The word haunted me.
Smile.
Simple. Innocent. But not when it came from them.
My fingers trembled slightly as I stared at the message, the single word pulsing on my screen like a threat disguised in soft edges. I could feel my throat tightening, my stomach coiling into knots.
Someone was watching.
Here. Now.
In school.
I didn't smile. Not even close. I locked my phone without replying and stuffed it deep into my bag, as if that would bury the message with it. My hands were slick with sweat. I looked around the class, heart thumping against my ribcage like it wanted out.
Had someone seen me? Was someone watching my reaction?
Just then, Nia burst through the classroom door, out of breath and disheveled. She slid into the seat beside me, muttering apologies for being late, but stopped short the moment she saw my face.
"Hey... you okay?"
I nodded stiffly. "Yeah. Just tired."
She stared a moment longer, then wisely let it go.
But the air had changed. I could feel it. It was like someone had turned the entire room into a fishbowl and I was the only one on display.
I kept my head down the entire first period.
Later that day, in the girls' bathroom, I locked myself in one of the stalls just to breathe. Just to think.
The message was deliberate. Timed. They knew where I was, what I was doing. They wanted a reaction.
Or maybe…
They wanted to control it.
The door creaked suddenly. Someone else had come in.
Then a phone camera shuttered—just once.
I froze.
Who the hell takes a photo in the bathroom?
I didn't move. Didn't breathe. I waited for footsteps. A sound. Anything.
But there was nothing. Silence hung heavy.
And then... the door opened again.
Whoever it was, they were gone.
I waited five full minutes before I finally stepped out.
The bathroom was empty.
I told no one.
Not even Nia.
Definitely not Reggie.
Not after what I said to him this morning.
Not after the way I walked away.
Maybe I should've told him. Maybe I still could.
But not now.
I wasn't ready to be protected again.
I needed to be smart. Careful. Strategic.
Whatever this was—whatever they were—I wasn't going to play the victim anymore.
I was done being watched.
Done being scared.
They wanted a smile?
I'd give them something better.
A mirror.
So they could see just how ugly they truly were.
The rest of the day passed like a dream I couldn't wake up from.
Every corner of the school felt sharper. Every glance lingered longer than it should. I didn't know if I was being paranoid or finally seeing things for what they really were.
By lunch, my appetite had vanished.
But skipping lunch in this school meant drawing attention, and that was the last thing I wanted.
So I walked to the cafeteria with Nia, forcing small talk, nodding when necessary, faking a smile that didn't reach my eyes. I could feel her studying me from the corner of her eye, waiting for me to crack. She wouldn't push, not yet. But I could tell she was building questions in her head like dominoes—waiting for one to fall.
The cafeteria buzzed with noise, but for me, everything felt muted. Background static. A dream underwater.
Until I saw him.
Reggie.
He was already seated at his usual table, one earbud in, casually scrolling his phone while picking at his fries.
And she was there too, the girl from yesterday —Tonya. Her presence like a shadow beside him.
She wasn't sitting too close, but she didn't have to. Her smile was too familiar. Her laugh too loud.
He noticed me.
His gaze locked with mine from across the cafeteria.
He didn't wave. He didn't look away either.
There was a flicker of something in his eyes—resentment, hurt, confusion? I didn't know.
I walked straight past them and sat on the table opposite them, beside Nia. My tray untouched.
Reggie didn't say anything. Neither did I.
But I felt his stare burn through me like a whisper I couldn't quite catch.
The silence between us was louder than anything else.
It was very awkward, he didn't approach me, only stared me down, until he was done with his lunch and walked out of the cafeteria.
I heaved a sigh of relief.
After school, he caught up with me near the parking lot.
"Hey." His voice was firm. Flat.
I didn't stop walking.
"Vanya."
Still walking.
He sighed and matched my pace. "You're seriously still mad?"
"I'm not mad," I said, still not looking at him. "I just don't want to keep pretending things are the are alright."
He stepped in front of me, forcing me to stop. "What's that supposed to mean?"
I finally met his eyes. "It means whatever this is, this game you're playing—Tonya, the others—I'm not going to be part of it."
He looked confused. "I'm not playing a game."
"You always say that. But you're not the one being watched, followed, texted in the middle of the night and early school mornings like it's a joke."
He froze. "What?"
Shit.
I said too much.
"Vanya… what do you mean, did they do anythingthis morning again?"
"It's nothing. Forget it." I tried to move past him but he grabbed my wrist, gently this time.
"No. Tell me."
I looked around. Students were trickling out. No one paid attention to us. Still, I lowered my voice.
"I got a message this morning on getting to class. Just one word—Smile. And this morning, in the bathroom… someone took a photo. I heard it."
His face darkened.
"You're just telling me this now?"
"Why? So you can 'protect' me again? I'm not a damsel, Reggie."
"No, you're not," he said, voice taut. "But this isn't a game anymore. Whoever this is—they're escalating. You know that, right?"
I didn't reply.
He let go of my wrist. "You need to be careful, Vanya. Please."
His eyes softened. "Let me help."
For a moment, I almost said yes.
But then Tonya's word from yesterday echoed in my mind again. "Her man" she had called him hadn't she?
"No," I whispered. "Not this time."
I wasn't about to be in two wars, so I'm just going to leave "someone's man" alone.
I turned and walked away, my heartbeat loud in my ears.
Later that night, after Mira had retired to bed and the house settled into its usual quiet, I stared at my phone again.
No new messages.
No new photos.
No more words.
Just one chilling echo that still rang in my head:
Smile.