Chapter 3

A few days later, I was at my locker when Ethan swaggered over, Jessica glued to his side.

"Well, well, if it isn't Maya Rodriguez," Ethan said, his voice dripping with mock surprise. "Still dreaming of those sailor suits?"

Jessica giggled, a high-pitched, unpleasant sound.

I continued organizing my books, not looking at them. "Something I can help you with, Ethan?"

He leaned against the locker next to mine, blocking my path.

"Just wondering how the future admiral is doing. Heard you' re hitting the books pretty hard. Trying to make up for... well, you know."

His eyes flickered, a hint of malice. He remembered. He remembered drugging me.

"I'm focused on my goals, Ethan. Unlike some people."

"Goals?" He chuckled. "That' s cute. Some goals are just... out of reach. Especially if you' re not, shall we say, in perfect health."

A direct threat. About the medical exam. The one he sabotaged.

My blood ran cold, but I kept my face neutral.

"I'm perfectly healthy, Ethan. And very determined."

Jessica chimed in, her voice syrupy sweet. "Oh, Maya, don't listen to him. He' s just teasing. But Annapolis is awfully competitive. Maybe a nice community college would be more... suitable?"

I finally looked at them. Really looked at them.

Ethan, so confident in his foreknowledge, already slipping. Jessica, clinging to him, a parasite sensing a weakening host.

"Thanks for the advice, Jessica," I said, my voice even. "But I know what I'm capable of."

I tried to step around them. Ethan shifted, still blocking me.

His new friends, a couple of brutish guys from the football team, materialized behind him, smirking.

"You know, Maya," Ethan said, his voice dropping. "Accidents happen. Especially around medical exams. Things get... confused."

This was it. The warning.

The memory of that crushing despair, the failed exam, the life stolen from me, surged.

But this time, it didn't paralyze me. It fueled me.

"Are you threatening me, Ethan?" I asked, my voice low and steady.

He feigned innocence. "Threaten? Me? Never. Just... friendly concern."

His eyes told a different story.

I met his gaze. "I'm not the same person I was, Ethan. Don't mistake my focus for weakness."

I saw a flicker of surprise in his eyes before he masked it with arrogance.

"Whatever you say, Rodriguez."

He and his goons finally moved. Jessica shot me a smug look over her shoulder.

As I walked away, I felt a new presence beside me.

Kevin Park. Top of our class. Quiet, intense.

He' d been at a nearby locker, probably heard everything.

He didn' t say anything, just gave me a small, almost imperceptible nod.

It was enough. A tiny island of calm in the storm Ethan was brewing.

My resolve hardened.

Annapolis. And justice.

Ethan had just confirmed he was on the same destructive path.

And I would be there to witness his crash.