“No.”
“Cool,” Tristan says. “So. Gala talk?—”
“Don’t start,” I warn.
“Tough,” Tristan replies. “Other people are starting. I’m just keeping you informed.”
I glare. “I don’t want to hear?—”
“There are, minimum, four guys planning to ask her,” X cuts in. “Two seniors, one junior, and that BC High transfer. I’ve heard them. Directly.”
I close my eyes.
Tristan adds, “And if you’re wondering if she noticed? Yes. She noticed. Shani told me she’s been getting DMs too.”
My jaw goes tight.
“Say something real to her, bro,” Tristan says. “Or get used to seeing her in someone else’s arms.”
“You think I don’t want to?” I snap. “Every time I try to talk to her, she wants to set me on fire.”
“Yeah,” he says. “And you kind of deserve that.”
“Tris,” X warns.
“No,” I say. “He’s right.”
The three of us go quiet.
The sound of water hitting tile fills the space.
X finally breaks the silence. “Look… Jade is doing something bigger than you right now.”
I look up.
“Bigger than you,” he repeats. “Bigger than us. Bigger than Royal Oaks. She’s stepping into something national. Maybe global.”
“I know.”
“Then maybe,” X says, “the best thing you can do for her is let her.
I grab my shirt, pull it on, and head out without answering.
Driving home, I flip through the stations on the radio.
On one of the local talk shows, they’re discussing her.
“…this student, Jade Bryan, is going viral for refusing a hush settlement from her private school…”
“…some people are calling her the ‘anti-bullying girlboss’—”
“…she’s already getting attention from college coaches…some won’t touch her others are curious about the D1 potential striker with a heart of steel.”
I turn it off.
When I hit downtown, I see it.
Her face on a digital ad screen over a storefront.
