Chapter 2

My first instinct was to run, or maybe scream.

But the comments kept scrolling.

`User_SideEyeSally: She' s just gonna stand there? Lame.`

`User_PlotTwistPlz: Confront him, girl! Make a scene!`

No. I wasn' t going to make a scene.

I wasn' t some character in their drama.

I walked into the living room, sat on the couch, and pulled out my SAT book.

I opened it to the vocabulary section.

If Jake was busy, I could still use the time.

The thumping upstairs stopped.

A few minutes later, Jake Peterson came downstairs, his hair a mess, looking flustered.

A girl I didn' t recognize followed him, smirking.

She was blonde, cheerleader-type, definitely new. Ashley, I guessed.

The Chat exploded.

`User_JashleyFan01: Yesss! Queen Ashley has arrived!`

`User_MainCharacterVibes: Ashley is the moment. Sarah who?`

`User_AwkwardTurtle: This is so cringe for the tutor lol.`

Jake saw me and his eyes went wide. "Sarah! Uh, what are you doing here?"

Ashley' s smirk widened.

"It' s Tuesday, Jake," I said, my voice even. "Our SAT prep. You' re ten minutes late. Did you want to go over that tough calculus problem from last week, or should we start with verbal?"

The Chat went wild.

`User_DramaQueen77: WTF is she doing?! Is she for real?`

`User_SideCharacterEnergy: Side character energy is strong with this one. No drama at all.`

`User_IceQueen: She' s so cold. Doesn' t she even care?`

Ashley looked annoyed. Jake just looked embarrassed.

"Oh, right. SATs," Jake mumbled. "Look, Sarah, can we, uh, reschedule?"

"Sure," I said. "But your mom already paid for this session."

I saw the "prophecy" in the Chat then.

`User_OracleGamer: Bet Jake dumps the tutor for Ashley. Sarah' s gonna lose him AND her cash cow. Sad.`

Lose him? He was already lost.

But the cash cow part, that stung. I needed that money.