stomach dropped.
Not again.
“Since last night was… entertaining,” Tiana continued, her voice smooth, confident, “I thought we should keep the energy going.”
A few students laughed.
Others just watched.
Waiting.
Always waiting.
Tiana’s eyes found Lina.
Locked onto her.
“And since our new student clearly loves attention…”
A pause.
A smile.
“Let’s give her more of it.”
Lina felt the tension rise instantly.
“What are you doing?” Cassie muttered.
But Lina already knew.
This wasn’t random.
This was planned.
Tiana lifted her phone slightly.
And within seconds—
More phones started buzzing.
Notifications.
Messages.
Spreading.
Fast.
Too fast.
Cassie checked hers.
Then froze.
“Oh no…”
“What?” Lina asked, her voice low.
Cassie turned the screen toward her.
And Lina’s breath stopped.
Another video.
Not from the party.
Older.
Much older.
Her.
In a worn-out uniform.
Standing outside a small, broken house.
Her mother is in the background.
Their reality.
Exposed.
Displayed.
Humiliated.
Right there.
At school.
Lina’s hands began to shake.
Not from weakness.
From anger.
Deep.
Burning.
Dangerous anger.
She slowly lifted her head.
And looked straight at Tiana.
Who was already watching her.
Waiting for her to break.
Waiting for tears.
For embarrassment.
For silence.
But Lina didn’t give her that.
Instead—
She started walking.
Straight toward her.
The crowd parted instantly.
Whispers rising.
“What is she doing?”
“Is she crazy?”
Lina didn’t stop.
Didn’t hesitate.
Until she stood face-to-face with Tiana.
Close enough to feel the tension.
“You’re really proud of this?” Lina asked quietly.
Tiana smiled. “I don’t know… should I be?”
Lina tilted her head slightly.
“You had to dig into my past,” she said. “Because you couldn’t handle me in the present.”
The crowd reacted instantly.
Soft gasps.
Murmurs.
Tiana’s smile stiffened.
“You think this changes anything?” she asked coldly.
“No,” Lina replied.
A small pause.
Then—
“I think it exposes you.”
Silence.
Sharp.
Heavy.
For the first time—
The attention wasn’t on Lina.
It was on Tiana.
And she felt it.
That shift.
That c***k.
Her eyes darkened slightly.
“Careful,” Tiana said under her breath. “You’re stepping into something you don’t understand.”
Lina didn’t step back.
“Then explain it.”
Tiana’s smile returned.
Slow.
Dangerous.
“Oh, I will,” she said softly.
“But not here.”
She leaned closer.
“So everyone can hear.”
Lina’s heart skipped.
Not from fear.
From instinct.
Something bigger was coming.
Something worse.
As Tiana stepped back, turning away like she had all the control again, Lina’s phone buzzed.
Another message.
Unknown number.
Her fingers tightened as she opened it.
This time… it wasn’t a threat.
It was a sentence.
A single line.
That made her blood run cold.
“Ask your father what really happened.”
Lina froze.
Her world is tilting slightly.
Her past…
Her family…
This wasn’t just bullying anymore.
This was something deeper.
Something hidden.
And someone—
Was making sure she found out the hard way.
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