Decision

Chapter 4

Resumption week arrived like a celebration and for Jessica, it felt exactly like one.

Not the quiet, hopeful kind students usually carried with them.

No.

Hers came wrapped in luxury, noise, and something dangerously close to recklessness.

The morning she resumed, the entire compound had paused to watch her.

The car alone was enough to turn heads.

A sleek, brand-new machine,dark, polished, and far too expensive for a first-year student. It gleamed under the sunlight as though it knew it didn’t belong in a campus parking lot filled with aging vehicles and struggling dreams.

Felix had handed her the keys the night before.

“You deserve a fresh start,” he had said, his tone calm but his eyes searching hers like he was trying to read something she hadn’t yet spoken aloud.

Jessica had smiled.

But even then, something about the gift felt heavier than it should have.

“Everything you need is already arranged,” he added. “Accommodation,fees, books.”

“Thank you,” she had replied.

Now, as she stepped out of the car on campus, conversations paused.

Heads turned.

Eyes followed her every step.

Jessica felt it immediately,that shift in attention. That invisible line between her and everyone else.

For the first time in her life, she wasn’t the girl being overlooked.

She was the girl everyone noticed.

And it was intoxicating.

She adjusted her bag slightly and walked forward, her chin lifted just enough to hide the flicker of uncertainty in her eyes.

This is your chance, she told herself.

A new life,a new beginning.

The first week passed in a blur.

Orientation,

Crowds,

Introductions,

Laughter,

And invitations.

So many invitations.

At first, Jessica told herself she would focus.

She even attended her first lecture,sat quietly in the back, notebook open, pen ready.

But she couldn’t concentrate.

Not when her phone kept buzzing,

Not when students kept glancing at her.

Not when someone leaned over halfway through the class and whispered.

“There’s a party tonight. You should come.”

Jessica hesitated.

Just for a second.

Then she smiled.

“Where?”

That night changed everything.

The music was loud enough to drown thought.

Lights flashed in every direction.

Laughter, drinks, bodies moving in rhythm,it all pulled her in like a current she didn’t even try to resist.

For the first time in a long time, Jessica felt… free.

No responsibilities.

No pressure.

No memories of the house, the whispers, the secrets.

Just noise.

Just escape.

“You look like you belong here,” a voice said beside her.

Jessica turned.

That was the first time she saw Juliet.

She was striking,not just because of her beauty, but because of the confidence she carried like a weapon. Her eyes were sharp, observant, like she saw through people before they even spoke.

Jessica smiled. “First time here.”

Juliet tilted her head slightly. “Really? You don’t act like it.”

Jessica laughed.

“I guess I learn fast.”

Juliet’s lips curved into a slow smile.

“I like you already.”

From that night, everything began to shift.

One party became two.

Two became five.

Classes became optional.

Lectures became irrelevant.

Jessica told herself she would catch up later.

That she had time.

That she deserved to enjoy this new life.

Juliet was always there.

Always pulling her deeper.

“School is overrated,” Juliet said one night, as they sat on the hood of Jessica’s car, watching people stumble out of another loud party.

Jessica frowned slightly. “It’s important, though.”

“Important for what?” Juliet shot back. “To graduate and struggle? To end up working for people who don’t even respect you?”

Jessica didn’t respond.

Juliet leaned closer.

“Look at you,” she continued. “You already have more than most people here. The car, the money, the connections… You think school is what got you that?”

Jessica’s grip tightened slightly on her drink.

“No,” she admitted.

“Exactly,” Juliet said, her voice soft but persuasive. “You don’t need it.”

The words lingered longer than they should have.

Weeks passed.

Jessica stopped attending classes entirely.

Her room became a place to sleep between parties.

Her books remained untouched.

Her phone filled with invitations, not reminders.

And slowly, something else began to creep in.

A sense of detachment.

Like she was watching her own life from a distance.

Sometimes, late at night, when the music faded and the silence returned, she would think of Felix.

Of the way he had looked at her.

Of the warning that had never been spoken but had always been there.

And then,

She would push the thought away.

Because thinking too much meant remembering.

And remembering meant questioning.

Mid-semester tests came.

Jessica didn’t write them.

She told herself they didn’t matter.

That she could still fix everything later.

Juliet laughed when she mentioned it.

“You’re still thinking about school?” she teased. “Jessica… you’re bigger than that.”

Bigger.

The word felt powerful.

Dangerous.

Addictive.

By the time final exams arrived, Jessica barely recognized herself.

She walked into the exam hall late.

Unprepared.

Unbothered or at least pretending to be.

Students around her scribbled furiously, flipping pages, calculating, thinking.

Jessica stared at her paper.

Blank.

Her mind was empty.

For the first time in weeks, reality broke through.

You don’t know anything.

Her chest tightened.

Her hands trembled slightly.

But instead of panic…

She felt something worse.

Numbness.

She dropped her pen.

Stood up.

And walked out.

The results came weeks later.

Jessica didn’t check immediately.

She already knew.

But when she finally did,

It was worse than she imagined.

She hadn’t just failed.

She had failed everything.

Every single course.

Her name stood there on the list, surrounded by numbers that told a story she didn’t want to face.

A story of wasted time.

Of bad choices.

Of consequences.

Her breath caught.

For a moment, the world felt too quiet.

Too still.

Then her phone buzzed.

Juliet.

“Come out tonight,” the message read. “Big party.

You need it.”

Jessica stared at the screen.

Her heart pounded slowly, heavily.

You need it.

Did she?

Or was that exactly what had brought her here?.

After seeing her result,she decided she won't go to school anymore.She just wanted to go to party.

After the party, Jessica returned to Felix's mansion.

The same mansion.

The same gates.

The same silence.