The blue glow of the WhatsApp notification was like a siren's call among the muffled murmur of the café. Maya attempted to ignore it, sticking her nose further into the dog-eared pages of Pride and Prejudice, but the constant beam of light from her phone was a small, nagging fire in her peripheral sight. She let out a sigh and gave in, and reached for it.
It wasn't a text from her best friend, Chloe, or her mom, reminding her about dinner. It was from him. Ethan. And it wasn't a text. It was a screenshot.
Her thumb shook as she clicked, the screen illuminating to show a conversation she dimly knew, but felt foreign. It was one with an unrecognized number, but the profile photo was unmistakably hers. A relaxed selfie she'd taken the previous summer, sun-drenched and smiling.
Her heart beat against her ribcage, a frantic hammer against bone. The conversation underneath the photo was brief, savage.
Unknown Number: She's just a placeholder, right? You're not really serious about her?
Ethan: Nah. Just trying to make someone else jealous. She's convenient.
The words blurred. "Convenient." Her throat constricted, a cold, sudden fist clenching around her windpipe. Convenient. Like a disposable coffee cup. Like an old sweater you had on hand for cold nights but never really cared about.
Maya gazed, immobile. The fluorescent lights of the café glared louder, taunting her. The crash of ceramic cups, the buzz of the people around her – all dissolved into a dull roar. Her universe had contracted to the harsh, damning pixels on her screen.
A tiny, constricted noise escaped her lips, halfway between a gasp and a sob. She glanced about, becoming suddenly paranoid, as if the entire café could witness the scorching betrayal on her phone. Her fingers darted, attempting to reduce the conversation, to erase it, but in her head was a maelstrom of bewilderment and agony.
Who had sent it? Why? Is this even true?
But the screenshot had Ethan's name at the top, his distinct message bubbles, and the profile picture of her. It felt terrifyingly, undeniably real. The sheer audacity, the cold-hearted dismissal of her feelings, made her stomach churn.
Maya shoved her chair back, the biting scrape against the tiled floor sounding in her ears. She required air. She required escape. She grasped her phone, the incriminating screenshot still searing bright, and staggered from the café, leaving her abandoned tea and the facade of a blissful relationship in tatters on the table.
Outside, the chill of the evening air brought no comfort. The city lights smeared through the sudden glimmer of tears in her eyes. "Convenient." The word echoed in her head, a poisonous repeat. She recalled their last night out, the way he'd touched her hand, the friendly kisses. Was it all a stunt? A deception?
She pulled up Ethan's chat, her thumb hovering over the call button. What would she say? What could she say? The truth, laid bare in a screenshot, felt too monstrous to confront over a phone call. She needed answers, but the thought of hearing his voice, knowing it could be laced with deceit, made her recoil.
Suddenly, another message popped up. Not from Ethan. Not from the "Unknown Number."
It was from Chloe.
Chloe: OMG, did you see the drama going down on the uni group chat?!
Maya gazed at Chloe's message, a new wave of nausea sweeping over her. Uni group chat? Was this… public? Was the whole world watching her humiliation? The realization churned in her belly, a new layer of agony. She needed to know. She needed to see. With a shaking finger, she touched on the message, steeling herself for whatever new hell she was about to unleash.
How do you like it so far? Did "The Screenshot" grab you? What ought Maya learn in the university group chat.?