Page 23 of Didn't See That Coming

“About Jonas—”

“It’s fine,” I say quickly. I’m still smarting over everything that’s happened today, and I still remember how Liam shook his head at me yesterday. I don’t think I would be able to stomach another lecture about how I should respect my classmates.

“Xingfa’s kind of an adjustment, huh?” Liam says.

My breath releases in a shaky laugh. “Yeah.” I scramble for a subject change. “How did the group discussion go?”

Liam wrinkles his nose, and I have to tear my eyes away from how adorable he looks when he does that. “It went fine.I think Peishan and I don’t much care as long as we get good grades.” He winces apologetically. “Sorry, I know you really didn’t like the design that Jonas came up with, but…”

My face heats up again. The unspoken part is obvious. “But you guys just want to get it done and over with. I get it.” And I’m only now realizing that maybe this is what I have to do too, in order to survive Xingfa.

Liam grimaces. “I hate how that sounds. But yeah, I guess. And since Jonas is a gamer and all…”

Oh god. Don’t remind me. The possibility that Jonas is Sourdawg punches me in the stomach like a sledgehammer once again. Argh. “You know, I game too,” I mutter.

“Really? That’s so cool. What do you play?”

“Mostly FPS.” I don’t want to tell him that I playWHtoo, just in case it somehow gets round to Jonas, so I rattle off other FPS games I’ve played. “Borderlands, Gears of War…”

“I love those!” Liam’s eyes light up, and his mouth curls into a soft smile that makes my stomach turn. In a good way, I mean. “You know what I love aboutGears? Its amazingly clichéd lines.”

“ ‘Get ready for the pain train!’ ” I growl, and Liam guffaws.

Someone shushes us, and we both clap our hands over our mouths, trying to stifle our laughter. The bell rings then.

“Come on, five minutes before the next class starts,” Liam says, and leads the way out of the library. We walk out in amicable silence, but as we near our classroom, my good mood dissipates and is quickly overwhelmed by a rush of anxiety. The anxiety gives way to anger, because why am I letting anyone make me feel like this?

By the time we go inside the classroom, I’m ready to face anything. When I spot Jonas, laughing with his friends in that obnoxious way he has, something inside me boils over and I march straight up to him. When they spot me, he and his friends fall silent.

“Kiki, what are you doing?” Liam whispers, but I ignore him. At this moment, all I care about is making sure that my online best friend isn’t a douche in real life.

“Jonas,” I say.

“Yeah?” Jonas is still smirking. Everyone else is so silent that I can hear the inward rush of my own breathing. They’re all staring at me, bug-eyed, and I know this isn’t helping my case, I know it’s only going to make #CrazyKiki even more on-brand, but I can’t help myself.

Are you Sourdawg?Just say it, damn it. But what if he is? What if he says,Yes, I am, why?Then I would lose Sourdawg. I would lose my online refuge. I could never playWarfront Heroeswithout being reminded of him. “Are you—” Just. Say. It! My eyes rove around wildly, seeing everyone’s expectant faces, and that’s when I see it.

Jonas’s notebook. How did I miss it before? He’s stuck a massive sticker on its cover—one of Titanimus, a character fromWarfront Heroes,presumably his main. And across Titanimus’s chest, he’s written “@GoldenDragonLord.” That’s it. That must be his handle.

Relief surges through my entire being. I almost collapse in a puddle.

“I’m waiting for that apology,” Jonas says.

I blink. “Huh?”

“I assume that’s why you’re talking to me?”

“Oh. Right. Uh…” Everyone is still staring. I should just apologize to him and get it done and over with. But my head’s such a mess. I’m still angry at everything, and yet also rejoicing at the fact that Jonas is not Sourdawg, and I just—I can’t do it. Nope. I give Jonas the sweetest smile I can muster up. Then I say, “I will as soon as you stop being such a twat.”

The collective gasp is drowned out by an angry shout from the door.“Kristabella Siregar!”

Great. Of course the next period’s teacher has chosen to walk in right this very moment. I guess I’ll be spending this period standing at the front of the classroom again.

But unlike Mr.Tan, Miss Rumanou points to the door and says, “Go to the principal’s office. Now.”

I’ve never been sent to the principal’s office before. Back at Mingyang, I was considered an asset to the school—outgoing, inclusive, liked by both students and teachers. Mingyang was a pretty small school, so our principal actually knew most of us by name. Whenever she saw me at school, she’d smile and say something like “Hey, Kiki, ooh, your eyebrow game is on-point!” At that time, I found it cringey, the way Principal Ramani was always trying to act chummy with us kids. Now look who’s feeling stupid and hoping against hope that Xingfa’s principal will be as chill as Principal Ramani?

Well, the principal here could be really cool, for all I know. Anything’s possible, right? And maybe he might even sidewith me, especially after I use this chance to expose all the bullying that Jonas has been doing. I know it makes me sound supremely uncool, but it’s time I tell one of the school officials what’s been going on here. I’ve never been a narc before—I’ve never had cause to be—but enough is enough.

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