Kael’s gaze didn’t waver. “Or you’ll finally find out who you are when you stop being everyone else’s puppet.”
“What do you want me to do?” she whispered.
Trinity does what I want her to do. Meet me in the old AV room after sixth period. Don’t tell anyone.
Trinity stared at the recorder. This wasn’t a prank. This wasn’t a crush finally noticing her. This was a weapon, and he was handing her the trigger. -InnocentHigh- Trinity May -Trinity Does What I...
“Trinity does what I say,” Kael repeated softly. “No. Trinity does what she knows is right.”
“If I do this,” she said slowly, “I’ll lose everything. My spot on the squad. My friends. My… place.”
-InnocentHigh- Trinity May -Trinity Does What I... The fluorescent lights of InnocentHigh buzzed softly, a constant hum that Trinity May had long since tuned out. What she couldn’t tune out was the weight of the folded note in her pocket. Kael’s gaze didn’t waver
Trity bit her lip, a thrill shooting down her spine. Kael had never asked her to do anything before—not even to pass a pencil. This was… attention. And from him, attention felt like a secret sun.
And for the first time, she spoke not as the school’s sunshine, but as herself. End of part one.
Kael pulled a small voice recorder from his hoodie pocket. “I want you to tell the truth. Not for me. For Liam. And for the girl Marcus hurt last semester that everyone ‘forgot’ about.” Meet me in the old AV room after sixth period
The silence stretched. Then Trinity May—the girl who never caused waves, never broke rank, never said no—reached out and took the recorder.
Any sane person would have crumbled it up. Called it creepy. Walked away.
“That you’re happy all the time. That you don’t notice the cracks. That you didn’t see what happened in the parking lot last week.” His voice was low, even. “You saw Marcus shove Liam into a car door. You saw it, and you smiled and waved like the world was a parade.”
Trinity’s breath caught. She had seen it. And she’d done nothing. Because Trinity does what’s expected. Smile. Cheer. Keep the peace.