Chapter1

The cold sweat on my palm was practically gluing the registration form to my skin. I kept my head down, my eyes fixed on the heel of the sneakers belonging to the guy in front of me. The hallway was crammed with over thirty students. Loud, chaotic chatter echoed between the metal lockers, and every sudden clang made my shoulders violently flinch.

"Just sign it, and leave the rest to me." Ten minutes ago, Chloe had shoved this form into my hands before getting called into the teacher's office.

I shouldn't have been standing there. I would have rather jumped out of a third-floor window than stand in line for the so-called "Varsity Debate Team Tryouts."

The line shuffled forward. The guy in front of me walked away, leaving me completely exposed at the registration desk.

Blair sat behind the table. She wore a navy-blue blazer with a metallic "Debate Club Vice President" pin pinned to her lapel. She was looking down, texting on her phone, while holding one hand out lazily in mid-air.

"Next. Hurry up." She didn't even look up.

With a trembling hand, I reached out and passed over the form. Its edges were already soggy from my sweat.

"I... I'm submitting..."

Hearing my strained syllables, Blair finally looked up. Her perfectly lined eyes swept over my faded hoodie before landing on the signature at the bottom of the paper: Maya.

Blair let out a sudden, sharp laugh. With utter contempt, she pinched the corner of the form. Then, right in front of the thirty-plus students in the hallway, she violently crumpled the paper into a ball. I froze in place.

Standing up from her chair, Blair hurled the tightly crushed wad of paper directly at my face.

It hit the bridge of my nose, leaving a brief, sharp sting.

"You? Debate?" Blair’s voice spiked, intentionally loud enough for everyone in the hallway to hear. She leaned forward, planting both hands on the table, and glared at me with pure mockery. "Maya, it takes you three whole seconds just to squeak out 'here' during roll call. What, are you auditioning to be the Debate Team's resident clown?"

Behind me, a few girls covered their mouths, muffling their giggles. Others openly laughed. Some lowered their heads to avoid the crossfire. Out of the thirty-some people there, not a single one stepped forward. They just stared at me, watching the whole thing like an entertaining train wreck.

My breathing quickened, and my hands started shaking uncontrollably.

A panic attack. The edges of my vision began to blur and darken. Blair’s mocking sneer magnified in my sight, and the surrounding laughter pierced my eardrums.

Run. My right foot stepped back on its own. If I just turned around, if I just bolted into the empty stairwell, I would survive this.

Right at the exact moment I was about to completely break and flee, the door to the side stairwell at the end of the hall swung open.

A tall guy walked in. He was wearing a navy-blue varsity jacket, holding an open hardcover notebook. Seeing the crowd gathered in the hallway, he paused. His gaze swept over the students and lingered on me for a split second.

Then he looked down, snapped his notebook shut, and turned toward the opposite stairwell. Someone nearby muttered, "That's Sebastian Vance... wasn't he supposed to be somewhere else today?" No one answered. Because in the very next second—

"Excuse me. Move."

A fierce, sharp female voice cut through the noise. The crowd was roughly shoved aside, creating a path. Chloe marched right through, her fiery red hair flying behind her. She didn’t even glance at Blair. Instead, she walked straight up to me, bent down, and snatched the crumpled paper ball off the floor.

Smack. She slammed the piece of trash down onto the table right in front of Blair. Pressing her palm hard against it, Chloe forcefully flattened the paper out.

"The form is signed," Chloe said, staring dead into Blair's eyes. "Maya is my partner. Blair, you better get on your knees and pray every single night that you don't run into us on that stage."

The smirk on Blair’s face faltered for a fraction of a second. She crossed her arms, her gaze shifting over Chloe’s shoulder. "Pray?" Blair scoffed loudly. "Chloe, I thought you were just insane, but I didn't realize you were completely blind."

She extended her index finger, pointing directly at my trembling legs. "Look at her. Such a pathetic little mouse. I bet the second she steps foot on that stage, she’ll piss her pants in front of the entire school."

"Want to make a bet?" Blair leaned in slightly. "Whoever loses has to take the microphone at next week's morning assembly and publicly admit that they are an absolute, utter failure."

Chloe didn't back down an inch. "And when you lose, I want you to apologize to Maya. In front of everyone."

"Deal."

Blair shifted her eyes back to me. "It's not too late to shake your head, Maya. Just give me a nod, admit you're a loser, and I’ll do you a favor and toss this piece of trash right into the wastebasket."

I bit down on my lower lip so hard it hurt. I knew there was no way I could win. I couldn't even force a single word out of my throat. But then I looked at Chloe's back. Even though she was half a head shorter than Blair, she stood like a human shield in front of me, taking the full brunt of all that malice.

Pale as a ghost, I stared back into Blair's eyes. I didn't shake my head. I didn't nod either. I just stubbornly refused to step back.

Blair narrowed her eyes and let out a cold scoff. With the tip of her finger, she flicked the crumpled registration form into the pile of pending applications.

"Fine. Prepare for your execution."

The crowd gradually dispersed, murmuring excitedly about the drama they’d just witnessed. I remained glued to the spot, my eyes fixed on the violently flattened form. My name was written right there in black ink.

My vision blurred once again. My knees buckled, and I pitched forward. Chloe snatched my wrist, yanking me upright before I could hit the floor.

"Chloe... I can't do this. I'm going to ruin you..." My voice was a trembling mess, and the tears I'd been fighting back finally spilled over.

Chloe didn't offer any soft comfort. Instead, those fierce green eyes locked onto mine.

"You didn't shake your head back there," Chloe said, her voice dropping to a low, intense whisper. She grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the exit without looking back. "Since you didn't shake your head, you owe me your life today." Her voice echoed through the empty hallway. "So you better survive until you step onto that stage, and then you pay me back."