WHO AM I

THE GAME WE CANT ESCAPE

Lila couldn't stop replaying Noah's words in her head. Renzo wasn't just some spoiled rich kid with a vendetta—he was part of something much bigger, much more dangerous. But what did that mean for her? For Noah? Were they already too far in to turn back?

As they sat under the old oak tree, the weight of the revelation hung between them like a dark cloud. Lila stared at the bark, tracing the ridges with her fingers, trying to make sense of everything.

Noah broke the silence first. "We need to figure out what we're up against, Lila. If Renzo's family is as connected as I think, we can't just walk away from this."

Lila nodded, her mind still racing. "But how? How do we even start?"

Noah sighed, running a hand through his hair. "That's the hard part. We need to be careful, stay under the radar. If they find out we know, they won't hesitate to come after us."

The gravity of the situation was sinking in fast. Lila wasn't just dealing with high school drama anymore. This was real, and it was dangerous. She glanced over at Noah, his serious expression hardening the longer they sat there.

"I trust you, Noah," she said softly. "But I'm scared."

Noah looked at her, his eyes softening for a moment. "I won't let anything happen to you, Lila. We'll figure this out together."

Meanwhile: Back in the Chaos of School

The next day at school was supposed to be normal—or as normal as anything could be now—but of course, nothing ever went as planned.

Lila was walking down the hallway, trying to keep her head low and avoid any more confrontations, when Cathy suddenly popped out from behind a locker, causing Lila to yelp in surprise.

"You look like you've seen a ghost!" Cathy laughed, clearly enjoying herself.

Lila clutched her chest, trying to catch her breath. "Thanks for the heart attack, Cathy."

Cathy grinned and looped her arm through Lila's, dragging her down the hall. "You're way too tense lately. What you need is some fun."

Lila raised an eyebrow. "And what do you have in mind?"

Jasper appeared out of nowhere, as he always did, a mischievous grin plastered on his face. "We may or may not have something planned during lunch."

Lila groaned. "Why do I feel like this is going to end badly?"

Cathy giggled. "Because it probably will."

Sure enough, lunch came around, and Lila found herself roped into one of Jasper and Cathy's "brilliant" ideas. They'd somehow managed to smuggle in a huge bucket of ice water, planning to dump it on one of the jocks as they walked into the cafeteria.

"Trust me," Jasper said, his grin widening, "this is going to be hilarious."

Lila watched in disbelief as they set everything up, feeling a knot form in her stomach. This was going to end horribly.

Just as they were about to dump the water, someone yelled from the other side of the cafeteria, distracting Cathy and Jasper for just a second. Unfortunately, that second was all it took for Lila to slip and knock the bucket over—right on herself.

Ice-cold water splashed all over her, soaking her from head to toe. The entire cafeteria erupted into laughter as Lila stood there, shivering and dripping wet.

"Well," Cathy said, barely containing her laughter, "that didn't go as planned."

Lila groaned. "I hate you both."

Jasper laughed so hard he had to lean on Cathy to keep from falling over. "Worth it."

Renzo's New Game

Lila's embarrassing lunch incident was the least of her worries. Later that afternoon, she noticed something strange. Renzo had been quieter than usual, almost like he was waiting for something. And Zara had been avoiding eye contact with her, which was even weirder.

As she walked past Renzo in the hallway, she overheard a snippet of his conversation with someone on the phone.

"I don't care how you do it. Just make sure it's done," Renzo said in a low voice, his face hard and focused.

Lila's heart skipped a beat. What was he planning?

Unexpected Twist

That night, Lila couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about Renzo and that cryptic phone call. Something was coming—something big. And she had a feeling she was at the center of it all.

She tossed and turned in bed, her thoughts racing, when her phone buzzed. She quickly grabbed it off the nightstand, her pulse quickening.

It was another message from the unknown number.

Unknown: "Tick tock, Lila. Time's running out."

Lila's blood ran cold. Whoever was behind this knew her every move, her every thought. And they were getting closer.

Before she could even process the message, another one popped up.

Unknown: "Meet me tomorrow. Alone. Or the game ends for you."

Lila stared at the screen, her heart pounding in her chest. This was it. Whoever had been watching her, playing with her, was finally making their move.

She didn't know if she was ready—but she didn't have a choice.

Lila set her phone down, her mind racing. Tomorrow, everything would change. But she wasn't going down without a fight.