From Bet To Love

Chapter 7: Red Alert!

Jennifer

I sat on a bench at the back of the university building, my hands resting on my lap, staring blankly at the ground. Luckily there is no one around. I am alone.

After leaving the cafeteria, I just wanted to be alone, away from people. I had already missed half of my first class so I just decided to skip the rest of it entirely, needing some space to calm down.

The argument with that Lana girl yesterday, the kiss with that jerk last night, punishment I got from miss Brook in the morning and lastly the whole interaction with that blue eyed guy earlier, everything felt just too much to handle at once. It’s messing with my mind. I am not able to focus on anything.

I texted Amber, who was still in class, telling her to meet me here when she is done. I need my friend to be here with me. I want to talk to her and let out everything inside me.

I sighed, leaning back and closing my eyes in an attempt to relax. The exhaustion is catching up to me; I hadn’t slept a wink last night.

It wasn’t just the kiss with that arrogant blue-eyed jerk that had kept me awake, though that certainly played a part. The thought of facing Miss Brook’s wrath in the morning also loomed over me.

But what haunted me the most, what truly terrified me, was the memory of the man who had tried to break into my dorm room last night. The way he had almost crawled through my window, and then how he vanished into thin air when there was a knock on my door—it chilled me to the bone.

‘Who could it be?’

I shivered just thinking about it, my arms wrapping around myself, trying to push away the memory.

At first I had forgot about it. For a moment, that blue eyed guy and his kiss had distracted me from the fear, but later when I was alone, it came rushing back, making me feel small and vulnerable.

I wanted to call Amber last night and tell her all about it. But I knew that she was already upset about her argument with her brother. I didn’t want to worry her with my problems as well.

So I decided to talk to her in the morning. But she had texted me early in the morning telling me that she has an early class so she won’t be able to come and pick me. So, I decided to talk to her after all of our classes ended. But now I can’t wait any longer.

A sudden voice broke through my thoughts.

“Jen!”

I opened my eyes to see Amber running toward me. I felt a wave of relief wash over me at the sight of my friend. A smile made its way on my lips upon seeing her, but it quickly faded when I saw the expression of concern on her face, or was it fear etched on her features.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as soon as she was in front of me, my heart skipping a beat.

Her face pale and her breathing heavy. “Jen, oh my god… what have you done?”

I frowned in confusion, shaking my head. “What do you mean? What did I do?”

Amber hesitated, glancing around nervously before lowering her voice. “Everyone’s talking about it, Jen. There’s a video going around the whole campus…” she paused, her eyes clearly reflecting the fear she was feeling. “of you slapping Damon Kingston.”

“What… who?” I asked as my frown deepened but soon realisation hit me and the look of confusion on my face replaced by complete annoyance. “Oh.. you mean that blue eyed jerk”.

Her eyes widened at my words, panic flashing in her eyes. “You shouldn’t address him like that Jen. What if someone hears?” she looked around to make sure no one heard me.

“Who cares Am? I am stating the fact here. And about the slap, he deserved it” I said. “But what’s wrong with you? Why do you look like you have seen a ghost?” I asked, concerned.

Amber grabbed my hand, her face serious. “Jen, you are not grasping the depth of the trouble you have pushed yourself into. You don’t know Damon Kingston. He comes from the richest family in this city! His father is freaking Mayor of this city. And to top it all of…” She hesitated, her voice dropping lower. “He’s the leader of Red Alert.”

“Red Alert?” I repeated, it sounded familiar. Then I remembered where I heard about it. It was Amber, who mentioned them yesterday. But she didn’t actually tell me anything about them.

Amber nodded quickly. “They’re a group of bullies, the most dangerous ones at Redcrest. They control everything here, and Damon… he’s the worst of them. He doesn’t take disrespect lightly. Anyone who crosses him— has to face severe consequences. He makes sure they suffer for it. Not even teachers or principal go against him. He can get you expelled in a minute and no one will be able to stop him”

My heart pounded in my chest, the weight of Amber’s words sinking in. “Are you saying… he’s a bully? And now that I have slapped him… he is going to come after me? He can even get me…expelled?”

Amber squeezed my hand, her eyes filled with fear. “I don’t know, but people are already talking about it. Those people call themselves ‘Red Alert’. Because it’s for our on safety to steer clear of them. Everyone here knows that no one ever disrespects Damon and gets away with it. And it’s scaring the s**t out of me.”

The look on the blue eyed guy… I mean, Damon’s face when I slapped him flashed in front of my eyes.

‘This slap, you are going to regret doing this. I will make sure of that’ his threat rang in my ears.

I felt a wave of nausea wash over me. The anger I’d felt earlier was now replaced with fear. “Amber… don’t worry. I will be okay” I tried to assure her, or myself, I don’t know. But it definitely didn’t work.

Amber bit her lip, looking just as worried as me. “I’m scared for you Jen. Maybe we should—”

Suddenly, my phone buzzed, interrupting Amber. I pulled it out of my pocket, my hands shaking slightly. When I looked at the screen, my breath caught in my throat.

It was a message from the principal’s office.

“Jennifer Roberts, please report to the principal’s office immediately.”

My eyes widened as I stared at the message, my pulse quickening. Whatever was coming next—it wasn’t going to be good.