Finally, Cass spoke. “Two things, Samaya. First, let’s put the blame for most of this situation on one person—the one who manipulated you.”
“Devin?” I asked.
“Yes, Devin. Want revenge? I can spread the word that he was catfishing you. I’m sure Hana would love to know that when she was getting busy with Devin, he was still talking to you. Just not as himself.”
I frowned. Devin’s whole scheme reeked of desperation, and if the student body knew, Devin would be the one getting the stares and the whispered mocking at school instead of me. I could even tell people thathe broke up with me because I was smarter than him. Or worse, that his parents thought my family wasn’t “high profile” enough.
I could destroy my ex. And considering none of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for him, I was sorely tempted.
But why? Would it make things better for Daniel? Would it make it possible for us to be together?
“No,” I said.
“No?” Owen asked. “Why not? He deserves it.”
I nodded. “He does, but I don’t care. I don’t care if the whole school hates Devin, or if he continues on as the golden boy.”
I thought about that while Cass and Owen continued eating their cookies. I quite honestly didn’t want to get revenge on Devin. And not because I still cared for him. I just knew revenge would only make me feel worse in the long run. I wanted this whole situation—all the gossip, and the competitiveness, and the backstabbing—to go away, not dig myself deeper into it.
There was no winning or losing here, and I was losing touch with what was important during the fight.
And also? I was inlovewith Daniel. And, thanks to Daniel, it had finally been drilled into my head that the person I was inside was much more important than the person people thought I was. And there were way more important things in the world to spend my time on than winning a breakup. I’d much rather be helping kids like Yasmin, or working on my mobile game, or supporting my real friends.
“I don’t care what anyone at school thinks of me anymore, either,” I said. “Let them hate me, let them think I’m a snob, or crying about Devin, or whatever. All that’s important is to be the person I want to be.” I turned to Cass. “Cass, do me a favor and smack me upside the head if I lose sight of that again.”
Cass snorted. “With pleasure, my friend. Be your amazing self. Now, eat another cookie.”
The first thing I did when I got home was tell Tahira to cancel my dress order for the fall formal. She was annoyed, since it had been a bit of work for her to get the wholesale deal, but she understood. She also said she would take back the menswear samples she’d borrowed from her school for Daniel to wear. Even without a date I could still go to the dance, but I didn’t want to. That had nothing to do with me not wanting to be seen alone, or even because I didn’t want to see Devin and Hana together.
I just couldn’t bear being there without Daniel after we’d been talking about going together for so long. I wouldn’t have fun.
But I wasn’t hiding from my classmates, so I did go to school the next day.
I was sitting alone on a bench in the hallway at lunch reviewing my functions lesson when someone stopped next to me. It was Hana.
“Was Devin with you yesterday?” she asked.
I looked up at her with a raised brow.
Hana looked upset. “Was he?” she asked again.
I shook my head.
Still frowning, Hana sat next to me. “He’s not answering my calls. I heard you were at his house on Monday. I assume you two are back together.”
I huffed a laugh. Why would he ghost Hana now? Unless his parents were sticking their noses into this relationship, too? “That assumption is so far off the mark it’s practically in Fiji. Yes, I saw him Monday, but I didn’t see or speak to him yesterday.”
“I don’t know if I believe you.”
I turned back to my book. “I don’t care if you don’t believe me, Hana, it’s the truth. I’m sorry you two are having issues, but I haven’t done a thing to cause them.” I sighed. “I’m going to study now.” I ignored the existence of Hana Dawar. Frenemies were too much work.
After a few seconds, she got up and left.
MissZhao had switched the game-dev team meeting to today after I didn’t show up on Monday, which was thoughtful of her. But I wasn’t sure anyone would show up. Kavita was suspended—so I knew she wouldn’t be there, and I doubted Hana or Jayden would come. But no one had told me they were leaving the team. And I had certainly no intention of giving up on it. I was genuinely enjoying building the game and wanted to see it through.
When I got to the tech lab, I surprised to see the whole team—except Kavita, of course. But Aimee, Cass, and Jayden were there. Even Hana. MissZhao was already at the side of the room working on a computer. She smiled when I walked in.
I stood at the front, took a deep breath, then asked everyone for their progress on their duties for the game. I was relieved by their responses. Everyone was still taking it all seriously. Hana had done some market research, and she showed us the marketing plan Kavita had done. Aimee had put together some advertising mock-ups. Cass was still coding the first two levels, and Alex had been helping them debug an issue in the code that was turning the fairies’ wings upside down whenever they walked into a cave.
