Ember sat at the far edge of the cafeteria the following day, her back half-turned to the room as though distance alone might shield her from it.
The desert sun streamed in through the towering glass walls, harsh and relentless, washing everything in gold. It should have felt comforting. Instead, it only made the heaviness in her chest more pronounced, like something aching beneath warm skin. She ate slowly, methodically, her burrito held with careful precision, as though the simple act of chewing was the only thing anchoring her to herself.
Lily dropped into the seat beside her with a sigh, eyebrows drawn tight as she stabbed at a French fry she clearly had no intention of finishing. Around them, the cafeteria buzzed—but it wasn't the usual noise. It was sharper. Watchful.
Phones were out everywhere.
Not subtly. Not discreetly.
Students laughed too loudly, whispering behind their hands, angling their screens just enough for Ember to catch flashes of herself—unsteady, unfocused, broken into clips that told a story she didn't recognize.
#PartyRabbit blinked at her from one screen, then another.
Lily followed her gaze and rolled her eyes hard. "I bet it's one of the golden," she muttered. "Some strange people."
She leaned closer, lowering her voice, though there was no real hiding now. Ember could feel the stares pressing into her back, into her skin. Someone openly tilted their phone toward her, as if daring her to deny it.
A chair scraped.
A boy slid into the empty space beside their table without invitation. His jeans sagged low on his hips, curls falling into his eyes as he grinned like he'd been waiting for this moment.
"Never knew you got down like that," he said casually. "But hey—if you're ever looking, I know a guy. Sells everything. Coke. Molly. Whatever."
Ember lifted her head slowly.
When she looked at him, her golden-brown eyes were steady, unblinking, sharp enough to cut.
"I don't do drugs."
The grin faltered.
There was a brief, uncomfortable silence before he laughed, too loud, rubbing the back of his neck. "Wow. Okay. Guess I hit a nerve. Call me when you're ready to come out of the closet."
"Eat shit, Riley," Lily snapped.
The words hung there, heavy.
For half a second, Lily looked just as shocked as he did—then she leaned forward, voice hardening. "Even if it were true, so what? You didn't kill anyone, did you?"
Ember's jaw tightened.
"Except it's not true."
Lily stopped eating.
She turned fully toward Ember now, the humor gone, her expression sharpened by concern. "Then what happened to you at that party?"
Ember hesitated.
Her head pulsed faintly, a dull echo behind her eyes, as if the question itself had pressed on something fragile.
"I don't remember drinking that night," she said finally, each word careful. "Maybe I was… hypnotized."
Lily frowned, unsettled. "I want to believe you….Do you remember anything? A face? A smell?"
The cafeteria noise dulled, as though someone had turned down the volume on the world.
Pink walls.
Laughter that scraped.
Perfume—too sweet, too heavy, impossible to breathe through.
"…A ring," Ember said quietly.
Lily blinked. "A ring?"
Ember swallowed. "A red one," she added. "It was glowing."
Lily stared at her, something uneasy flickering across her face.
"A glowing… what now?"
———————————————————-
Across the cafeteria, Jasmine laughed loudly with her friends, tossing her hair back with effortless confidence.
As she lifted her hand, the light caught it.
A thick red ring gleamed on her finger.
Ember's eyes fixed on the red ring, and the cafeteria around her seemed to tilt, as though the world itself had lost its balance.
For a brief, disorienting second, the present slipped away.
Pink walls. Crystal glasses. Laughter that scraped instead of soothed. A voice—uneasy, unsure—cutting through the haze.
Do you think we went too far?
The face attached to the voice was questionable, but—
Jasmine. Her face was clear as day.
She was standing just as Ember remembered her: relaxed, perfectly composed, a glass of wine lifted to her lips as though cruelty were merely another form of entertainment. The memory hit so hard Ember had to steady herself against the table, her pulse thudding violently in her ears.
Before Lily could reach for her or whisper caution, Ember stood.
She crossed the cafeteria with a calm she did not feel, each step deliberate, her spine straight despite the tremor crawling up her limbs. Jasmine noticed her almost immediately. She did not recoil, nor did she appear startled. If anything, her eyes lit with interest, a slow, knowing smile blooming across her lips as Ember approached the table where she sat surrounded by her friends, laughter and attention pooling around her like worship.
"Hi," Ember said, her voice steady despite the storm in her chest. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Jasmine tilted her head, feigning thoughtfulness. "I'm sorry," she replied lazily, her tone smooth and cutting all at once. "What's your name again?"
A ripple of amusement passed through the table.
Ember did not flinch. "If you're struggling to remember names," she said evenly, "I'd rather not be part of the problem."
For a moment, surprise flickered across Jasmine's face, quickly replaced by a grin sharp enough to draw blood.
"I want to talk about something else," Ember continued, refusing to look away.
Jasmine laughed, long and musical. "You know, I can be generous sometimes. I invite people out of kindness." She shrugged. "But I'm not standing up for this. I don't even know you. This is starting to feel a little… obsessive."
More eyes turned toward them. Phones hovered discreetly in hands.
Ember's breath tightened, but she pushed forward. "Then explain why I was in your room the night of your party."
The laughter around the table stilled.
Jasmine's smile never wavered. "Hallucinations," she said calmly. "That happens when people overindulge."
"I know what I saw."
The air changed.
"It was subtle at first, like the hush before a storm. The noise of the cafeteria faded until it was no more than a distant hum, and then—nothing at all. Ember tried to move, to turn her head, to step back, but her body refused her entirely. Panic surged as she realized she could not even draw a proper breath.
Only Jasmine and her two friends were moving now.
Jasmine rose slowly, circling Ember with unhurried steps, her gaze roaming over her with detached curiosity, as though inspecting something fragile and already broken. She reached out, fingers threading through Ember's hair.
"Not so confident now," she murmured.
Ember's heart slammed against her ribs. Her mouth opened, but no sound came.
"You're exhausting," Jasmine continued softly, amused. "Do you have any idea who you're standing in front of?"
One of the girls laughed. "Why don't we just push her over the edge?"
Jasmine waved her off absently, then leaned closer, her voice dropping.
"I don't know what you are," she said, her smile serene and terrifying all at once. "But this is my world. I make the rules."
The red ring caught the light.
"And if you forget that," she added gently, "I can erase you."
She stepped back, clapping her hands lightly.
"Alright," Jasmine said brightly. "Enough drama."
The world lurched back into place.
Sound crashed in all at once—voices, laughter, trays sliding across tables. Ember gasped, staggering as control rushed back into her body. Jasmine was already seated again, looking at her expectantly, dimples deep, expression perfectly pleasant.
"So," she said. "What were you saying?"
Ember looked around wildly. No one seemed to have noticed anything. The words she had prepared vanished entirely.
"I… I'm sorry," she whispered.
She turned and fled.
The cafeteria erupted as she quickly walked out of the building, Lily following right after her.
Behind her, Jasmine watched with quiet satisfaction, lifting her iced boba tea.
"I.win."