I texted my team I’d be back later and followed Ryan to their private room.
The door was ajar, and I could hear laughter and chatter from down the hall. Olivia and Evan’s voices were especially clear.
“Thanks for looking out for Olivia back in high school, everyone!” I saw Evan stand up, raising his glass in a sloppy toast before downing it, his other arm slung possessively around Olivia. She gazed up at him with sweet adoration.
How cozy. I guess every trash can finds its lid. Served me right for dying last time, trying to break up such a “devoted couple.”
So often, we let emotions cloud our judgment, forgetting the simplest truth: birds of a feather flock together. If you repeatedly can’t talk sense into a friend about their terrible partner, chances are, your so-called friend is cut from the same cloth.
Stop trying to save people from themselves. It only brings you trouble.
Ryan interrupted the chatter in the room. He stood in the doorway, blocking me from view.
“Guess who I ran into?” Ryan said cheerfully.
Everyone looked towards the door. “Don’t keep us guessing! Pretty much everyone’s here already.” “It’s not Mr. Henderson, is it?”
Ryan stepped aside, revealing me. “It’s our former cheer captain, Jojo!”
I walked in, smiling as greetings came from all around, my eyes fixed on a panicked Olivia.
“Olivia, why didn’t you tell me about the reunion?”
My high school desk-mate pulled out a chair for me. “Jojo, when did you get back? You’ve been gone for ages.”
I glanced at Olivia, feigning confusion. “What are you talking about? I never left the country.”
Then I playfully punched my former desk-mate’s arm. “I lost touch with everyone after graduation! I asked Olivia to add me to the group chat, but she said there wasn’t one. I thought you guys just didn’t keep in touch!”
“What?” Everyone looked at Olivia. “Olivia, what’s going on? You told us Jojo went abroad.”
Olivia’s face changed, her eyes instantly reddening.
Evan immediately pulled her closer, his face darkening. “Jojo, did you just come here to make Olivia feel bad?”
I scoffed. “What’s that supposed to mean? If I hadn’t run into Ryan today, I’d still think I ‘studied abroad.’ Olivia, why would you say that?”
Olivia remained silent.
A girl who’d never liked Olivia back in school snorted coldly, a smirk on her face. “Why else? Olivia was always jealous of you.”
Olivia snapped, “Stop talking nonsense!”
The girl wasn’t intimidated. “You were always like that. I saw you take the love letter Ryan put in Jojo’s backpack, tear it up, and tell him Jojo hated him and to leave her alone.”
Olivia’s eyes were red. “I was worried it would affect her studies!”
“Oh, really? But you had no problem dragging Jojo to skip class and go check out guys from the rival school?” The girl rolled her eyes. “Who are you trying to fool? You were just jealous Jojo was popular, pretty, and came from a good family.”
Evan shot to his feet and suddenly hurled his glass to the floor, pointing a finger at my face and yelling, “Jojo! Olivia considers you a true friend, and you just stand there letting them talk about her like that? You bitch—”
Ryan kicked a chair over, stepping in front of me. “Watch your mouth!”
Evan was a classic bully—all tough talk with me, but completely silent facing a tall, solid guy like Ryan. How laughable. Samantha slapped Olivia twice, and Evan didn’t dare peep, but he felt brave enough to scream at me, and in another life, even kill me.
It all came down to me being too “nice” in the past, always giving Olivia infinite passes, which gave them the audacity to hurt me so freely.
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