Page 113 of SNOB

I shrug. “Looks like you don’t want these here. It’s your body.”

Silence.

She comes over to my column, helping to get the rest of the images off. We don't say a word until most of it is gone. Then we move to the wall with more images, pulling them down together. I’m afraid to ask how many of these exist.

“Thank you,” she says, her voice quiet. We continue ripping down the pictures in silence, balls of crumpled paper building in our hands. It takes a moment before she speaks again. “Hey Ember?”

“Yeah, Hannah?”

“I’m… I’m sorry I blamed you for Beau’s death.” Hannah’s apology makes me stop. Did I hear that right? “I really should’ve known Mac had more to do with it. I just hated that you’re here.” I’m way too tired to process the strangeness of the situation. Is Hannah being… human?

Pulling down another one of her nudes still reminds me she doesn’t deserve this. “I’m sorry Mac’s a fucking idiot.”

“Wait, you think Mac did this?” My brows furrow as Hannah looks around. Then she leans in, her sparkly cheeks turning red. “It’s Ryung.”

Now I’m confused. “Why would Ryung post nudes of you all over the school?”

She moves in closer, as close to me as we’ve ever been. “I shared his dick pic with the posse and Marisol couldn’t keep it to herself.”

Am I dreaming? “I’m way too tired to hear about whatever freaky shit you guys get up to.”

Hannah slaps my arm. “It wasn’t some weird Paradise orgy, it was just him and I.” Looking at her only makes me blink more. “Okay, Ryung and I hung out at the gardens after Mac became too preoccupied with you. We were both bitter and washed it down with a lot of Don Julio. And things got… weird.”

“Uh,” I stall, unsure of what to say. “You okay?”

“Wait, I wasn’t done. I’m sorry I shared that video.” She continues flooring me. “I really thought it was you. And I’m sorry things got so competitive with Mac. He’s dead hot but I mostly wanted him for status. Otherwise, he’s kind of a handful.”

“You’re telling me.”

We share an actual laugh, and if you asked me if I’d be talking, much less laughing with Hannah Alfonso, I’d call you delusional.

“It’s clear you’re more his type,” she says. “You can handle him. And of course, you can. I only pretended I could.”

“That’s actually really nice, Hannah.”

“You started it. This doesn’t mean we’re friends. But maybe I don’t hate you. I won’t forget you helping me.”

“It’s about time we stop competing with each other, don’t you think?” There are way more important things. “Competing over a guy is just stupid.” Hannah doesn’t respond, still tackling the wall. But I see a small smile on her face as one pulls at mine. Hannah and I are a long way from friends but this is a start.

My smile fades, the person that got me here appearing in my head. So does her text.

Pls come back

Turning to Hannah, I wonder if she can help with one last thing. “Hey, do you know what happened to?—“

“Ember?”

Turning to that voice, the person in front of me answers the question in my head. “Greta.”

The sunlight hits her, standing at the bottom of the main building steps with a fresh cut and a crisp outfit. Her red and brown plaid dress fits her body, a chunky beige sweater to match. Combined with her polished Mary Janes, Greta looks better than I’ve ever seen her.

“You’re okay.” A smile comes to my face and like we’ve known each other forever, she runs to me, her arms draping around me. “I’m so fucking sorry, Greta.”

“You?” she pulls back, her eyes blurry. “I’m sorry. I heard about your uncle and what happened in Newhaven and… well, I’m just so happy to see you. I heard you were back.”

“Don’t apologize,” I say to her. “I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me. Especially after you got arrested.”

“Mac didn’t tell you?” she asks.

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