By Tuesday, Roxie’s patience had gone thin.

It was not even first period yet, and Briarwick already felt too loud.

People were still talking about homecoming like the dance had happened five minutes ago instead of three days ago. Girls stood in groups around lockers, comparing pictures, zooming in on dresses, laughing over who danced with who. Boys wore their jerseys because the pep rally was later, and the whole hallway had that restless, stupid energy schools got when everyone knew classes were only pretending to matter.

Roxie walked beside Angela and Karen with her books hugged against her chest.

Karen was chewing gum like it had personally wronged her. Her water bottle hung from two fingers, half full, the ice inside clicking every few steps.

Angela kept glancing at Roxie.

Roxie pretended she did not notice.

She had woken up tired again. Her mother had been asleep when Roxie left, curled on the couch with one arm over her face. The kitchen sink had smelled sour. There had been two bills on the counter, both unopened, both facedown like that made them less real.

Then Roxie had come to school, where three different girls had already called Kendall "queen" before the morning bell.

So yes.

Her patience was thin.

"Look," Karen said.

Roxie followed her gaze.

Bianca and Lily had just entered through the front doors.

The hallway shifted around them.

It was small, but Roxie saw it. Heads turned. Conversations dipped. A few people whispered too openly, and one boy near the trophy case stared so hard his friend had to pull him away.

Bianca walked like none of it touched her.

Her hair was styled down, glossy and smooth on one side, but the other side had been pinned carefully to cover the place Roxie remembered too well. The missing piece was less obvious now, but Roxie still saw it.

So did Karen.

Karen’s smirk came slow.

Angela saw it and immediately said, "Karen."

Karen kept chewing.

Angela pointed at her. "Stop."

"I didn’t say anything."

"You were about to."

Karen lifted her water bottle and took a long drink.

Angela exhaled through her nose. "Please don’t start this morning."

Karen swallowed. "I am being peaceful."

"You are chewing like you’re planning violence. No one believes you."

"That’s just my face."

Roxie kept watching Bianca.

Bianca saw them.

For a moment, the hallway between them felt narrow.

Lily leaned closer to Bianca and whispered something. Bianca’s eyes moved over Roxie, then Karen, then Angela. Her face stayed flat, but her jaw was tight.

Roxie waited for her to say something.

Part of her wanted it.

That was how bad her mood was.

If Bianca wanted another fight, Roxie had enough anger to meet her halfway.

Angela must have felt that too, because she shifted closer to Roxie. "Keep walking."

"I am walking."

Bianca passed them without speaking.

Lily followed, eyes down.

Karen watched the back of Bianca’s head and smiled around her gum. "Her hair is trying very hard."

Angela closed her eyes. "Karen."

"What? I said she has creative spirit."

"Stop talking about her hair."

"Aren’t you a bit curious what it looks like. I mean Roxie got like a cluster."

"No, I am not."

Karen took another drink from her bottle.

Angela looked stressed already. "Can I drink from that?"

Karen lowered the bottle. "It has my medicine in it."

Angela’s hand stopped halfway. "What medicine?"

"Cough medicine."

Angela stared at her. "Why is there cough medicine in your water bottle?"

"Because I hate the taste."

"That makes it worse."

Karen shrugged and took another sip.

Angela pulled her hand back slowly. "Okay. I’m going to pretend I never asked."

Then someone near the stairs said, "Kendall looked so good with the crown. Like actually perfect."

Roxie walked faster.

Angela hurried beside her. "Hey."

"Come on. Let’s hurry."

Karen said nothing this time.

That was how Roxie knew she looked worse than she thought.

The morning dragged.

Every class felt longer than it should have. The pep rally messed with the schedule, so teachers gave short lessons and spent the rest of the period telling everyone to calm down. Nobody calmed down. Students kept checking the time, talking about the rally, asking who would perform, who would speak, who would sit where.

Roxie wanted to skip the whole thing.

She could not.

Cheerleaders had to perform.

Coach Miller made that clear before lunch when he gathered them near the gym hallway. He had his clipboard in one hand and the expression of a man one late count away from a breakdown.

"The pep rally is not free time," he said. "You are performing. You are representing the team and the school. I want sharp counts, clean formations, and no personal drama on that floor."

His eyes moved over the group.

They landed on Roxie for half a second.

Then Kendall.

Then Bianca, who stood near Lily with her arms crossed.

Roxie looked away before Bianca could catch her staring.

Coach Miller continued. "Regional practice continues after this week, and every public performance is still practice. If you treat it like a joke, I will treat your afternoon like conditioning."

Nobody spoke.

"Good," Coach Miller said. "Uniforms after lunch. Be ready."

Roxie turned with the others.

Tessa fell into step beside one of the juniors behind her. "Kendall is going to love this."

Another girl answered, "She is the queen. She kind of has to love it."

Roxie rolled her eyes.

Angela noticed. "Ignore them."

"I don’t really care."

Karen walked on Roxie’s other side, chewing slower now. "For what it’s worth, Kendall’s crown looked cheap."

Angela said, "Karen."

Roxie looked ahead, jaw tight. "Can we talk about anything else?"

Angela nodded immediately. "Yes. Absolutely."

Karen shrugged. "Fine."

"She and Zac looked like a couple," Tessa commented.

Ugh.

Angela touched her elbow. "Come on."

Roxie moved again.

Her chest felt tight, but her face stayed calm.

She was getting better at that.

By the time the pep rally started, the gym was packed.

The bleachers shook with noise. Red, black, and silver streamers hung from the railings. The band sat near the far corner, instruments flashing under the lights. Football players filled the front rows in jerseys. Teachers stood along the walls, already tired. Coach Hayes stood near the court with his arms crossed, watching his team like he expected one of them to embarrass him before the first cheer.

Roxie entered with the cheer squad.

The noise rose.

She kept her eyes forward.

She knew where Zac was without looking.

That annoyed her most.

Her body located him before her brain gave permission, near the football players, standing with Mason and Dylan. She saw the dark jersey from the corner of her eye. Saw the way people shifted around him. Saw the broad line of his shoulders.

She refused to turn her head.

The principal started with the usual speech about school spirit, sportsmanship, and pride. Then Mrs. Gonzalez took the microphone and said the Ravens were undefeated, which made the whole gym erupt.

The football players stood.

The crowd chanted.

Roxie clapped because she had to.

Zac’s name came up.

The noise got louder.

Roxie’s hands slowed for half a second, then she forced them to keep moving.

Zac could have the screaming gym.

He could have his future.

He could have every person in that room who thought his anger mattered more than hers.

The band started.

Coach Miller signaled them into formation.

Roxie moved with the squad to the center of the gym floor. The polished wood felt hard under her cheer shoes. The crowd blurred into rows of faces and phones. She found her mark, lifted her chin, and waited for the count.

Five, six, seven, eight.

The routine started.

Her body knew what to do.

Smile. Hit. Turn. Step. Clap.

The smile stayed on her face because that was the job.

Inside, she felt raw.

Every cheer for the Ravens scraped through her. Every time the crowd shouted Zac’s name, her stomach tightened. She could feel Bianca somewhere behind the formation. She could feel Kendall on the other side, polished and steady, homecoming queen and co-captain and everything people kept saying she looked like.

Roxie hit the next motion harder.

Coach Miller’s whistle was not in his mouth, but she could see his eyes narrow from the sideline.

Control.

She remembered.

She pulled herself back into the count.

The routine ended with the final pose.

The gym roared.

Roxie held the smile until Coach Miller dropped his hand.

Then she stepped back into line and let her face settle.

The program moved on.

There were games between grade levels, a shouting contest, a short speech from Coach Hayes, and some football players called forward to stand at center court. Mason said something into the microphone that made half the gym laugh. Dylan stood slightly behind the others, hands relaxed, expression quiet.

Zac stood near the middle.

He took the microphone when Coach Hayes handed it to him.

Roxie’s stomach tightened before he even spoke.

"Thanks for showing up," Zac said.

The gym cheered.

His voice was steady. Flat enough that she wondered if anyone else noticed.

"We’re going to keep working. Keep winning. That’s it."

The football players laughed and clapped around him. The students screamed anyway because Zac Prescott could apparently breathe into a microphone and get worshipped for it.

Roxie looked down at her hands.

Her nails had pressed half-moons into her palms.

The pep rally ended with the school song.

Everyone stood.

Roxie sang enough to pass. Angela sang beside her. Karen mouthed half the words with her water bottle tucked under one arm.

When the students started pouring out, the gym became chaos.

Cheerleaders moved toward the side to collect bags. Football players were surrounded by students. Teachers tried to clear the floor. Bianca laughed loudly near Lily, and the sound made Roxie’s shoulders tense.

She grabbed her bag from the bench and walked toward the side hallway before Angela and Karen could catch up. The crowd pressed around her. Someone bumped her shoulder. Someone shouted Zac’s name again near the doors.

She needed five minutes.

Just five.

She slipped into the quieter hallway near the locker rooms and leaned against the wall.

Her phone was in her hand before she remembered taking it out.

The screen lit up.

No new messages.

Of course.

Her thumb moved anyway.

She opened Zac’s thread.

The last messages were still there.

I can pick you up.

Roxie.

I already got a ride. See you there.

Okay. I’ll find you inside.

Her throat tightened.

He had found her, all right.

He had found her in the parking lot and made her feel like a risk. Like a cost. Like a girl who could ruin something just by being wanted publicly.

Roxie stared at the messages until the letters blurred.

Then anger rushed back in, hot and sudden.

She locked the phone hard enough that the screen went black in her hand.

Asshole.