Page 126 of Tag

Cloe went first. Ranted about Lindsey ghosting her, but then posted three selfies, but still hadn’t opened their shared Doc or shown up to class. Roxxi followed with a dramatic retelling of her argument with one of her professors during a lecture inspired by The Hunt that focused on the psychological profile ofFinal Girls. He claimed most survivors were chosen because they were pure or morally superior.

She called him out and cited real Crowsfell data from past Hunts. The kind that showed survival wasn’t about being a virgin or saying no to parties. It was about resilience, instinct, and knowing when to play the game better than anyone else. Apparently, when he told her, she was emotional and proved his point. The guy had forgotten who he was debating with, but she reminded him with a rebuttal of:

“You know what’s really emotional? Hiding a porn-stash of worn cheerleader rosters and senior photos in the locked bottom drawer of your desk. The one you think no one knows about.”

Then she grabbed her bag and walked out of class.

Ari shifted in our recliner, tucking her legs beneath her. “I don’t have much to share. Sorry, guys.”

I waved her off. “Ari, don’t apologize for not having a shitty day. We don’t need to be comrades in the negatives.”

That got a few soft laughs.

She hesitated, then added, “I did see something, though.”

She swirled the last sip of Moscato in her glass and tucked a strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear. “Layla seemed… off today. I saw her after class walking with someone I didn’t recognize at first. She was tall, really glam, blonde.”

Roxxi cut in, eyes narrowing. “Wait. Glam blonde as in stacked and sculpted, or fake and filtered?”

Ari’s brow pinched. “I understood all of that exceptstacked. What does that mean?”

Cloe answered. “A body that defies logic.”

Roxxi used her hands to shape an exaggerated hourglass in the air. “Biologically blessed in all the ways that make you question your self-worth.”

Ari gave a single, knowing nod. “Oh. Then yeah. She was very stacked, and her makeup was flawless.”

Cloe slightly puckered her lips in thought. “That narrows it down to half the Crowsfell population.”

“You didn’t let me finish,” Ari added. “She had a tattoo—a green dragonfly on the back of her neck, impossible to miss.”

My stomach dropped a little. I knew who it was.

“Sarah Myers,” I murmured.

“Mhm, but that’s not all. They ducked off and kissed with a whole lot of passion. I walked right by without them noticing.”

I tried to picture that. “I had no idea Layla was into girls.”

“If she can sit on it or swallow it, she’s into it,” Roxxi preached, making Cloe laugh.

“That explains why I haven’t heard much from her lately.”

A look passed between them, subtle but there.

I frowned. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” Roxxi replied, way too fast. “Just not shocked Layla’s kissing our ass one day and getting off with our enemy the next. Why was Sarah on campus so late?”

“I forgot to tell you. Ash said she was transferring or something like that.”

Roxxi lowered her glass promptly after she’d just picked it up again, slowly. “Sarah Myers? The girl I beat the shit out of in high school is transferring to Crowsfell?”

I blinked. “Youwhat?”

Cloe leaned back and took a long sip like it was water. “Bathroom fight. Roxxi did what needed to be done. I guarded the door.”

“She popped off one time too many and swung at me first.”

---