𝐊𝐚𝐭 𝐕𝐚𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐥

---

When Kat woke, all she could think about was how much she needed a coffee. That craving could drive her to drastic things. Sometimes, those things were even as wild as getting out of bed. She opened her eyes to a faceful of silky hair and an armful of… Oh, yeah.

She shifted out of the covers, sat up, and rubbed the night’s sleep from her eyes. Silver early morning light was leaking past the drawn blinds, never settling on anything, but gently touching everything. Mimsy laid just a few feet away. Kat sighed, and scratched her head. She desperately wanted to be on the same page, and for this to mean nothing. After all, there had been countless girls who it had meant nothing with. So, that is what she told herself. And that was that.

”Eugh…”

She crawled out of bed and dragged on whichever clothes had flown off. That is, after she found them. Half a bottle of wine and certain company had a way of making her misplace things. A pair of loose-fit jeans and a sports bra were first, with a button-up, a flannel, and a hoodie to follow. The memories which slid back into her head at that moment made her grin like an idiot. But, slowly, pain crept in to remind her of the coffee. It was time to go. She quickly gathered the rest of what she had brought, stashing it in her bag, and walking out the door.

Outside, the wind was crisp and cool against her face, and lively in the lungs. She pulled her coat in tighter. It had been so much warmer in bed. Anyway… she thought, bringing her mind back to the present. She reached into her pocket to pull out her phone, put one earbud in, and hit “play” on her daily spotify mix. Tear You Apart. ”Great,” she muttered, rolling her eyes.

Minutes later, she was aboard a near-empty bus on the way back to campus. It stank. Normally, she would have spent time racking her brains to figure out what the stench was, but today, that did not seem like a concern. Today was not a normal day. Something was off, and it wasn’t exactly that she hadn’t woken up in her own bed.

With a shake of her head to dismiss the feeling, she pulled out her phone and opened up her DMs. It took her several minutes of agonising doubt to finally type out a message to Mimsy, bluntly apologising for leaving without saying goodbye.

After a short bus ride, a shorter walk, and an even shorter text exchange, she found herself stood in front of a bulletin board thinking, what the fuck am I doing? And what the fuck is this picture of me doing here?

Someone had decided that the portraits of an eclectic mix of students needed to be pinned to a board, each accompanied by a nickname. Some were kind. Others.... well Kat just hoped that Aria didn’t see hers. That one was particularly cruel. Whatever this was, it seemed like pure high-school drama. She was already done with it. There were no second thoughts as she tore her photo down. It went straight into her bag, where it would stay until it was ready to burn.

With that, Kat wheeled and marched towards the cafe. Her coffee was long overdue. And before too long, she was seated in her own booth, sipping her coffee and scrolling social media.

---

---

Mornings were always dreadful things, and this one proved to be no exception. After all, Mimsy expected to at least be cuddling something warm when she woke up, but instead only found an armful of blankets. It only made an already bad morning worse when the absence made her think of things altogether even more unpleasant, even if she secretly hoped that today would have been different. A hope that nearly made her heart jump out of her chest when she heard the dull vibration of her phone coming from somewhere in the room.

It was nothing.

It was probably nothing.

Maybe it wasn't nothing.

God damn it.

Against all rational thought or reason, she grumbled and began to move out of her very comfortable, very plush, and very reliable bed to go find her phone. She of course, then immediately got to regret the fact that she very much liked to leave the windows open at night, as was the ritual for her every morning when she found herself mysteriously without clothes of any sort to protect her. A wonder for the ages. She kicked aside a few toys and loose clothing before picking her phone up off the floor and seeing with only slight disappointment who it came from.

Flirting with Kat proved to be a wonderful little distraction at least as Mimsy went through her morning rituals as she got ready to get to OIC. It was rare for her to have any reason to go to campus these days ever since she figured she didn't have to attend any lectures any more and still get good enough grades that professors were still willing to write her rec. letters when she asked without asking for too much of a bribe. The fact that it seemed to piss a majority of them off either because she either did well enough that they couldn't ask for bigger favors or just shy of being at a level where they could comfortably recommend her without any extra incentives was just an added bonus.

In any case, they were often enough to continue landing her tutoring gigs that didn't need to be organized through OIC's tutoring center, which more than a few rich kids who liked their appearances were willing to pay for to avoid the ignominy of it, alongside the ones who just had a fetish and the select few who actually enjoyed her teaching style, the last group of which was who she actually cared about today. Shooting off a text to those few special members, she also remembered to shoot Sia a text to follow-up the adorable little freshman's ideas for videos.

With messages sent, coffee consumed, and safety gear on, Mimsy got on her bike and sped through the quiet, affluent neighborhood as she let her thoughts and worries empty on the ride. It didn't take too long to get to campus anyways, especially at the speeds that Mimsy went, doubly so because she didn't even get flagged down today. Maybe the local cops had finally given up on ever getting a ticket to stick to her.

Unfortunately it seemed some new nuisance had risen in their absence as Ms. Fortune seemed to have picked her new targets for the year, not that Mimsy really cared. She already saw the pictures people had started posting on all her socials, and honestly - a bulletin board? Either Ms. Fortune was an old dinosaur or she was too paranoid for her own good. What was more interesting anyways was a familiar face sitting in a cafe not too far away, and since she'd already proven such fun last night, Mimsy saw no harm in bothering Kat even further, especially since she had so rudely left in the morning with a text.

Striding over and walking in, Mimsy gave a little wave to the baristas at the counter before slipping into Kat's booth, placing her helmet on top of the table before resting her chin on top of her interlocked hands. "Good morning. You last said something about ending up 'somewhere similar with one of the philosophy majors?'"

---

---

Kat nearly choked on her coffee in a half-baked effort to stop herself spitting it all over the table. A not quite successful effort, mind you, as some still ended up dribbling down her chin. She wiped it away quickly. Tried to regain composure. Everything was fine, this was not at all embarrassing. Her face flooded with red.

”Um… yeah. I di- did,” she stammered, eyes fixed on Mimsy’s hands. ”You nearly made me choke!”

Mimsy, in turn, raised her fingers up so that they were perfectly placed in the little middle dip of her mouth. ”Nearly? I think I was successful on that front several times. Or that could have been me. So hard to remember when so much happened.”

”I mean like to dea- oh. Yeah, uh… right,” Kat said, eyes following Mimsy’s hands.

”Donc, so, what are your plans? Seems important if you didn’t want coffee at my place instead. Too rich for your tastes?”

Kat looked up and out the window to their left. A small, audible sigh whistled past her lips. ”I just wanted to check my schedule. Didn’t know when you would wake up, I guess,” she said, still transfixed on whatever was out the window. The earbud fell out. She didn’t bother replacing it. ”Yeah sorry about that. We can always go back there sometime?”

A little sigh, a little unfurling of her arms as the leather sleeves of her jacket slid across themselves, a little tap of her fingernails on the table.

Ugh, that fucking jacket… the thought flashed in Kat’s mind. Her breath caught. Just slightly.

Then, a little opportunity presenting itself with a clatter. A small smile tugged Mimsy’s lips as she picked up the earbud, brushing her hair into place before sneaking the blaring piece into her ear. ”And you had to run all the way to campus for that? Why, if I didn’t know any better, Kat, I’d say you were trying to avoid me. Was I that disappointing for you?” Mimsy widened her smile, her tone a little louder to subconsciously make up for the music, hand now placed on her cheek and firmly framing the earpod’s new home.

”No,” Kat said. She breathed a deep breath into her chest, closed her eyes for a second, and reached down to her coffee. It was a deep brown, clearly strong, and the froth had already been scooped off. She took a sip. ”No, not at all. You were… actually better than I expected.”

She smiled up at Mimsy with cheek in her eyes. ”So many pretty girls learn to get lazy, you know?”

Mimsy shrugged, smirk growing even wider as she began listening to the lyrics of Kat’s song proper, right before the throes of the sultry chorus.

If I'm out of sight then take another look around
I'm still out there hoping to be found

Shut up, kiss me
Hold me tight
Shut up, kiss me
...

”... ‘Hold me tight’ like you did last night and I’m sure any girl would learn to try.”

Kat blinked. Just before her eyes closed, her eyes rolled ever so slightly back. Her eyes stayed closed for a good second. Starting at the cupid’s bow and spreading slowly out, her lips unstuck from one another. I’m a moron. Opening her eyes, she reached for the other earbud, placing it in her own ear. ”Fuck you,” she said, with a slight giggle. ”You know as well as me that there’s more than a few who do not. Just take the compliment, you were good. Honestly. Anyway. I thought you didn’t come to campus anymore or something. What are your plans?”

Recognizing that that was all she was going to get, Mimsy shrugged and leaned back in her seat, taking a moment to ruffle her hair to give it some amount of volume back as she looked out the window Kat seemed so enamored with moments before. ”It’s rush week, there’s always something to do, people to meet up. Half of them are still trying to get me to be a part of their club or sorority or society, the other half want me to plan parties for them. Speaking of, there’s one I’m actually invested in that’s happening Friday. Host is a piece of shit, but his house is big, probably paid for with daddy’s money, with prettier girls and emptier heads and probably shit you can break.” Mimsy took a knowing glance back at Kat.

”Something you’d be interested in?”

”That sounds exhausting. Your week, or whatever. Party sounds fun though, I guess. Pretty girls and shit I can break?” Kat said. She took a sip of her coffee and threw a wink at Mimsy. ”Sounds like you. Sign me up.”

Mimsy laughed, the amusement staying on her face as she returned her full attention back to Kat.

The mug made a clattering sound as it was set back on the saucer. ”But seriously, who else is going? I wanna come prepared.” Kat asked.

”What do you have to prepare for? Just bring your pepper spray and a good pair of boots. We can maybe even go shopping before for new outfits. I did have you penciled in for that day, in case you forgot.”

”Only pepper spray and boots? If there’s one thing you’re a rookie at, Mimsy, it’s this. You’re forgetting the lighter, paint, glue, and… I dunno, something heavy. Maybe a marker if we think there won’t be one there or whatever,” Kat said with a laugh. ”I’ll only go shopping if we’re not buying anything new. I’ve found a few good op-shops around the place. Are we doing costumes, or just ‘fits?”

This time it was Mimsy’s turn to roll her eyes. ”You know what city you’re in, right?” But knowing that Kat won’t budge, Mimsy sighed and relented. ”One day you’ll realize that just being here you’re already like us, and that’s not going to change. But that’s what I find cute about you.” Mimsy got up, collecting her various bits of gear before making her way over towards Kat’s side and leaned down close, gently pulling the other girl's cheeks towards the vixen. ”Until next time, oué? I’ll send you details later.” Then, with a soft kiss on Kat's cheek, Mimsy departed.

Kat scoffed at the thought of her being “like us”, before being completely taken off guard by her cheek being grabbed. Under Mimsy’s soft touch, it burned red yet again. Kat reached up on an instinct, knuckles grazing the other woman’s chin. The kiss that followed was enchanted with a woody cologne, which swirled into her nose, rising into her brain, forcing it to recall breath-hitching feelings from last night. Why am I like this?

”Uh… yeah,” was all she could say. She gulped. ”Next time, or- or whatever.”

She didn’t even have time to register that none of her questions had been answered. Her cheek glowed. Her heart raced. Her mouth was dry, so she took another sip. Again, she was sitting alone, but it felt dif- Shut up. Wait… that bitch! She didn’t answer my questions! she thought. She shook her head out of its stupor, blinking rapidly a few times. There had been countless girls who it had meant nothing with. So - again - that is what she told herself. And - again - that was that.

---

It was still dark when Flora awoke, the gentle chime of her phone echoing through her apartment. Her eyebrows furrowed as she buried further into her pillow just a bit… then she sighed. Her fingers found her phone, and the apartment was quiet again.

She kept the lights off as she padded about, wood shifting under her bare feet. Flora, as she did most mornings, relied on the ambient light from the lamp posts scattered around campus. She didn’t say a word. There was something mystical about the hours just before dawn - like she was keeping a secret, intruding on a time that she wasn’t quite meant for. Like there was someone sleeping soundly just around the corner. Flora had to be up early, but maybe if she stayed very quiet she could grant them a few extra moments of peace, care for them in her own simple way. Maybe she could creep around the corner, up to their bed, and slip under the covers with them. Nestle against their warmth to chase away the fresh autumn chill. Fall asleep to the rhythm of their breathing.

But the apartment was empty when the sun rose.

Flora was nearly ready for the day - she’d gotten dressed and washed her face, triple checked her schedule, arranged her textbooks and notebooks in chronological order for her classes, had her tea, edited her ESL essay, and texted her parents good morning - when an email alert popped up on her phone.

flora-
can you print this flyer out for the tutoring center and put it up on the bulletin
forgot it was rush and coming in late
thx
hernandez

tc2021flyer.pdf

Flora opened the file from the head of student learning to see a fairly sparse flyer advertising the tutoring center to students while also calling for tutor applications. She glanced at the time at the top of her screen. Then she typed a quick reply as she went to find her printer.

A half hour later, Flora walked through OIC’s pristine campus. Her heart beat a little louder than normal - her eyes were trained straight ahead, like they were unwilling to glance around, take in the flurry of activity that was rush week. She was getting better though; after two weeks of classes, it was becoming easier to pretend that the past summer had never happened, that there wasn’t an abandoned (but often viewed) DM thread in her phone, that she was fine, she was fine, she wasn’t going to cry, she didn’t feel worthless -

No, she was just Flora at school. She went to class. She tutored. Sometimes she sat with Andre in the library, or made polite conversation with the new barista at the café.

She had moved on with her life. They both had.

Flora pulled the printed flyer (made more colorful with her collection of highlighters) out of her folder as she came up to the bulletin, to see it already covered in photos of students. Titles were scrawled under each face. Flora pressed her lips together. She’d seen some classmates posting online about this. Her eyes scanned them, seeing familiar faces. She hated to admit it, but of the ones she recognized, she could see why their titles had been assigned.

Guilt pooled heavy in her stomach. No, that wasn’t fair. Ms Fortune liked to zoom in on people’s flaws, narrowing down their characters until the secrets and shames were all that existed. But just because Andre liked to act unmotivated or Johnny was kind of a jock, didn’t mean they weren’t still good people - they were always kind to Flora, at least. And it definitely didn’t mean they deserved whatever gleeful takedowns the gossip blog had in store. She sighed to herself, grabbing a pin off the board that seemed to be missing a photo -

Flora stopped. Her breath froze in her chest. There, pinned in the bottom left corner like an afterthought, was her photo. A single word labeled her.


She could only stare. Her muscles didn’t seem to work. Her mind either, for that matter. Over and over, frantic, half-formed thoughts circled Flora.

That couldn’t be her. Why her? This was a mistake. Or a prank. Flora didn’t stand out, she didn’t really socialize, there was no reason to focus on her.

Beneath this twisting current though, was a single whisper: they know.

Flora pinned the flyer roughly over her photo, unable to look at it anymore. Her hands were shaking. Her breath was coming in shorter and shorter bursts, as her throat tightened. Her skin didn’t feel right, like it was too tight, like it vibrated.

She had to go. She couldn’t do this here, in front of everyone, she had to hide, get herself back under control, move, move, move -

Flora spun and hurried away from the bulletin board. She didn’t know where she was going - anywhere, as long as it was away.

---

---

“Alright boys, great job out there this morning, keep up the good work and you’ll be champions. Now, get the hell outta here!” The bellow easily stretched past the large huddle of sweaty young men standing in the middle of the football field. Zacharias Bishop was one the last of the players to rise at their head coach’s dismissal, and like usual was the last to enter the locker room.

When he did, eyes from around the pristine room snapped to him and snickers could be heard as he passed by a few guys staring at their phones.

Zach was no stranger to the odd side-eye and suspicious murmurings of people around him, but usually, they were middle-aged women who spent their time trying to seduce his married god-fearing father. Receiving the treatment from his teammates put him on high alert and had him fishing out his phone instead of heading in for a quick shower.

“The Saint”Zach murmured and felt the tension in his shoulders ease as he skimmed over the morning’s drama, “an Elite, huh? At least she has taste.” Zach’s worries melted away and a smile slipped onto his face at the next post that came upon his feed.

“Who’s got you smiling like that Bishop?” A voice sounded over his shoulder and Zach double tapped on the picture before smoothly locking his phone.

” I don’t know what you’re talking about, I think you got hit too hard on the field, maybe check in with the trainer, oh- while you do that tell the boys I’ll be late to our booth today, I have a trip to make beforehand.”

“I didn’t get hit that hard today, and sure, I’ll let them know you’re still hard at work trying to tame the Tyrant.” The other football player dodged the helmet that came soaring towards him with a laugh and disappeared behind a wall of lockers before anything else was thrown at him.

With the disturber gone, Zach showered and changed in record time, throwing his backpack over his shoulder as he made his quick exit ignoring the voices that called out to him. Whatever they wanted could wait until practice later that evening, he had more important matters to attend.

Those matters were in plain sight once he pushed past the heavy wooden doors of the library. Sitting by herself in front of an open laptop, the screen illuminated her face and drew his attention to the slight furrow of her brow, “Not losing sleep over Political Ideology, are we Ms. Callaghan?” Zach kept his voice low as he passed behind her to pull the chair out to her right, “You know there are much more exciting things to trade for your beauty sleep.”

---

---

Eden jolted awake to the sound of a bang from some corner of the room, the pile of things situated on his lap tumbled a short distance to the floor as he sat up. The bean bag depressed at the movement, and an ache radiated along his back, making him wince as he glanced around.

The study room was mostly empty, save for a few sleep-deprived-looking souls who seemed to be doing the same thing he was, albeit with relatively more success. Eden stretched his arms above his head and let out a low groan before stiffly rising on his feet. Disorientation clung to him as he packed his things up and trudged out of the room.

Another rush week for the books had the dorm in lively spirits this morning and had Eden feeling like the grinch on Christmas. The queue at the elevator had Eden opting for the stairwell; luckily, his floor was the next one up. The muscles in his legs groaned with each step he took, and the only thing on his mind was his bed, for once.

The third floor was quieter than the second but not deserted, and the smells from last night’s “bottom feeder” cooking segment reminded him of home. The carne asada was great, and the company had been even better. A chime sounded from his phone as he fumbled with the keycard to his door. Once inside, he placed his bag on the small desk and swiped his thumb against the glass screen on his phone, “Lucy? Hmmm… she’s cute.” he murmured to himself as he disappeared into the compact bathroom. Eden showered and towel-dried his hair while keeping up a polite enough conversation with the volleyball player that had stumbled into his DMs.

A little bit of flirting never hurt anyone, and she seemed sweet enough to keep his mind off things for a while. Plus, what else was he going to do on a Wednesday night? With the date set for Wednesday and the bags under his eyes demanding at least a solid four hours of sleep, Eden snuggled his way into bed just as the weight of exhaustion hit him.

“Siri, set a reminder for Wednesday.” Eden let out a yawned before relinquishing himself to sleep, and like most nights, it was her pouting face that greeted him to his dreams.

”mi florecita”

---

The words in front of Katie were already beginning to swim as her mind refused to stay nicely situated within the confines she’d so thoughtfully laid out. She couldn’t help but think about Ms. Fortune and all the pictures she’d seen this morning. She wasn’t just worried for herself. She was worried for her friends, who probably had way more to get hurt by.

“Not losing sleep over Political Ideology, are we Ms. Callaghan? You know there are much more exciting things to trade for your beauty sleep.”

Katie’s head swung around at the sound of the familiar voice, and a grin broke out across her face once her suspicions were confirmed, followed by an ever so subtle flushing in her cheeks. “And how much beauty sleep do you think I need, exactly?” Katie asked, cocking her head as a playful smile danced it’s way across her face. She turned away from her laptop, and gestured at the empty seat next to her. When Zach was around, homework was suddenly far less of a priority.

“Not a lot. Mmm…” Zach’s voice trailed off as he took the invitation to sit beside her. Settled sideways into the chair with his knees pointed towards her and his torso supported by the table, Zach returned to his previous thought.

“Just enough for a round two or world domination,” he issued a quick wink leaning in towards her a bit, “your choice, of course..” The warm southern twang of his was not without the tone of suggestion as he held Katie’s gaze with ease.

Katie let out a gasp of faux offense and smacked his arm “Zachary Bishop, what would Jesus say?” She leaned in towards him, ever so slightly, while a slender finger twirled a lock of her hair around. Zach was the kind of boy who latched onto her synapses, and set her whole nervous system alight. The kind of boy she loved to dance these little waltzes with, so long as she got to lead.

Zach’s hearty chuckle at Katie’s teasing earned him a withering glare from the passing librarian, but he was enjoying himself far too much to care. What would a college library be without an obnoxious jock making too much noise in one of its corners?

“The lord did say to love your neighbors, but he never specified how to love them.” Zach offered in a light-hearted manner as he leaned back slowly, letting the building tension fade away, “plus, I reckon I’d have been smited already if Jesus was watching out for the shit I get up to on the day to day. Unless Ms.Fortune is the new messiah, and she’s gearing up to send the sinners of OIC to the slaughter.” Zach shifted topics easily but kept his eyes on Katie’s face; it was easier to measure the furrow of a brow or the downturn of her lips than it was to flat out ask her how she was. Politician’s kids were always doing “great.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Katie said, an exasperated sigh tearing past her lips. “Are we really that interesting? I mean, obviously we are,” Katie gestured between the two of them, “but it’s not like Jamie has anything going on. And all the new kids? Who cares what some scholarshit kid gets up to in their spare time. I guess it’s asking too much to have a normal year, god forbid our tuition pay for that instead of Kat Vaupel’s fucking scholarship.” Katie shook her head, blonde waves bouncing around her as she did, and forced a smile back on.

“Enough about things that piss me off though. I can’t go nuclear yet, it’s only week three,” Katie said. She did her best to refrain from having any meltdowns until at least week five. “How was your weekend? Last time I saw you I think I was carrying Jamie back to his room.”

Zach’s smile was a knowing one. His eyes never wandered away from the golden beauty in front of him as she shared her unfiltered thoughts. Perhaps that’s what Zach enjoyed so much about Katie Callaghan, ” Ah, you know, the life of a star college football player is riveting. Early mornings in the gym and late nights on the field, it’s like a 24/7 sausage fest, fun, right?” Zach issued a dramatic roll of his eyes, just as his phone dinged thrice in his pockets, “If it’s Alessio- oh it’s Birdie, one sec.”

Zach readjusted in his seat, pressing his feet into the ground as he tilted backward, just enough for the chair’s front legs to hover off the ground. Zach nibbled at his bottom lip in irritation as he responded to Birdie’s distress, it wasn’t her fault the guys that interested her were idiots, “How do you tell your friend they have shit taste in guys without being rude?” Zach asked, turning his face to Katie, ” If Birdie had your taste, we’d all be living the good life.”

Katie let her eyes traverse Zach’s jaw as he looked down at his phone, felt her stomach clench as he chewed his lip, and then, as if it had been only a passing moment of insanity, turned her eyes away as he came to meet them. “Oof, uh, gently, and with a whole lot of foreplay,” Katie said. “Birdie definitely doesn’t want to hear that though, so better to err on the side of ‘Fuck him, he’s an asshole.’ Who’s on the shitlist now?”

“Arthur, but it’s nothing too serious… unless sending pics and getting no response is a herald for the end of the world, and I am but an ignorant fool.” Zach chuckled and lowered the seat back to all fours as he took note of the time, “I think I’ve distracted you enough, wanna help me look for a book real quick before I have to go meet the boys down in the quad?” he asked with a smirk growing on his face as he stood to his full height.

“I guess I better add librarian to my resume.” The playful smile on her face gave away her good intentions. She shut her laptop and stood to meet Zach, seeming like something out of Oz standing next to him. “Allow me to be the first to introduce you to the wonderful world of books,” she said over her shoulder, sashaying towards the shelves, a subtle, but noticeable, sway in her hips.

Zach gave an amazed “Woah” as he looked past Katie to the aisles of books, but his eyes were quick to snap to the dawg of her hips, “Thought it was time to put my hooked on phonics to work, got flex more than my arm muscles, you know?”

Katie laughed, not the practiced chuckle of the future mayor’s daughter, but the loud and boisterous roar of laughter that only those close to her ever heard. “Don’t let Isa find out. She’ll start thinking you’re competition. What exactly am I finding for you anyway?”

“Or add me to her hitlist underneath her brother’s name.” Zach’s eyes twinkled with joy at the sound of Katie’s laughter. When they stopped in the middle of an aisle somewhere near the back of the library, where the sunlight filtered in through the gaps on the bookshelf, and it was just the two of them Zach leaned in. With his palms resting against the bookshelf on either side of Katie, q he drew closer to her at an agonizing pace. Finally, at the last minute, his lips grazed the side of her cheek to stop at her ear and whisper, “ ‘Our Love Story’, or something, bring it to Nadia’s on Valentine Drive, Thursday at 8?” Zach pulled away slowly his right hand tucking her hair behind her ear before he gave a wink and ducked out of the aisle.

There were certain moments in her life that Katie had attributed the feeling of breathlessness to, but she realized as Zach disappeared around the corner, that she hadn’t truly felt it until right now, amongst the books. Finally, air returned to her lungs, in gasping breaths intermingled with a nervous laughter. One hand came up to touch her ear as her lip found its way between her teeth. “Fucking Zacharias Bishop,” she said to herself, basking in the euphoric haze of the moment for just seconds more, before pulling out her phone and checking her reflection. She gently smoothed her hair, more out of habit than necessity, and stepped out from the aisle, a grin stuck on her face, and a new bounce in her step.

“OPEC agrees to raise production quotas.”


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"Australia starts solar tower project.”


Isabelle’s eyes were going over the absolute deluge of information. The internet didn’t offer such a vast amalgamation of information. She had to make it herself. It screened news sites 24/7. Hunting for keywords. In the 21st-century information’s value went through the roof. Entire wars were fought with 0s and 1s. Despite the cold, calculated, and seemingly uncaring nature of the information gathered by Isabelle’s program, she felt at home with it. Submerged in all the information. To here the random article titles weren’t just a projection of how messy the world was. No she saw a globe covered by neurons. Some big, some small. All were firing constantly. All were connected. Sometimes across oceans. It all made sense to her.

A buzz pulled her from her trance. She checked her phone. Her morning alarm was going. Morning? Already? She turned to look at the screen a bit further. Of course, it was morning. Frankfurt was closing soon. London would close an hour later. Isabelle's room sometimes felt disconnected from time itself. It was always dark, save for the digital glow of the screens. "Another night of no sleep." Isabelle sighed. She glanced over at the literal pile of books and paper. At least she was ahead of the coursework. A small voice inside wished Dr. Yoshinaga would ease up a little. But she suppressed it. It wasn't hard. Hers would never be an easy life. By now she would have to accept that.

She spun her chair again to face the screens. With a few key presses the program – like a grimoire – sealed itself again. Ready to be opened again only with the right password. There really was only one person she was afraid would steal it. It wasn't in Alessio's nature to steal. But then again, he had done so before. This program was one of the few ways she could be better than him, and she wouldn't let him take something valuable from her again. After that, she shoved her rolly-wheeled desk chair back, leaned backward, and rubbed her eyes.

Morning brought dawn, and dawn brought people. And people were messy, frightening creatures. Isabelle didn’t like most of them. They were always talking about something unnecessary like going to a party or who to ask on a date. Pretending like it all wasn’t just the basest of instinct to survive and procreate that drove them. That which they called love was nothing but a bunch of chemicals in their brain making them happy and giddy. And because of that, they say ‘I do’ and choose to live miserably for twenty-five years. Why did life insist that she'd have to share the same space with them for at least eight hours a day?

And then a small alert pining on her screen caught her attention again.

Miss Fortune had made her first move. Tens of pics were already floating on the internet of the bulletin board. Or was it a bounty board? Might as well be. Isabelle recognized some names. Some she didn’t. Her brother was a target, of course. She had made the list as well. Interesting.

She reached over to the chess game laying beside her and moved a pawn up two squares.

Then she cracked her knuckles and pulled herself back to her computer. Miss Fortune assured anonymity. Which was good when you ended up hurting someone. Of course, Alessio was too perfect to be caught doing something truly painful. The most she had of him right now was a bunch of pics of him being a bit tipsy. Useless, because apparently, people think he looks charming when inebriated. She did have the next best thing. Something that she paid quite a bit of money for, just to make sure the photoshop would be of quality.

She looked at the picture one more time. It had been on the internet for a short while before it was removed. But the base was long enough online for Isabelle to save it. Over the course of the summer, she had it changed. The original showed Lorelei and Alessio kissing. Though considering Lorelei's later posts it appeared whatever they were didn't work out.

Now Isabelle was about to call that a lie. The details weren't too subtle. The scoreboard in the background showed the last match's score together with the date and the name of the visiting team: the Standford Cardinals. A few subtle changes in the background would make it very convincing that Lorelei and Alessio really were kissing just a few days ago.

Isa looked over the picture one more time. In truth she had it made as a contingency during the summer. Just something to cause some trouble early on. That was before Calliope had come back. 'The one that got away'. Now was the best time to use it. To make sure she and Alessio would stay away from each other just a little longer. Buying Isa more time.

"I'm sorry, Lore." She said looking at the picture. "This will hurt him more than it will hurt you." And with a few keystrokes, she had sent in the picture. First blood.

Quite satisfied she leaned back to see her handiwork. But she didn't take too long reveling in her own satisfaction. It was time to open the hunting season on Alessio, and now Calliope the Traitor as well. Perhaps, with a stroke of luck, she would actually find something to break him this year.

Location: dorm -> 155° Cafe
Interaction: Gareth Maddox(phone), Jamie @smarty0114

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“You can’t do it.” Axel grit his teeth through his words “You can’t keep me here for another fucking term!”

If Axel’s grip on the phone was any stronger, it would snap in half. This obviously meant it was time for the monthly call with his brother- and it was going about as well as it always did.

”God, not this talk again.” He heard Gareth’s exaspherated sigh from the other end of the line, which onlt pissed him off more ”We can talk all day about what I can and cannot do, it doesn’t change anything. You’re staying at OIC, that’s final”

“Fuck you, I am.” With a scoff, Axel paced around his room, stomping on the hardwood floor as if the boards were his brother’s dumb face “This is bullshit, you can’t keep me here against my will, like I’m your ugly pet hamster. It’s fuckin’- abuse!”

“Fucking spare me, Axel.”

“You know how easy it’s gonna be to get them to kick me out?” It wasn’t the first time he’d made this threat, and something made him feel like it would not be the last “Some destruction of school property, and boom, that’s it, easy peasy. I’ll be back home, breaking your property instead, you actual psychopath.”

“Fine, go ahead then. Get expelled. I guess that means you don’t want your inheritance anymore, right?”

Axel could feel his jaw tightening. Fucker. Threats went both ways in the Maddox family interactions.

“You know the deal. No degree, no trust fund. Dad made it crystal clear in the tiny letters.” He could hear the smug, satisfied smile on his brother’s face on the other end of the line “What’ll you be doing after your expulsion, with your great set of skills? Get a job? You’re gonna flip patties at McDonalds, Axel?”

“Eat shit.”

“Gladly. You’re gonna make me some to prepare to serve under Ronald?” Another sigh- it’s like he does it on purpose “This is what’s best for you. Everything I’m doing is for-“

“Yeah, yeah, great fuckin’ talk, like always, Gareth.” Axel cut him off, not being able to stomach anymore lies that were bound to come out of his brother’s mouth “Have a good time cheating on your girlfriend, you leech. Don't call again.”

”Ax-“

Hanging up on Gareth was always cathartic, but this time, it did little to make Axel feel better. Gareth had done it, he had placed the cheese down and trapped Axel like he was the world’s dumbest, angriest rat. And this place was the word’s dumbest, most pretentious mousetrap. He wanted to scream.

“FUCK!”

He screamed.

There was no point in fighting it. If there’s one thing Axel was, it was realistic, and he knew damn well he wouldn’t last a day out there without money. He hated it here, but he also hated it home.

The phone in his hand buzzed, and Axel’s expression immediately turned into a scolw, expecting to see Gareth’s contact on the screen again, bothering him, since bothering is the only thing he knows how to do.

“@jamiethegreat: im bored what are you doing”

Well, maybe some things were better here.

Going back and forth with Callaghan for a while, he decided to go meet him at the café. It’s not like he had anything better to do, other than sit here and feel miserable for himself. One more second letting his anger marinate and he'd give into the cliche of putting a hole in the wall.

He put something decent on, and headed out for the 155. Axel raised an eyebrow as he walked, seeing an unordinarily big group of people around a bulletin board of all things. And were some of them…looking at him?

No, no, fuck that. He didn’t know, and he didn’t care. If it’s important, Callaghan will tell him. Axel ignored the board, and the looks, put on his headphones and moved on with his life.

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Stepping into the café, he gave the place a quick look around. He spotted that Mimsy girl with Vaupel- whose presence Callaghan couldn’t be happy about. Axel had no problem with her, but he did find their little rivalry pretty amusing. Jamie clearly did not.

Speaking of which, there he was, sitting and looking like the nervous wreck he usually was. Axel almost smiled, making his way to sit across from him.

“You better not have gotten me anything shitty, Callaghan.” He leaned back on the chair, eyeing the boy across from him