Mike walked into the girl's room, grabbed a random T-shirt, and then headed to the bathroom door, giving it a knock.
Click. The door swung open, revealing the girl wrapped in a bath towel.
Steam billowed out from the bathroom, framing her perfectly. Water droplets still clung to her soft skin, and combined with the coy look on her face, it was enough to make any guy's pulse race.
"You're here..." Cady said softly, reaching out a hand as if to take the shirt.
But as her hand moved, the towel slipped away entirely, dropping to the floor in slow motion.
This time, she didn't scream. Instead, she just looked at Mike with a gaze that was nothing short of inviting.
With a sight like that right in front of him, could anyone blame him?
Mike instantly switched from gentleman mode to wolf mode.
The sounds of a "heated debate" soon echoed from the bathroom...
It had to be said—Cady, having grown up in the African wild, definitely had some natural instincts. For a first-timer, she showed even more stamina than Regina, the dancer.
[Charm Attribute +20], [Constitution Main Attribute +2]... [Memory Palace (Trait)], [Intelligence Attribute +1]...
Memory Palace: Creates a massive storage room within the mental space. It can store images, sounds, colors, tastes, and other information.
She really was a hidden gem. After their first round, Mike tallied up his gains.
He hadn't expected Cady to give him such a huge surprise.
He'd been wondering if he could pick up something like the [Memory Palace] from Young Sheldon, but it looked like he'd struck gold elsewhere.
It made sense, though. Cady had been homeschooled her whole life, yet she'd caught up with the high school curriculum almost immediately after enrolling. Her talent for math was already way above average.
Honestly, it would've been stranger if Cady didn't have something special about her.
Having received such a massive benefit, Mike gently picked up the exhausted girl and carried her carefully back to the bedroom.
---
The next day, after fully "claiming" Cady, Mike made sure to show her a little extra affection at school.
In the cafeteria at lunch, Mike brought Regina along and confidently sat down at the same table as the Plastics.
"Cady, you look amazing today," Gretchen said, genuinely complimenting her.
It was true. Cady was practically glowing. Her skin looked smoother and more radiant than usual.
Karen and Regina exchanged a knowing look. They'd both experienced that particular "glow up" themselves.
Now, the way they looked at Cady was much warmer. Like she was officially one of them.
Only Gretchen was still out of the loop.
"R-Really?" Cady stammered, blushing as she thought about the night before. She quickly covered with a flimsy excuse. "I, uh, just found this really great new skincare product."
She shot Mike a playful glare. He was definitely the reason she was so "refreshed" (and exhausted).
"Really? Cady, what is it? Can you recommend it to me?" Gretchen asked eagerly, completely missing the subtext.
When it came to beauty products, her curiosity was boundless.
"Well..." Cady paused for a long moment before awkwardly saying, "It's, uh, kind of hard to get. I'll tell you about it later."
"Oh, okay." Gretchen looked disappointed but let it go.
The girls quickly moved on to chattering about other things.
Having dodged a bullet, Cady looked across the table at Mike, who was calmly eating his lunch like nothing had happened. She couldn't resist giving him a little kick under the table.
Mike just smiled warmly at her little act of rebellion, thoroughly enjoying the moment.
---
Meanwhile, Regina George had found out from her parents the night before that what Cady had given her wasn't a weight-loss product at all.
Those "energy bars" and drinks were high-calorie supplements used by athletes to gain weight.
Realizing what had happened, Regina finally understood that Cady had never intended to join the Plastics for real—she was there to destroy her.
Regina had been stewing in rage all morning. Now, she was storming toward the cafeteria, determined to rip off Cady's mask in front of the entire school.
"You little bitch!" Regina shrieked as she burst into the cafeteria, making a beeline for Cady.
As she shouted, she pulled a handful of those energy bars from her pocket and chucked them at Cady's head.
Luckily, Mike was quick. He shielded Cady with his arm and stood up to block Regina's path. "What do you think you're doing?"
By this point, seeing the fury on Regina's face, Cady knew the jig was up.
But with Mike standing up for her, she instinctively shrank behind him for protection.
"What am I doing?" Regina was already livid, but seeing Cady cowering behind Mike—acting all intimate with him—made her explode. She screamed like a maniac, "She's a lying, backstabbing little slut!!!"
Regina then pulled a bottle of the energy drink from her pocket, popped the cap, and tried to splash it all over Cady.
"Are you crazy?" Mike grabbed Regina's wrist mid-swing and snatched the bottle out of her hand.
Regardless of who was right or wrong, Cady was his girl now. Mike wasn't about to let anyone hurt her.
Around them, the members of Mike's fan club stood up, glaring daggers at the "Queen Bee" causing a scene.
The commotion had grabbed the attention of everyone in the cafeteria.
Most people were watching with glee, guessing that Regina was lashing out because she'd lost her spot in the hierarchy to Cady.
Others whispered that maybe Cady had stolen Mike, and that's why Regina was so pissed...
---
Over at the edge of the cafeteria, Janis and Damian saw that things were getting ugly for Cady.
Loyal to the end, the two of them rushed over to put themselves between Regina and Cady.
Janis, looking every bit the punk rebel, glared at Regina. "I gave those bars to Cady. If you've got a problem, take it up with me."
As mentioned before, Janis and Regina had a lot of bad blood.
Seeing Regina look so unhinged actually gave Janis a deep sense of satisfaction.
"You... you guys just wait. This isn't over!" Regina stammered. Seeing everyone protecting Cady, she realized she was outnumbered. She threw out one last threat before storming out of the cafeteria in a huff.
"You okay? Did she scare you?" Mike turned to ask Cady once Regina was gone.
The "Queen Bee" on a rampage was genuinely a little terrifying.
"I'm fine." Cady shook her head, touched by Mike's concern.
"What was that all about?" Mike asked.
"I..." Cady was about to confess everything to Mike, but she caught Janis frantically signaling her from across the group.
"Can I tell you later?" Cady realized that what she'd done to Regina was pretty shady.
Confessing it right now might just make Mike think less of her.
"Sure, no pressure," Mike said easily.
Honestly, he didn't care much about high school drama. If it didn't involve Cady's safety, he wouldn't even bother asking.
Seeing that Cady hadn't panicked and spilled the beans, Janis gave her a subtle nod. She'd been ready to take the fall for the whole thing. Janis grabbed Damian and they slipped away from the center of attention.
For school outcasts like Janis and Damian, being in the spotlight was uncomfortable territory.
Meanwhile, the students in the cafeteria, having witnessed another episode of the drama, watched Regina retreat in defeat once again.
New rumors about Regina started to ripple through the crowd.
---