Chapter 151 School Gossip

Chapter 151 School Gossip
A week had passed, and although they had finished their lecture over an hour ago, the four of them were still on the campus lawn, enjoying the warm afternoon weather.  
Students were scattered everywhere. Some lay lazily on blankets spread over the grass, others sat in circles talking and laughing, while a group nearby tossed a football back and forth. 
Daisy sat cross-legged beside Eloise with a pair of sunglasses perched atop her blonde hair, absentmindedly stealing chips from the bag in Brian's hand every few seconds. 
Brian finally looked at her in disbelief. 
"You know, I bought these with my money." 
Daisy reached in and stole another chip. 
"And yet somehow we're both eating them." 
Ryan chuckled softly without looking up from his notes. 
He had been reading for almost twenty minutes straight, occasionally scribbling something down in the margins. 
Over the past week, she'd learned that Ryan intended to run for student body president next year. Apparently, he'd already researched the requirements and already had plans and ideas for it. Rose found herself admiring him even more. 
There was something incredibly inspiring about someone who wanted more for himself and was willing to work tirelessly for it. 
"You missed a lot, Eloise," Brian said, crunching loudly on another chip. "Last night's party was insane." 
He pointed at himself proudly. "And that's saying something because I've attended some legendary parties." 
Daisy rolled her eyes. "Oh God. Here we go."
"No, seriously." Brian sat up straighter. "It's one of the best parties I've been to in a while."
"You say that after every party." Daisy said.  
"Because I consistently attend excellent parties." Brian insisted. 
Eloise laughed. 
"But seriously," Daisy said, turning toward her, "it was really fun. Even NYC Unfiltered carried it." 
Eloise blinked. "What is NYC Unfiltered?" 
Daisy looked so horrified that Eloise almost laughed again. 
"What do you mean, what is NYC Unfiltered?" 
Eloise shrugged. "What is NYC Unfiltered?" 
"How are you a student here and you don't know NYC Unfiltered?" 
"I've literally been here for a week." 
"That's not an excuse." 
Ryan smiled and finally looked up from his notes. "It's the campus gossip blog." 
"The what?"
"The gossip blog," Daisy repeated dramatically, as though explaining something to a child. "Everything goes there. Parties, scandals, drama, confessions, breakups. If somebody sneezes too loudly in the library, somehow NYC Unfiltered knows about it." 
She handed her phone over. "Here." 
Eloise took it, and immediately, she was greeted with pictures from last night's party. 
Someone was dancing on a table. Another video showed a boy attempting to chug alcohol while the people around him screamed encouragement. 
She laughed out loud. "This is ridiculous." 
"I know," Daisy said proudly. "I love it." 
Eloise continued scrolling. Then Brian's head suddenly lifted. 
"El." 
She looked up. 
He was staring somewhere behind her. "Isn't that your cousin?" 
The instant Eloise turned, the smile disappeared from her face. Rose stood several yards away speaking animatedly to another girl. 
The girl had her phone in one hand. 
"Oh," Daisy suddenly said. 
"Oh no." 
Brian looked at her. 
"What?" 
Daisy looked alarmed. 
"That's the girl who runs NYC Unfiltered." 
Eloise felt her heartbeat immediately pick up. Almost as though she sensed it, Rose looked up and their eyes met. 
Then Rose smiled. It was far from the mocking smile she usually wore. She was looking very pleased, satisfied, and victorious. 
A cold feeling settled uncomfortably in Eloise's stomach. Rose said something else to the girl, making her laugh. Then the two of them began walking away. Eloise's eyes followed them until they disappeared behind one of the academic buildings. 
Then a strange feeling crept over her. She knew something had gone very very wrong. Then Daisy's phone chimed and a second later, Brian's did too. 
Ryan's followed. Then another sound came. And another. And another. All around them, students were reaching for their phones. 
The lawn, which had been filled with easy laughter moments ago, seemed to shift almost imperceptibly. 
Daisy looked down at her screen and the color slowly drained from her face. Her mouth fell open. Then she looked at Eloise. 
"Oh my God." 
Eloise's stomach dropped. "What?" 
Daisy didn't answer. She simply continued staring at her. A girl sitting nearby suddenly looked up from her own phone, then at Eloise. 
Another student did the same, and another, and another.The laughter around them seemed to quiet. Eloise looked from Daisy to the students now openly staring in her direction. Her heart started hammering. 
Rose had done something to her and she was sure as hell it couldn't be good.