Chapter 83
The next day began like any other. Preston Oakes High School waited for the sun to rise.
Posters hung across the walls, waiting for students to arrive. They were printed and pasted across lockers and slapped on the back of doors. Hundreds of copies of the same photo.
The image of Candace half-naked with a $1 bill in her b-ra. Passed out for the whole school to see.
And under the picture were the words: $1 Entry
People gaped, pointed and laughed about it. Many snapped photos and sent them on. The image went viral, both online and on school grounds. If people didn't know Candace before, she was infamous now.
Bryce was the first of Zenon's crew to arrive at school.
He was a morning person. His chef cooked him the same omelet every day before he drove his convertible to school. Now that he was here, he was confused. A photo was stuck to his locker. He thought it was fake at first. He didn't even realize that it was Candace.
He was in the middle of talking about it, when he recognized her. That's when he did a double take.
"Oh sht."
A few lockers down, Jake arrived at his spot. He was on his juul and almost choked on the smoke.
Usually, Bryce and Jake barely interacted with each other, even though they were only a few lockers apart. But they looked at each other now. "Zenon's going to-"
And then the notorious man himself materialized.
Zenon Albert stormed the hallway, sending heart beats racing.
No one wanted to get in his way.
"WHO DID THIS?"he roared.
Jake took a poster down and stared at it, "Zenon, relax. We'll find whoever did this."
"Don't fcking tell me to relax."
"Yeah, don't tell him to relax," Axel said, accompanying him down the hall, "It's the least relaxing thing."
Zenon did not pause as he passed by. Jake was the only person not squirming at the sight of angry Zenon. He sighed and followed his brother, since Zenon looked like he had a plan.
Bryce slammed his locker shut and tagged along. Others stared and began to follow. Zenon took a sharp right turn and arrived at the girls' lockers.
Bianca was applying red lipstick in a little mirror she kept in her locker. Oma noticed the boys coming and freaked out. She tapped her friend on the shoulder.
"Did you do this?" Zenon confronted her.
Bianca almost messed up her lipstick. She shivered as she saw Zenon's body approaching her in her compact mirror.
"No, I swear I didn't," she promised, turning to face him, lipstick in hand.
"We talked about this, Bianca."
"I know and I promised that I didn't do this. I swore to you back then that I wouldn't use the photo. Why would I even print them? That's so old school."
"It's the digital age," one of Bianca's worshippers, sorry friends, piped up in agreement.
Zenon gave her one look and she ran off.
Bianca sighed.
While Zenon confronted the girls, his friends backed him up. Around them, a huge crowd had gathered. This drama had escalated beyond anyone's imagination. No one expected the reaction that this poster would stir in Zenon.
He was not about to let anyone get away with it.
"Find Jamie. I want to hear from her," Zenon ordered.
He was going to hunt down every single person who had ever seen this photo and interrogate them. One of his basketball teammates nodded and went on his way.
"It was me. I did it," a voice confessed.
They turned slowly and stared in disbelief. Total, complete, abject disbelief.
"You?"
"You?"
I stood in front of them. The most popular seniors in my high school and the wider crowd that surrounded them. Everyone had the same look of shock painted over their faces.
Yes. It was me.
"I did it," I said, "It's not going to look great on my college apps."
The look of fire in Zenon's eyes melted when he saw me. His fist unclenched, and circulation returned to his hand.
"It was you, Candy?"
I nodded, retaining control of my voice, despite the shaking in my own hands.
"You did this... to yourself?" Jake asked, staring at me since he couldn't understand my motive.
"Uh..." Bryce didn't want to point out the obvious question but, "Why?"
"This photo created so much drama," I said, "It caused a breakup. It's been used to threaten me, to silence me... and I refuse to be silenced."
I took a deep breath and projected my voice louder, "Some fools thought this would take me down. I refused to be trapped by threats. Now you see what I can do to myself, imagine what I can do in retaliation. I won't be messed around with anymore."
I didn't need to say more. I was talking to all the people who had laughed at me, ignored me, insulted me over the last year. I was talking to whoever blackmailed me with these photos, tried to strike fear in me to change my own behavior.
I change my life.
They had messed with the wrong girl.
Axel whispered, "Who's she talking to?"
I was so done with being a target. That was a lesson Zenon Albert taught me. Take sht from nobody. He may go too far on that front, but he showed me its worth.
I won't shy into the shadows anymore.
Out of nowhere, Oma began to clap. Her clap filled the silence and echoed down the hall. Bianca stood uncomfortably next to her friend and asked her to stop.
Oma refused, "I stand a boss."