Salmonella

Chapter 25

🫧Twenty-Five🫧

After my shift, I remember to go pick up some books from the library to read over the weekend and head back to Fish.

"It's tonight? The next Marmoris Mansion party?" I hear someone say in the hall. I feel my stomach lurch at the name. Cod, I have to stop doing that.

"Not the Marmoris mansion. Genesis'."

"Haha yeah, I can't imagine what strings you'd have to pull to get into Marino and Aqua's..."

The clique I pass is scheming about their elaborate plans to sneak in as plus-ones through whichever friends they know who are going. I swim away quickly. Why Gen even throws these parties, I haven't the slightest idea. Don't they know it just attracts horrible people?

As I sink into my comfy bed at last, I go to turn off my notifs when I get a text. Arrrghh, why now? I was about to go cuddle up with a pillow and bingewatch dramas uninterrupted before bed.

It's Bloom, in our group chat with Gene.

ELLA DID YOU SEE THIS?? IT'S GOING VIRAL!!!

Seeing she's linked a Finstaclam post, I sigh. Doesn't Bloom know I don't care about whatever's trending? I tap on it anyway and almost drop my damn phone. It's a video clip taken from Gen's party just hours earlier. They're at the bottom of their grand rampcase, floating in the middle of a crowd of guests and yelling relentlessly at...

My SISTERS?!

SHIT! What did the girls do now? Why are they fighting?

In the shaky, poor-quality video, I can see Aster and Anemone holding onto my sisters and futilely trying to remove them from the scene.

"But we've always been on the list!" Terra bites out, struggling against Aster's tight grip. She's completely lost it. "You can't do this! We-We'll end your collab with CoQueena! We'll ban you from working with us again!"

Gen barks a laugh, echoing through the packed room that's gone completely quiet. I bite my lip, silently praying they were able to hold their temper but knowing they probably weren't.

"CoQueena? Remind me who that is again? My sister is a Channel model. My dad owns Saline. Which one of us needs that CoQueena collab more, me or your brand?" In all the time I've gotten to know Gen—the real Gen—I've never seen them flaunting their privilege like that. This Gen is way more akin to the Genesis I first met that day I stole their ride. Whatever my sisters did, it made them really mad.

Guests in the crowd start laughing. They're backing my sisters into a corner. Nothing good ever comes out of that.

"Oh, so it's because we're too poor for you?" Gigi sneers, staring at the floor. She hasn't said anything the whole time until now, raising two orbs of pure odium to Gen. "As expected from a Marmoris." She spits the name like it's something rotten she ate. "Be glad you have money. It's all you'll ever have going for you."

"Don't play dumb. You know why I removed you," Gen says firmly. "I could care less about who you are or how much money you have. You've been bullying your sister, who means a lot to me. And that I can't forgive."

Every fiber of my being disintegrates, phone almost slipping out of my shaky grasp. You're telling me the reason Gen just blew up at them in front of everyone is because of me? Gen just mentioned me in front of ALL those people? And the video's gone VIRAL?

"That belugashit again?" Terra cries. "We haven't done anything since then!! We've been nice to her all this time! And why do you even care? What kinda game are you playing? I know you're just using her."