Elizabeth was more than relieved when she exited her ‘Charm and Wit’ class. Their teacher was anything but charming and witty. She was more pretentious and rude.
She inwardly seethed when Danica and Rebecca came up next to her, clucking like chickens about their latest gossip targets. She didn’t even mind being ignored by them anymore. Having them in almost all of her classes— as they’d requested— was torture. Not to mention the constant brown-nosing everyone did just because of their mothers’ reputations. Even with what Calista did, because of how much they openly hated and shamed her, they’d made up for the rep hit.
Elizabeth really missed Calista. She was the only one out of the three that was actually nice to her. Sometimes she’d holo-call her just to see how she was doing or to ask about her family. Danica and Rebecca only included her on SociaLight calls to talk about the channel, and even then, her opinions were always shut down. She always wondered why they’d invited her to join the channel in the first place. Maybe they just needed a fourth member for some reason?
The truth was, she never really wanted to be in this school. She didn’t know what she wanted to be. Her parents never cared about what she liked or was interested in. They hardly ever listened to her, instead concentrating on their gaming careers.
Maybe she should’ve become a gamer like them… but she didn’t find a lot of enjoyment in games. She liked music and art— real music and art, not the computerized stuff that everyone did. She always admired the more ‘old-fashioned’ planets that still valued real talent. Like Vorax; they were considered ‘down-dated’ by a lot of humans. They’d never let technology get the best of their musicians.
Socializing seemed like the only way she could get out there. She’d just started a music-centered channel before meeting the three girls, but she wasn’t getting a lot of coverage. So, to try and boost her ratings, she crashed the Sociapalooza and bumped into Calista and the other two. When they invited her, she thought she’d gotten her big break and that she’d be able to reach fame through their connections. Calista had said her talents would add some flair to their channel.
Instead, she was just a placeholder. She was their verbal punching bag. She did everything to please them, but none of it was ever good enough. She changed her hair from her ‘ginger’ red to a ‘pure’ red, then radicalized it into a loud blue color she hated. Her curls were gone, now straightened in a short bob. Despite the drastic change, her parents hardly even looked at her before she left for the school.
“You know, I heard Calista’s going to get expelled from Fistborn,” Rebecca said to a cluster of girls that had followed them out of the building.
“Pfft. That was obvious. She wouldn’t survive a day in there.”
“Where’d you hear it?”
“My mom. She said Calista’s mom talked to her and they think she’ll get dropped. I feel like Jennifer’s gonna keep her locked down for, like, uber-forever.”
“She’s going to go right in the cachebin,” Danica said. “We don’t want her, the Versus ragers don’t want her, and no one cares about her. She’s nothing.”
God, did they not have anything else to talk about? The whole school was always betting on when Calista would fail out of Fistborn. Wasn’t there some other gossip to talk about?
“Oh, there goes Wendy Wannabe.” Danica sneered at a girl exiting one of the buildings, walking by a few meters away. “What is that uniform?”
“That’s just gross. Is that allowed?”
Rebecca shrugged. “We can do what we want with our uniforms.”
“Uh, no,” one of their companions said. “You need at least 30,000 followers to customize.”
“She’s cheating, then.” Danica smirked, opening her AIDA band. “Oops, I just accidentally sent a freeze shot of her to the fashion director. Guess she’ll be wearing the normal uniform from now on.”
The other girls giggled, taking some freeze shots of their own, probably to put up Shame posts on the school’s Hub. “You saved our eyes.”
Elizabeth kept staring after the girl, who had customized her pink uniform into a goth-like version. She was one of the school’s outcasts at risk of expulsion.
Maybe she could do that. Break enough rules, lose enough friends, and she’d be out of here. The big downside was that these girls and their fans would stop at nothing to ruin the rest of her life and ensure she never recovered. Socializers were as vindictive as they were manipulative. If one made a life choice they didn’t like, whether it affected them or not, they would never let it go.
She could try some kind of secret job or fund so she could get enough digits to move off-planet. She could go to one of the friendly Interspecies planets— planets that were welcoming to other species besides their own. Mars was too close, being their neighbor, and there were even Socializers there. Maybe a place like Paeseo or Kwantan. They were usually nice to humans. Utopaea was ranked as one of the most peaceful planets in the Utopia— hence the on-the-nose name—, but it was light years away. Even if Elizabeth’s family was disconnected, she didn’t want to be that far away.
“You’re quiet,” Danica observed, her brown eyes narrowing at Elizabeth. “What’s the bug?”
“Nothing,” Elizabeth said. “I’m just… tired.”
“I can tell. You’re getting bags. You should go to the Spa,” said Rebecca.
“It’s full. It’s always full.”
“It’s less full at night. You need some beauty sleep and cucumber patches.”
“And a Thinner,” Danica added.
Elizabeth bit her lips together. “I Thinned yesterday.”
“Not enough. There’s a bulge right through your shirt. You see it, too, right, girls?” Danica raised her brows at the other girls, who immediately agreed.
“If I keep using a Thinner, I’ll turn into a stick,” Elizabeth argued.
“Stop exaggerating. Just use it for five minutes, at least.” Rebecca glanced off to the side and snickered, covering her mouth. “Now that’s someone who’s Thinned too much. You ever heard of food?” The other girls also sniggered and took some more secret freeze shots. Turning, Elizabeth saw the skinniest girl she ever saw heading to the Spa. It was to the point that she looked pretty frail… maybe she was sick.
“I’m getting so many likes already,” Danica said. “You should post something, Lizzie. The more likes, the more followers, and the sooner we all graduate.”
“Yeah, I’ll post it when I get to our room.”
“What are you going to our room for?” Rebecca asked.
“For my beauty sleep. I’ll see you in class.” Elizabeth speed-walked ahead, desperate to get away from these girls. Once she arrived in their shared luxury apartment, she locked herself in her personal bedroom and screamed into her pillows.
She should’ve trained herself to fight so she could go to Calista’s school. She was so done with all of this, but now she was in too deep. If she ever tried to get out, the cost would be too high. She was stuck with these girls for the rest of her life, serving as a placeholder on a channel that centered around glitching on other people, specifically Calista recently. The SociaLights should’ve changed their name to Anti-Calista League.
She got on her AIDA band screen and checked the school Hub, which was full of cruel comments about unpopular students and ‘bad’ fashion, as usual. Danica and Rebecca’s recent posts were already getting a lot of traction. Her heart stung for the two girls they’d targeted today.
The Art School girls— the most popular and famous girls in school— had already taken notice of Danica and Rebecca, who immediately jumped at the chance to use their mothers’ identities as a power-up. They’d wasted no time in breaking their stupid promise; ‘SociaLights always stick together’. They’d ditched Elizabeth all day at orientation and only bothered to introduce her as a courtesy, since she was still part of their channel.
Since then, though, none of the Art School girls had taken notice of the SociaLights. Elizabeth had a feeling they weren’t planning on boosting their popularity anytime soon. After all, their outfits at the new student fashion showcase… weren’t good.
Calista would’ve made something incredible to wear. Even her most bizarre ideas were tasteful and unique. She loved to take inspiration from pre-Utopian eras, even from centuries as old as the 17th. She was a genius in Elizabeth’s opinion.
She glanced at the door. If they were all busy gossiping, she could take a look…
Her anxiety rising, she opened her incognito program and searched up the Versus News Hub. The Journalism students at Fistborn Academy ran it. Maybe they would do a report or something for the new students there. They always made a big deal out of the few hundreds that would get in.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
On the Hub, Elizabeth didn’t see much at first. There were statistics, bets on who would replace Reilly Campbell— whoever that was—, tension between Campbell and someone else named Harrison Smith. She was a bit surprised to see how gossipy the academy’s news Hub was. Considering how much fighters and Versus reporters criticized Socializers for spreading rumors all the time, they were being a bit hypocritical.
She finally found an article about the new class in the Versus Fighting School and opened it up. It mostly talked about the overall impression the class made during the entrance exams, where they fought one of the students there. There was a mention of an applicant passing out at the sight of blood— not by name, but it was obvious it was Calista. Danica and Rebecca loved that part.
Other than that, there wasn’t anything specific, but at the end, it mentioned that new students would be doing their ‘quadrennial interviews’ with the senior Journalism students. Elizabeth found herself anxious for Calista. She had to hope she was doing well.
Maybe she could call her… maybe not. She probably wouldn’t even bother to answer after the falling-out she had with them. Elizabeth hadn’t said anything, but she was too afraid to tell the other girls she didn’t care much about Calista ‘betraying’ them for the ‘death game’.
In fact, she actually kind of liked the Versus Games. They were exciting, inspiring, and fun to watch overall. She missed following them. Ever since she decided to start a channel, she’d stopped watching, since everyone on the Hub made it abundantly clear that fighters and Socializers never mixed. Even with some famous people suggesting they unite both worlds, no one would be willing to let it actually happen.
What was Calista going through? How were the other students treating her? She was kind, but she definitely didn’t act like a fighter. How did she last this long already?
She sincerely hoped Calista would make it on the team. If there was anything Elizabeth wanted, it was for someone to prove Danica, Rebecca, and all of those other mean girls wrong.
===
In Cosmos, Katelyn thought she’d seen it all. She’d seen bar fights, drunken arguments, breakups, and cheating partners. All sorts of species from all sorts of countries and planets coming together to be complete glitches to each other.
But nothing could prepare her for this moment; the moment all her lying caught up to her.
After her grounding period was over, her mother allowed her to resume work, still deciding to believe her after everything that happened. One would think her mother would be less gullible with how much backstabbing happened in the Socializer world.
It was like any other day. Scaaskal was annoying her, customers poured in and ordered their drinks, bottles shattered as fights broke out. Soon, Cosmos’s criminal owner would have to hire an additional bartender, since the Versus season was coming up. This place would be twice as full with Earthian citizens once the prelims started in a few months, and even more full when the interplanetaries started.
Katelyn wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to work during that season, since more people meant more fights and more danger. The whole space station would be bustling with fans and criminals alike. Crime always shot up during the Games, especially with illegal betting. Any losing betters would surely start their own Versus Games right at the bar.
As if reading her thoughts, another bar fight broke out, but this time, it was dangerously close to the disguised ‘Seema Crockett’. Katelyn was quick to scoot away from the Mercurian and the Voraxmartian going at it. Voraxians had the ability to control the weather and elements in their immediate vicinity, but by being only half, this guy was at a disadvantage. The Mercurian was literally burning with fury, his rocky red skin glowing.
“Looks really personal,” Scaaskal said with an amused smile, scooting a few seats away.
Katelyn served another patron before ducking under the counter, dodging flying bottles. She sighed in annoyance and reached for her taser to end the fight. Once an altercation interfered with her job, she was forced to intervene.
She powered the taser to Level 10, which was enough to kill a human but only enough to stun a Mercurian. As soon as the fiery patron turned his back, she rammed the taser into his nape. The Voraxmartian pushed him off, laughing and cursing at him in his language. Katelyn wasn’t as well-versed in languages as her sister, but she knew a few of the insults, and they were very offensive.
“Aw, come on, I was having fun watching that, Sati,” Scaaskal said.
“Shut up. I don’t feel like getting stabbed by an airborne bottle.” She returned to her bartending, but paused when she heard the Mercurian mutter something. He rose to his feet, his blazing eyes now focusing on her.
Katelyn froze in place. She’d done her best to keep a low profile at the bar to avoid confrontations like these. The only fight she ever got into was the staged one she made up with Scaaskal and the gang. Usually, the taser worked and whoever she knocked out would be carried out of the bar and humiliated the rest of the week.
The Mercurian smiled, showing his black teeth, and muttered a curse Katelyn didn’t understand. Almost immediately, Scaaskal turned, putting his body in front of her. He didn’t know any Mercurian languages, but he still tried to talk the guy down in his own language. “Walk away,” he said in Eseti.
The guy replied, chuckling. Scaaskal only repeated “Walk away”, flashing the concealed weapon in his tattered vest, which he never used unless necessary. This only seemed to anger the patron, who grabbed Scaaskal’s arm and threw him across the room before Katelyn could react.
Raising her taser again, she set it to Level 12 and held it up defensively. The Mercurian grabbed her wrist, his hand heated up, and the burning pain made her instinctively let go of her only weapon. Her head jerked back when the man punched her in the eye.
“Get off her!” Scaaskal grabbed the Mercurian’s shoulders, ignoring the burn, and pulled him away from Katelyn. She was pulled forward from the force, stopped by the counter, which knocked the air out of her lungs. She watched in shock, nursing her hurt eye, as Scaaskal drew his shiv and started defending himself against the enraged Mercurian.
She gasped when the Mercurian flattened his hand over Scaaskal’s face, bringing out a bloodcurdling scream as his eye burned. It was enough to snap Katelyn out of her stupor and generate a bottle. She leapt over the counter and raised it high, smashing it on the Mercurian’s head with all the force she had. He slumped forward, falling into her and causing her to fall against the barstools.
“Scaaskal!” Katelyn pushed the unconscious man off her and went over to her friend, whose hand covered his now-burnt face. She couldn’t hide this. She needed to get him to the hospital. If they didn’t reconstruct his face right away, there would be permanent damage to his eye.
She shouted at the other patrons to clear the way as she picked Scaaskal up, slinging his arm over her shoulders. One of the others was kind enough to lend a hand and take the Martian’s other arm. They hurriedly led Scaaskal out of Cosmos and out to the space station lobby, catching a few people’s eyes as they hobbled to the hospital wing.
“Thank you,” Katelyn said to the man helping her. Her right eye twitched in pain, but she couldn’t imagine the pain Scaaskal had endured.
“Your Mask,” he replied.
“What?”
“It failed. You’re back to normal.”
Katelyn’s heart stopped and she cursed, trying to reactivate the Mask with one hand. The damage was already done, though. The man must’ve broken it when he punched her. She just had to hope no one would report her.
At the hospital, Scaaskal was immediately treated and Katelyn’s eye was healed. Thankfully, the space station’s medical services were free, but the medical machines were a bit outdated; Katelyn’s eye took a few hours to heal instead of the usual ten seconds. Scaaskal would have to stay in the wing for a few weeks to be fully healed.
It was already nighttime when Katelyn was finally cleared to return home. She rehearsed her story over and over in her head— she was asked to stay late at the museum due to some rare art pieces being surprise delivered to them, and then she went to the Thinning Spa for a relaxation treatment. She would hack the records later when she got the chance. Hopefully, her parents were too busy with work to really notice. Her father would cover for her once he understood the story, but he wouldn’t be happy.
When she teleported into her house, she hurried to her room. The HARP room was on, but she didn’t bother looking. Probably her brother watching cartoons.
“Hold it right there.”
Katelyn stopped at her room, wincing. Her mother stood imposingly behind her, her hands on her hips. She expected Jennifer to be mad, but not this mad. This was the look she got when she found out what Calista did.
“I had to work late, I’m sorry,” Katelyn began. “They dropped off some-”
“Cut the cache. I know what happened.”
“Huh?”
Jennifer opened her AIDA band. “What the glitch were you doing here?”
On the holo-screen, a camera followed Katelyn’s figure as she hurried across the lobby with Scaaskal and the other man, probably using Face-Lock to catch up. It zoomed in as she turned her face, showing her busted eye.
“Oh, and there’s also this.” Jennifer opened another recording that took place in the Cosmos bar. Katelyn watched as the Mercurian slammed his fist into her face and the Mearthian appearance flickered off, revealing her real face. The recorder gasped and added the caption: ‘JENNY ZYBEN’S GIRL?!?!’ Comments popped up as other people reacted to the revelation, saying, ‘I feel uber-sad for Jenny. Both of her daughters betraying her’, ‘HA both her daughters are failures’, ‘that whole family needs to GO’.
“Do you want to bring this family down?” Jennifer said.
“Mom, I… I can explain.”
“What is that place? That bar? Why are you wearing a Mask?”
“It was just…” Katelyn’s voice failed her. She should’ve considered that she would get caught sooner or later. How would she ever get out of this?
“I don’t even know what to say, Katelyn.” Jennifer shook her head, folding her painted lips. “First, I’m dealing with Calista and that war school, and now you? Almost getting glitching killed by a glitching Mercurian?”
“He just punched me.”
“He just- do you hear yourself?”
“Scaaskal saved me, okay? He got hurt a lot worse.”
“THAT’S NOT THE-” Jennifer cut herself off, taking a breath. Katelyn stepped back, a bit startled. She was still jumpy after what happened, and she’d never seen her mother this frustrated before, not even during her argument with Calista.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say you’re sorry. Don’t say anything.”
Henry came up behind Jennifer, glancing between the two. “Jenny?”
“What do I do? Henry, what do I… what do I do?” Jennifer crashed onto her knees and burst into uncontrollable tears. Katelyn wanted to hug her, but she wasn’t sure how she’d react. It felt like her mother would crumble into nothing right before her eyes. She’d never seen her cry like this.
She should’ve quit after Calista left for school. She should’ve found a safer job. She should’ve been more prepared for something like this. Now, because of her, Scaaskal was hurt, and her family would be attacked even more.
“Katelyn, go to your room,” Henry said, giving her a subtle glare. “We’ll talk in a bit.” He definitely wasn’t happy. After all, she did commit a crime.
“Yes, sir.” Katelyn turned away from her parents, leaving Henry to console his wife. Once she went through her wall, she let her own tears spill. She just made everything worse. No doubt people at Fistborn would hear that one of their students’ sisters was a criminal. Calista was already having a hard time.
She’d probably never leave the house again. She’d probably have to take Calista’s place as the new beauty queen and take over her mother’s job when she was older. She’d spend the rest of her life trying to make up for this mistake, and no matter what she would do, people would hold this over her for the rest of time. No one would ever forgive or forget.
Celebrities couldn’t make mistakes, let alone mistakes like these. They always had to be perfect, or face the consequences. Would they have to move away? Katelyn had lied to Calista about them being safe; there were many protesters and attackers on the borders of their SECURE bubble every night, threatening them, threatening Calista. She was lucky to have snuck past them when she got home.
Would they ever be free to just have their lives? Were they even free from the beginning?
