Rigewood High. 8:12 AM.
My heels echo like gunshots against the polished floor.
Click. Clack. Click. Clack.
Each step sounds like a countdown.
To what? They don't know.
But I do.
The halls haven't changed—sleek red lockers, banners hanging for prom, faces painted with fake smiles and secrets. But me? I'm not the same girl they destroyed last spring.
Brielle Saunders died the day they posted that video.
Today, Bee Rivera takes her place.
A girl in baby pink nearly drops her coffee when she sees me. A whisper travels faster than Wi-Fi:
"Is that—wait… no way."
"She looks like Brielle, but hotter."
"Didn't she… transfer?"
"She was expelled after—"
"Shhh. Don't say it here."
I smile. Wide. Dangerous.
Let them talk.
I glide past the lockers, my long wavy hair catching the light like something out of a shampoo commercial. I'm not trying to impress anyone—but I know I just dethroned ten "it girls" with one walk.
A soft ding comes from my phone.
@SpillTheTeaOfficial just posted:
BREAKING: The Queen is back?! Swipe for receipts.
"Brielle 2.0 is dangerous…"
"She glowed up and chose war."
Good.
Let the games begin.
Six Months Ago – Flashback
They called it "The Betrayal."
I called it my wake-up call.
One video.
One night.
One lie that spread like wildfire.
And just like that, Brielle Saunders was exiled.
By my so-called best friends.
By the boy I trusted with everything.
By the school I ruled.
But I didn't cry for long.
I trained. Glowed up. Changed everything—
Hair. Name. Confidence. Strategy.
This time, I'm not here to fit in.
I'm here to take everything back.
Present
"Excuse me," a voice says.
I turn.
It's him.
Aiden Mercer.
The one who stood by while I was ruined.
The one who kissed me, then kissed my best friend the next day.
He doesn't recognize me. Yet.
"Do I... know you?" he asks, tilting his head.
I smirk. "Not yet."