Since it came into my possession, my phone has never received that many notifications. Buzz, buzz, buzz-the sound felt like endless torture as it vibrated on the bedside table. Taping the wood until I found it, I snatched the infernal device.

Rubbing one eye to force its focus, I tapped the screen. It came awake with an avalanche of notifications. Messages ranged from Dani apologizing a dozen times the others' check-in, asking if I was alive or if Hamza "mi-a făcut felul" and they'd hear about me on the five o'clock news soon, that was from Andrei.

Then there were the other dozen direct messages from classmates and people from school I'd never even exchanged more than a hello with. They all read the same: "Wow, I never knew you knew/are close with Hamza!" or a more tentative, "Are you close with Hamza?/Since when?" and, of course, my favorite (not), "Girl, are you a thing/hooking up/dating Hamza?" Groaning, I turned my phone off and threw it as far away as possible.

The clock on my screen read nine. Since I tried my luck with sleep after the sun was rising, I must've slept barely two hours. Now that my eyes were open again, I felt like a vampire, needing to hiss at the sun and hide under my blanket before it could turn me to ash. Which I did, exactly in that order.

My whole body felt like a thread pulled taut and ready to snap, and I knew there was no way I could sleep again. I shouldn't have snorted that line. It always made for an awful comedown.

Were the others just as bad? Pixi had just as much, if not more than me, and Haret could've tranquilized a horse with the shit he got in. Though, since he's a ginger, maybe I shouldn't worry about him. I chuckled, remembering Scooby, who joined in that insane bender as if to prove his manhood. He must've been soo fucked. What about Hamza, though? I don't remember seeing him take anything since returning to the group. Wait. Why should I even care about him when he was so eager to rid himself of me? Crossing my arms, I nodded under the warmth of the blanket. Hamza can go fuck himself. Yeah.

Yeah...

My feet, possessed by an unknown rhythm, started bouncing. Faster. Faster. I threw the blanket off me, suddenly feeling too hot.

The motherfucker! He hit me hard and soft. Used his words and that eerie place to play with my mind, only to backtrack and throw me into iced water. I really thought I got a peak at who Rafael Hamza was, the real thing, not the rumors.

Was it because of the texts he got? I wonder what it was about... We were all so high. My pulse picked up. Did one of the guys get caught? Did they get into an accident? Oh my god!

Jumping to my feet, I looked around for my phone. Gone. The infernal thing disappeared into thin air.

Probably, if I were to have looked around the room more, I would've found it, but in the heat of the moment, pushed by the current of thoughts, I didn't waste my time on it. Running to the living room to check the news on TV, I was met by an eerie silence. Mamaie, the resident early bird, who'd usually have her morning dose of news while doing crosswords, was nowhere in sight.

Rubbing my itchy nose, I checked her room and kitchen. They were empty. Pinning a note on the fridge, I found that she had gone to visit Aunt Angela and would be there until Sunday. I frowned. For someone who struggled to walk on her own, this was the third time in the past week that Mamaie had been out visiting a relative she would've usually never seen outside of a holiday, funeral, or wedding.

Happy that she was feeling good enough to visit relatives and wasn't there to see my deplorable state, I shrugged off the alarm bells in my head. After seeing no news about a car accident or the race, my mind relaxed enough for me to go take a hot shower and try to deal with the muscle pain and exhaustion the night before dropped on me.

I needed to make sure my friends were not thinking of calling the police or something. Riding the serotonin slump after partying with Molly and dealing with all that nonsense was not on my priority list, but the shower helped me regain enough energy to look for my phone, which ended up under my desk. After informing everyone I was alive, I made it my duty to throw it somewhere in the deep, dark corner of my drawers and ignored it for the rest of the weekend.

By Sunday, I was a mess.

By the time Monday rolled around, the comfort of chosen oblivion had abandoned me entirely. One moment, my body was burning; the next, it was overtaken by cold sweats, shaking from all joints, and I was trapped within its cage-a spectator with no power. But there was a graded test in German first period. After skipping most classes, I was already on Ms. Olhaus' list, so I couldn't skip that one. If I wanted to pass the course, that is.

Knowing what was coming for me this time, I planned to sneak in earlier and go straight to class. There was one thing that would've made it all stop-one very hard thing to get my hands on. Why didn't I ask for their phone numbers? Pixi and the guys might've had some snow stashed somewhere. Hamza definitely did. He was too knowledgeable about withdrawals not to. Catching the inside of my cheek between my teeth, I bit on it. There was no way in hell I was going to beg that asshole for it! I'd rather die.

"There she is, our overnight celebrity!" Becka chirped.

Dipping my chin deeper so my hood shields me, I ignored her and kept walking.

"Isa, we know it's you."

The gate was in sight. Just a few more steps! Just a bit, and I could- Grabbing my hand before I could go through, Laura stopped me. The glass canvas of my perfectly painted plan shattered before my eyes.

"Bitch, I know your walk since kindergarten. Stop lyin'."

"I don't know who you're talking about," I said in a rugged voice, trying to free my hand and still have a go at it.

"If you want to be stealthy, next time, wear different boots or switch your bag."

Goddamn it.

Sighing, I folded and lifted my chin to face the cabal of my friends.

"It was worth a try."

"You're so dramatic sometimes; I wonder why you went for ballet instead of acting." Hand on her hip, Laura looked at me like a tired mother.

I shrugged.

"What can I say? I am a woman of many talents."

Laura rolled her eyes.

"Is that why Hamza is so mad about you?" Becka inserted herself, and for the first time since I had met the bubbly, big mouth, I felt like taking her head to meet a brick wall.

"He is not mad about me."

If he were, I wouldn't have been given the cold shoulder and shooed home after having simply a conversation. Though, I've yet to put my finger on what his actual deal was.

My theory was that Hamza did his yearly good deeds, but he was bored and thought he could have fun toying with me. Then deemed me not entertaining enough and got rid of me. After breaking my brain trying to understand (and curse) him for the past two days, it was the most sound, logical thing I could come up with.

"Yet, he packed Dani a good punch for kissing you-not that it wasn't deserved-and you ditched us for him," she retorted.

"Yeah, man. I thought his brow bridge was broken," Andrei added, rubbing his own as if in remembrance of how nasty the wound was.

My nose crunched.

"I would've liked to say I'm sorry for that one, but I'm not." Scanning the group, I took note of Dani's absence.

He never missed his cigarette and coffee before class, or between classes, or anytime possible, if I were to be honest. That guy lived on coffee, energy drinks, alcohol, and cigarettes ninety percent of the time.

"Is that why he's not around?"

Laura nodded.

"We should've realized he had one shot too many and kept an eye on him before he could act like a dick." Andrei scratched the back of his head.

"You're not his mother, Andrei. He needs to learn no means no," Laura interjected.

"Plus one on that," I said while Becka nodded solemnly.

"Anyway, that doesn't change the facts. You left the party with Hamza," Becka quickly added.

"How do you know that? You weren't even there."

"Babes, the pics of him walking you to his car made the rounds on Snapchat like that crying Kim Kardashian meme-everywhere and impossible to unsee."

Luam-ar dracu'! Grabbing my head, I half-sighed, half-shouted, and took the cigarette extended by Andrei before sitting down on the tiles rounding the base of the store.

"Can I even shit in peace in this shithole without the whole town knowing it?"

"Nope." Laura said, popping that 'p.'

"And definitely not when you get around with the resident celebrity." Andrei patted my shoulder.

"Gee guys, aren't you just making my morning so much better."

"Always here to brighten your day, babes," Laura said, copying Becka's usual line. "And now you're on their radar too. Don't say I didn't warn you later."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said between drags.

Following Laura's scrutinizing gaze, my eyes fell on a group of girls strutting over with Iced Americanos like they were filming a commercial for Starbucks. Leading them was a blonde with the proportions of a model and the outfit of Serena Van der Woodsen incarnate. I never liked her character in Gossip Girl.

"Meet the other resident celebrities," Laura introduced with Bitter in her mouth. "Valentina Bruma and her loyal ladies-in-waiting."

"How's this even related?" I stubbed the cigarette butt on the pavement and stood up, ready to throw it in the nearby trash can.

"Well-"

The familiar roar of engines and screech of wheels cut Becka off and stopped all the students in their tracks. Seeing the four-wheeled monster, my pulse picked up. He was here.

The driver's door opened, and my hand froze above the trash can when the Serena-wannabe ran into his arms. Her spidery arms circled his neck, their lips crashed, and Hamza's eyes found mine. And they stayed locked with mine as the blonde kneaded his lips with hers without blinking.

HAH!

Hah, hah!

So this is what all that was about? Was I even surprised a guy like Hamza had a girlfriend while dicking around? No. Not in the least.

That did not mean I had to witness that whole grandiose display of hormones for one second longer. Throwing the cigarette butt, I snatched my bag from where I abandoned it by the corner of the shop and headed straight into the building.

My hood was down, my eyes scrutinized me, and my friends called my name-I heard nothing and stopped for no one.

Valentina is finally here, and oh, the drama is so on! I couldn't wait for this chapter to go up and read your reactions. 'til next week-Keep wilding, my angels🪽 🫶🏻