Chapter 2 CHAPTER 2
By the time Ariel pushed the front door open, her shoulders ached and her feet dragged slightly against the floor.
Her small room sat at the top of the house with barely enough space for her bed and the narrow desk pressed against the wall where an old desktop sat.
Ariel dropped into the chair and pressed the button, tapping her fingers lightly against the desk as she waited for it to power on.
She hadn’t eaten properly all day, just a quick snack during her break, and now the hunger sat heavy and sharp. But she had assignments due for submission tonight that would count heavily on her final grade.
The screen flickered to life and she got to work immediately.
Her assignment was already written, but she went over it again, fixing sentences, checking references, making sure everything was right.
Her stomach growled again.
She ignored it.
Time slipped by quietly, marked only by the soft tapping of keys and the faint hum of the computer. When she finally glanced at the clock, her breath caught slightly.
11:47 p.m.
“Okay… okay,” she murmured.
She opened the school portal, relief settling in as she prepared to submit everything.
Her cursor hovered.
She clicked.
The page froze.
Ariel frowned and refreshed the screen.
Nothing.
Her heart skipped. She checked the connection.
No signal.
“No… no, no—”
She stood up too quickly, the chair scraping faintly behind her as she hurried downstairs. The router blinked at her from the corner, a steady red light that told her everything she needed to know.
Of course.
The bill hadn’t been paid.
Again.
Ariel stared at it for a second, then let out a sharp breath, running a hand through her hair.
“Seriously?” she muttered under her breath.
This always happened.
Karen always said she didn’t need the internet, Ariel did. Which meant Ariel paid for it.
Her jaw tightened slightly.
She worked hard, skipped meals, stretched every bit of money she had just to keep things running, and somehow it still wasn’t enough. It was always something—another bill, another responsibility. None of it felt like it was meant for a seventeen-year-old. And yet here she was.
She sighed as she pulled out her phone and dialed.
Jenna picked up almost immediately. “Hey. What’s up?”
Ariel exhaled slowly. “My house internet’s out.”
There was a pause. “Again?”
Ariel rubbed her forehead lightly, “Yeah.”
“What do you need?” Jenna could Ariel’s frustration in her voice. This was not the first time something like this had happened. She knew how hard Ariel worked to keep things together, and she was always there to save the day.
“Can you log into my account and submit my assignments?” Ariel asked. “They’re done. I just can’t upload them.”
“Send them,” Jenna said without hesitation. “I’ve got you.”
Ariel nodded, even though Jenna couldn’t see her. “Thank you.”
She ended the call and stood there for a moment longer, the quiet of the house pressing in again.
Then she went back upstairs.
She didn’t bother changing. She just lay down, curling slightly on her side, one hand resting against her stomach as the hunger settled in again.
“Please just let me sleep,” she whispered.
The next morning, Ariel walked through the corridors at Maplewood High with her head slightly lowered, still tired, still feeling the weight of the night before.
She barely made it halfway down the corridor before someone stepped directly into her path.
Zack Miller.
His expression was hard, his jaw set in a way that made it clear he wasn’t there for a casual conversation.
Ariel stopped.
“What do you want?” he asked.
She blinked, caught off guard by the tone. “What do you mean?”
“Do you feel good humiliating me?” he said.
Ariel frowned. “I just told her the truth—”
“I’m not talking about that,” Zack cut in. “Last night….”
She cut him off before he could finish. “I didn’t see you last night.”
Zack let out a short, humorless laugh. “Right. So the photo just posted itself?”
Ariel’s stomach dropped.
“What photo?” she asked.
He pulled out his phone and shoved it toward her.
The screen showed him—slumped over a desk, completely asleep, mouth slightly open with drool dripping from one side.
The comments below it were worse.
Ariel felt the realization hit all at once.
Jenna.
Her account.
Last night.
She forced her expression to stay neutral, lifting her gaze back to Zack. “Oh. That one.”
His eyes narrowed. “So you admit it.”
Ariel shrugged slightly, even though her pulse had started to race. “It’s not that serious.”
“Not serious?” Zack repeated, his voice dropping. “There are over a thousand comments on that post.”
Ariel crossed her arms loosely. “Then maybe don’t fall asleep in class.”
His jaw tightened.
“I want it taken down,” he said. “Now.”
Ariel held his gaze. For a second, something flickered—annoyance, exhaustion, something deeper.
“And if I don’t?” she asked.
Zack stepped closer.
“Then I make your life very difficult,” he said quietly. “Inside this school. Outside it. Wherever you go.”
The words landed, heavy and deliberate.
Ariel stared at him.
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then something in her expression shifted.
“You already have,” she said.
Zack stilled slightly.
Ariel let out a quiet breath, her voice steady now. “Ever since that whole thing with Megan, my life here hasn’t exactly been great.”
She met his eyes fully. “So if this is supposed to scare me…”
She gave a small shrug.
“It doesn’t.”
Zack studied her for a second, something unreadable passing through his expression before it hardened again.
“That?” he said. “That was nothing.”
His voice lowered.
“You haven’t seen what I can actually do.”
Ariel’s fingers curled slightly at her sides, but she didn’t look away.
“Then go ahead, I’m not afraid of you.” she said. As she walked past him.
She collided with someone moments later.
Megan Hayes.
Megan’s lips curved into a slow smile as her friends gathered behind her.
“Well,” she said lightly, “this is interesting.”
Ariel exhaled slowly. “What do you want, Megan?”
Megan stepped a little closer. “That photo,” she said. “What exactly were you trying to prove?”
“Nothing,” Ariel replied.
Megan tilted her head. “Trying to tell everyone Zack’s yours now?”
Ariel’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t answer.
Megan leaned in slightly. “He’ll never take you seriously,” she said. “He’s just playing around. And when he’s done…”
Ariel didn’t wait for her to finish, she stepped around her and continued walking.
She found Jenna near the lockers.
Jenna’s expression shifted the moment she saw her. “Hey…”
Ariel stopped in front of her. “What did you do?”
Jenna winced. “It was an accident. I didn’t realize what I posted until people started talking.”
“You didn’t take it down?” Ariel asked.
“I couldn’t,” Jenna said quickly. “Your account wasn’t logged in on my phone.”
Ariel exhaled slowly, pressing her fingers briefly to her temple.
“Is it bad?” Jenna asked.
Ariel lowered her hand.
“Yeah,” she said quietly.
She glanced down the hallway, then back at Jenna.
“The two most popular students in Maplewood High just want to see me rot in hell.”
