"Every revolution begins with a spark. Hers starts with an inferno."
9:00 PM – RIDGEWOOD ROOFTOP (FIREWORKS & FALLOUT)
Kai's sparkler hissed as he traced shapes in the night sky—a crown, a bee, a middle finger. Bursts of gold and crimson from the fireworks reflected in Bee's eyes, lighting her face with a mix of rage and triumph. The once-cheerful sky above Ridgewood now felt like a battlefield ceiling, glowing with the flames of upheaval.
"So. What's next, Your Majesty?" Kai asked, his smirk half-taunt, half-respect.
Bee flicked her sparkler over the edge of the rooftop. It spiraled downward like a fallen star, vanishing into the shadows of the empty football field below.
"We burn it all," she said. Her voice didn't waver. It was iron-willed, a promise wrapped in vengeance.
Her phone buzzed like a ticking bomb. Notifications piled in:
@RidgewoodReveals: "HAILEY'S 'QUEEN' TITLE REVOKED AFTER FOOTAGE SCANDAL"
@GossipGuru: "Breaking: Students petition to remove Hailey from prom court"
Serena (DM): "I have more. Meet me."
Kai glanced over her shoulder. "You trust her now?"
Bee's lips curled into a sharp smile. "I trust her guilt."
She pocketed her phone, her mind already spinning faster than the carousel of drama that had become her daily routine. But this wasn't high school politics anymore. This was war—and she was writing her own rules.
---
10:15 PM – ABANDONED BAND PRACTICE ROOM (SECRETS & LIES)
The hallway was pitch dark, lit only by the occasional flicker of a dying fluorescent light. Bee pushed open the creaky band room door, and Serena yanked back a dusty curtain, revealing a wall plastered with evidence. The corkboard looked like it belonged in a detective's lair—photos connected by red string, receipts, screenshots, timelines.
"Hailey's been planning this since freshman year," Serena confessed. Her voice was brittle, her eyes rimmed red. "You weren't just her rival. You were her mission."
Bee's fingers danced over the artifacts:
A group chat screenshot: "Brielle's too nice. Easy to break." – Hailey, 2022
A torn-out diary page: "If I can't be queen, no one can."
A prom photo with Aiden's face violently scratched out.
Bee's jaw clenched. "Why show me this now?"
Serena exhaled shakily. "Because I helped her. Because I thought… I thought I wanted what she had. But I didn't realize the cost. I can't sleep, Bee. Not anymore."
Bee stared at the girl before her—the once-perfect, poised Serena, now unraveling like a badly stitched dress. She opened her mouth to respond when—
A door slammed.
Footsteps.
Fast, purposeful.
Serena's face went pale. "She's here."
---
10:37 PM – THE RECKONING (BAND ROOM BLACKOUT)
The lights sputtered, then went dead. The silence stretched, sharp and deafening.
"Pathetic. All of you," Hailey's voice sliced through the darkness.
Bee turned just as a phone flashlight blinked on, illuminating Hailey's mascara-streaked face—and the glint of a kitchen knife in her hand.
"You ruined my life," Hailey snarled. "Now I ruin yours."
Kai stepped forward, protective instinct clear. Bee raised a hand, stopping him.
"Put it down, Hailey," Bee said steadily.
"OR WHAT?!" Hailey screamed, launching forward.
The world moved in a blur—
A crash.
Aiden.
He tackled Hailey mid-lunge, knocking the knife from her hand. It clattered across the linoleum like a final warning shot.
They all froze.
Hailey gasped, then let out a low, broken sob. "You chose her? After everything?"
Aiden, breathing hard, didn't look at Bee. He stared at Hailey with sorrow and disgust. "I chose the truth."
---
11:59 PM – EMERGENCY ROOM WAITING AREA (BLOOD & BETRAYAL)
The hospital's waiting area buzzed with dull fluorescent lighting and muted television static. Kai sat beside Bee with an ice pack pressed to his jaw, his lip swelling. "Worth it," he muttered with a crooked grin.
Bee barely registered his words. Her eyes were locked on the ER doors, behind which Hailey had been wheeled away. The words on the clipboard still echoed in her mind: 5150 hold—involuntary psychiatric evaluation.
Aiden leaned against the wall, silent for a long moment before speaking. "She told me… if I left her, she'd end it all."
Bee looked up. "Did you believe her?"
His silence answered for him. His hands were trembling.
For a brief moment, pity fluttered in Bee's chest—before hardening into resolve. Hailey had manipulated everyone, even herself.
Her phone vibrated in her palm again. A new message:
Unknown Number: "You won. But the game's not over."
Bee's pulse quickened.
She read the message twice, then slowly slid her phone into her bag. Not with fear. With fire.
Her story wasn't over.
It had only just begun.