Chapter 3 CHAPTER 3
By the time the bell rang, Ariel felt like she had lived through an entire week instead of a single day.
Whispers followed her everywhere. In class, conversations died the moment she walked in, only to restart in hushed voices once she passed. Chairs scraped, eyes flicked her way, phones were angled just enough for her to notice. Ariel noticed everything but remained silent. She had enough enemies for a day.
She kept her head down and focused on the one thing that had always mattered - getting through school without drawing attention. Study hard. Stay invisible. Earn a scholarship. Leave Maplewood and never look back.
That plan had been slipping since the stupid breakfast. Now it felt like it was unraveling completely.
At lunch, hunger drove her toward the cafeteria despite the knot in her stomach. She only had a few bills in her pocket, not enough for a full meal, but the lunch lady usually slipped her extra food without comment. It was a kindness Ariel never forgot.
She was halfway down the hall when someone tapped her shoulder.
“Ariel.”
She flinched, then relaxed when she saw Jenna jogging up beside her. “You scared me.”
“Sorry,” Jenna said, smiling faintly. “You headed to the cafeteria?”
“Yeah,” Ariel said. “I’m starving.”
“Good,” Jenna replied. “Because so am I.”
They walked together, trays in hand, and settled at a corner table. Ariel ate quickly, barely tasting the food, her mind elsewhere.
“So,” Jenna said carefully, “how bad has today been?”
Ariel exhaled. “He hasn’t said anything. But I can tell he’s holding onto it.”
“Zack?” Jenna asked.
“Yeah,” Ariel said. “Between yesterday at the café and the photo, he probably thinks I’m targeting him.”
“And Megan?”
Ariel’s jaw tightened. “She’s worse. Every chance she gets; she reminds me Zack is ‘toying with me’ like it’s some joke.”
Jenna frowned. “She’s jealous.”
She sighed and leaned closer. “And it’s not just jealousy,” she said quietly. “there’s also pride. Megan’s always been the girl everyone looks at. Cheerleading captain, homecoming queen, winning every beauty contest she enters. She’s used to being chosen.” She hesitated, then added carefully, “So in her head, it doesn’t make sense that someone like you could take Zack from her. And I don’t mean that as an insult.”
Ariel frowned.
“I mean,” Jenna continued, “you don’t play the same game she does. You’re quiet. You don’t compete. You don’t try. And that scares her more than if you were openly chasing him. Because if Zack looks at you instead of her… then it means all the things she built her identity on don’t matter as much as she thought.”
“I don’t know about that,” Ariel said quietly. “I just wish Zack would tell her the truth and keep me out of it.”
Jenna hesitated. “Do you think he will?”
Ariel shook her head. “He’s probably enjoying it. If anything, he’s looking for a way to get back at me.”
Jenna glanced around the noisy cafeteria. “You’ll see him today, right?”
Ariel stiffened. “At the championship game.”
“You’re volunteering?” Jenna said.
Ariel forced a smile. “I need it for the extra credit. Lucky me.”
Ariel kept her head down for the rest of the afternoon, answering questions when she had to and avoiding eye contact whenever possible. By the time the last class ended, she headed straight for the locker room with her cleaning supplies, hoping she could finish before the game ended. If she was quick enough, she could leave without ever running into Zack. That was the plan.
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By the time the final whistle blew that evening, the stadium was roaring.
Maplewood High had won the championship.
Zack barely heard the noise at first. Adrenaline buzzed through his veins, the win sinking in slowly as his teammates slapped his helmet, shouted his name, and laughed like nothing else mattered. The scoreboard glowed behind them, undeniable proof of victory.
“Man,” someone yelled, throwing an arm around his shoulders, “what a way to turn eighteen.”
Zack grinned despite himself. “Guess adulthood’s not so bad.”
“Eighteen and a championship,” another voice chimed in. “We’ve gotta celebrate.”
Zack laughed, soaking it all in. For once, everything felt right. The win. The crowd. The future stretching wide open in front of him.
They headed for the locker room, still loud, still riding the high.
Zack and Andrew were the first to enter the locker room.
Inside, the air smelled like sweat and cleaning solution. Lockers lined the walls, and in the far corner, someone was vacuuming.
Zack’s smile faded slightly when he noticed her.
Ariel stood with her back to the room, focused on her task, headphones in, completely unaware of the team pouring in behind her. Her hair was tied back, her posture tired but determined.
Something twisted in Zack’s chest.
He remembered the café. The photo. The whispers.
An idea sparked, sharp and impulsive.
“Watch this,” he muttered to Andrew.
He moved quietly, stepping closer as she pushed the vacuum across the floor. He meant to scare her. Just enough to startle her. Just enough to remind her he wasn’t someone she could embarrass without consequences.
He clapped his hands loudly behind her.
Ariel gasped and jumped, her foot sliding on a wet patch of floor she hadn’t noticed. The vacuum slipped from her grip as she lost her balance.
Zack’s grin vanished.
“Hey…!”
He lunged forward, grabbing for her arm, but his own foot slid as well. They crashed together, momentum carrying them down hard.
Ariel’s hands fisted in his jersey as they fell.
Their mouths collided - sudden and breathless, teeth knocking, warmth spreading before either of them could react. For half a second, the world narrowed to the shock of it - the heat, the contact, the way something deep inside Zack snapped awake.
Time stuttered.
Then the locker room doors burst open.
Cheers died instantly.
“What the hell…”
Zack froze, heart hammering as he realized what everyone was staring at.
He and Ariel lay tangled on the floor, her eyes wide, his hands still gripping her arms, their faces inches apart. Silence swallowed the room.
Someone let out a low whistle.
“Dude,” another voice said. “Is that…?”
Ariel shoved herself upright, her face flushed and eyes wide with shock. For a split second, she looked at Zack like she didn’t recognize him at all. Then she turned and ran.
She didn’t look back. She pushed past the stunned players at the door and disappeared down the hallway, her footsteps echoing as she fled the locker room.
The silence she left behind was heavy.
Zack stood frozen, his heart pounding so loudly it drowned out the noise slowly creeping back into the room. Someone laughed nervously.
Andrew broke the silence.
“Dude,” he said slowly, staring at Zack. “Did that just happen?”
Zack blinked, still trying to catch up with his own body. “What?” he said, shaking his head. “It was just an accident.”
Andrew’s expression didn’t change. “You just turned eighteen.”
Zack frowned. “So?”
Andrew swallowed. “And you kissed her.”
The words landed harder than the fall.
Panic rose, fast and uninvited.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
