“Hey! Wait up!” Marina yelled, her sneakers squeaking loudly on the polished floor as she scrambled to catch up. She burst through the outside doors just a few paces behind Luna, completely out of breath. “What the hell just happened? Why did you run out like that?”

“Nothing. I just... I couldn’t go in there right now. Let’s just stay out here for a second,” Luna stammered, her chest heaving as she stared hard at her shoes.

Internally, her mind was a chaotic mess. Why is he here? Seriously, what did I do to make the universe hate me this much? Maybe I should just take a gap year. Can I freeze my semester today?

Before she could spiral any deeper, a shadow fell over them. It was Alice, one of their seniors. Marina immediately forced a polite smile to greet her, but Luna just stood there, completely frozen.

“Hey, Senior Alice! How’s it going?” Marina asked, trying to sound casual.

“I’m alright, but honestly, you guys need to check the campus group chat right now,” Alice said. She completely bypassed Marina, walking straight up to Luna with a deeply worried look on her face. “Luna. Hey, look at me,” she urged, placing a firm, grounding hand on Luna’s trembling shoulder.

Luna gasped, snapping out of her daze. “Uh, yeah? What’s wrong?”

“What is everyone talking about in the chats and around campus? People are saying some really crazy stuff,” Alice asked.

“What do you mean?” Luna’s brow furrowed.

Right then, a translucent blue window flared to life, floating right over Alice’s head.

[Name: Alice Roice]

[Favorability: 70%]

[Current Thinking: Why is everyone dragging her name through the mud? There’s no way she’d cheat on him. Why is he spreading these awful rumors? And now Blair is going around confirming it... everyone’s going to believe them. I really hope Luna is holding up okay.]

For a split second, a tiny spark of warmth hit Luna’s chest. Oh, thank god. She actually likes me and believes me. But as her eyes locked onto the text in the floating box, the reality of the situation slapped her right in the face.

“Wait, what?! I cheated on him?!” Luna blurted out, her voice cracking loudly.

Marina’s eyes went wide. She aggressively whipped out her phone, her thumb flying across the screen as she pulled up the campus forum. Within seconds, her face turned bright red with pure rage. “What the hell is this garbage?! You didn’t do any of this—they did! Oh, those absolute sluts, I swear I am going to kill them!” she screamed, slamming a hand against her forehead in frustration.

Marina instinctively pushed herself between them, trying to shield Luna from a few passing students who were already starting to glance over. “Senior, you’ve got it all wrong. Let’s get out of the open and go somewhere else, we will tell you everything.”

“But... our morning lecture is about to start,” Luna mumbled, her head spinning.

“Who cares about class right now? That is not important!” Marina countered, grabbing Alice by the arm and pulling her along.

“Wait!” Luna called out. She paused, a sudden realization hitting her. Wait... if I don't go to class, I won’t have to face him. Skipping is definitely the better option. She quickly jogged to catch up with them.

But as they made their way down the main corridor, the vibe on campus shifted completely. Every single head turned. Whispers rippled through the hallway like wildfire. Suddenly, dozens—then hundreds—of those glowing blue windows started popping up over the heads of the passing students, glitching and overlapping like a broken computer screen.

**[Name: ****]

[Favorability: 5%]

[Current Thinking: Look at her trying to hide. What a total slut. I knew that sweet, innocent act was fake.]

**[Name: ****]

[Favorability: 12%]

[Current Thinking: Damn, a two-timer? Haha, maybe I should shoot my shot. If she’s that easy, she’ll probably sleep with me too.]

**[Name: ****]

[Favorability: 2%]

[Current Thinking: I actually heard from someone that she already slept with some random guy last weekend. So disgusting.]

**[Name: ****]

[Favorability: 0%]

[Current Thinking: Wait, is she actually pregnant? The group chat says she’s carrying someone else's kid and that’s why Jax is totally devastated. Wild.]

**[Name: ****]

[Favorability: 8%]

[Current Thinking: Well, her family is filthy rich, right? She probably hired some secret gigolo with her parents' cash. All these rich people are exactly the same—trashy and corrupt.]

The sheer volume of text boxes blocked out the entire hallway. Luna couldn't even see the floor anymore. To make matters worse, the system's notification chime began to fire off rapidly in her ears, exploding in her brain. Chime. Chime. Chime. Chime. Chime.

Hearing a hundred digital voices judgmentally projecting their worst thoughts all at once became too much to bear. A sharp, piercing static ring erupted in Luna’s ears—a deafening, high-pitched teeeeeeeeeen sound that completely drowned out the world.

She slammed her hands over her ears, tears finally spilling over her eyelashes. The heavy, judgmental stares of the crowd felt tangible, like disgusting, slimy bugs crawling all over her bare skin. Crushed by the psychological weight of the lies, her knees completely buckled. She collapsed right there onto the cold tile floor, burying her head tightly between her legs to hide.

Marina spun around, her eyes widening when she saw Luna on the floor. She rushed back, grabbed Luna to hoist her up, and aggressively dragged her away from the whispering crowd.

Luna had never felt this humiliated in her entire life. Her brain was completely short-circuiting; she couldn't process a single thing. Marina and Alice were shouting her name, but their voices sounded muffled and distant, like they were underwater.

“Let’s go to the broadcast room right now!” Marina told Alice, her voice shaking with pure fury.

Alice looked totally lost and confused. “Wait, why the broadcast room?”

“You'll see why,” Marina snapped.

Meanwhile, across campus in the lecture hall, a massive crowd of students had huddled around Blair’s desk, completely feeding into the gossip.

“Is it really true, Blair?” a girl from the front row asked, leaning in.

Blair hadn't actually sent the defamatory messages herself; she was smart enough to manipulate him into doing the dirty work for her. Brushing a stray strand of hair behind her shoulder, she looked down at her lap, painting a perfect picture of a sad, shy, and reluctant witness.

“Yes... it’s true,” Blair sighed, her voice dripping with fake sorrow. “Honestly, I didn’t want to believe it either. If we hadn't caught her red-handed, I wouldn't have said anything. I’m so angry about what she did... but she’s my friend, so I really can't say anything bad about her.”

“Are you kidding? You shouldn't even be friends with someone like that!” a girl chimed in. “You're way too good for her.”

“Seriously, how kind-hearted you are,” a boy added from the back.

Blair, who had spent her entire college life flying under the radar, felt an intoxicating rush. She felt like an absolute celebrity. This is my place, she thought, basking in the spotlight. How good it feels to be surrounded by people.

Down at the campus canteen, Jax was playing his part to perfection, leaning against the counter and soaking up everyone’s sympathy as the poor, heartbroken boy who had been cheated on.

Suddenly, up in the hallway, Luna snapped back to her senses. The ringing in her ears died down, replaced by a cold, sharp wave of determination. Her eyes completely hardened. 

Without saying another word, she grabbed both Marina and Alice by the wrists and marched them straight down the hall into the university broadcast room, slamming the heavy door shut behind them.

Luna stepped right up to the main audio console, reached out, and flipped the master switch.

The campus audio system let out a loud, sharp feedback ring. 

BEEP.

Instantly, every single speaker across the entire university courtyard, canteen, and classroom blocks hummed to life. Conversations died out in a second, and every student stopped dead in their tracks to listen.