The Confession Queue

Synopsis

The unthinkable happens: Chloe Rivers, our school's reigning queen bee, laid her heart on the line for Lucas Goodwin, the resident bad boy who communicates mainly through glares. He shot her down in front of, like, everyone. The humiliation is so nuclear that Chloe hatches a scorched-earth plan for revenge. She gathers every girl in our grade and lays out the mission: every single one of us has to confess our "feelings" to Lucas. Her logic is twisted but pure high school: if everyone gets rejected, then no one person's rejection is special. I, on the other hand, have a much simpler motivation. I glance at the three grand that has just been deposited with the memo: [Project Humiliate Lucas.] So, I join the sacrificial conga line. The guys are salty they can't get in on the payday, but Chloe just waves them off. This is a girls-only operation. And so it begins. Every day, like clockwork, a new girl will approach Lucas after class. And every day, without fail, he'll coldly deliver his one-word reply. "Scram." Finally, it is my turn. I am the last one left. I take a deep breath and start, "Lucas, I..." He shoots up from his seat so fast that his chair screeches backward, nearly crashing to the floor. The signature mask of cool indifference is gone, replaced by a face that was shockingly flushed. "Whoa, stop. Don't mess with me!" he whisper-yells. "My brother will literally kill me!" Chloe is stunned. The onlooking crowd lets out a collective gasp. My brain is short-circuited.