Costa Crew 3: Make or Break

Chapter 12 - The Coldest Goodbye

Amelia couldn't stop smiling. Straight As. The best results in the year, no doubt about it. Nothing could spoil her mood, not even Rebecca Hidgens.

She was trying her best, sitting at the other side of the class with all her friends, laughing their heads off and playing Uno, but Amelia couldn't care less. The Lisas were there with her, and she had triumphed in her Highers. Rebecca might have won a few battles, but Amelia had won the war.

She heard a click above her head and knew there was about to be a tannoid announcement. "Good afternoon everyone," said the voice of the headteacher. "Apologies for this interruption, I wanted to take a moment to congratulate all our Senior Phase pupils who received their exam results today. You should all be very proud of yourselves. I'd also like to congratulate this year's school Dux."

Amelia's heart skipped a beat. At last, her moment had come. Eternal glory. The Dux award, crowning her Queen of the school, recognising her as the best in the year.

"This year," continued the headteacher, "the Dux award goes to Rebecca Hidgens."

Amelia's jaw dropped. How? She'd spent every free minute studying for these exams to destroy Rebecca and make it clear that she was the best in the school. Rebecca spent her time on call with her friends playing Among Us! That lucky bitch!

She glanced across the room to where Rebecca sat grinning, her face bright red as her friends clapped her on the back. "YES WIFEY!" screamed Charlotte.

Rebecca laughed. "So we're married again?"

Amelia rolled her eyes at the Lisas. She could have punched Beck, who glanced over and said "Congratulations, Becky!", while Kleinman probably thought she was helping with those sympathetic eyes of hers, but the only thing that could make this better would be beating Rebecca.

"I knew it," Paul kept saying. "You were set for this since first year."

Amelia kept shaking her head. She would have given anything to be able to spit in Rebecca's face and tell her she didn't deserve that award one bit. Or even to be there among her friends, congratulating her and being able to say she was best friends with the Dux. But she'd thrown it all away too soon. All she could do now was make sure that the rest of Rebecca's tragic life was utter hell.

***

"Absolutely not," Paul said flatly. "I'm telling you, we can fix this. I'm not letting you walk to your death."

"And how many more people have to die before we do?" Becky asked, frustrated. "Paul, she killed Curt. She killed Lisa Beck. She's threatened Linda and Matthew. She's threatened Bruce. Lisa's fiancée was about a centimetre away from getting a sniper through her head. This isn't like last time where we could fix things with a happy-go-lucky attitude. We won't all make it through on the power of our friendship. That's the very thing she's going to use against us."

Paul was speechless. Then he shook his head slowly, trying to comprehend what Becky had just said. "You enjoy it too."

Becky raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"All of this. It's all one big game to you. And this, this...suicide mission you're trying to go on, that's just the climax. The final confrontation between you and Amelia. From best friends to all time rivals. When Curt died you jumped at the chance to see Amelia again. You might not know it, but deep down, you've missed all this."

Becky shook her head. "Paul, how could you say something like that? You guys mean the world to me. Making sure you're all safe means more to me than taking down Amelia. I'm just facing facts, I might not be able to do both."

Paul shook his head, speechless. "So tonight is going to be the last night we have together," Becky continued, "and I'd like to make the most of it. Let's get everyone here. Tell Ted to bring pizza. And some DVDs. Specifically Thor Ragnarok. It's the best Marvel movie and the perfect night together. I don't want my last memory of you all to be tears and heartbreak."

Paul sighed. "There's no stopping you, is there?"

Becky shook her head. "You once said you were with me until the end of the line. Well, this is it."