Lemon and her friends sat in a circle on the dorm floor, the fake profile of Jayden Cruz glowing on Lemon's phone screen. His profile looked perfect—charming smile, cool style, and a bad-boy vibe that most girls would easily fall for.
The plan was clear—Laven Monroe was the only surviving member of the infamous six-girl group. If anyone knew the truth, it was her. But she wasn't going to spill it to another girl. She had to think she was talking to a boy.
Evelyn grinned. "Ready?"
Lemon nodded. Riley typed the first message and hit Send.
"Hey, you look kinda cute."
Typing...
"Haha thanks. You're not bad either. You flirting?"
They giggled.
Scarlett whispered, "She's already biting."
"Maybe. Depends on your reply haha. So, where do you study?"
"Woodrow High. You?"
Lemon's heart raced.
"Oohh nice. I was there too for a while, but I never saw you?"
"Really? I don't remember you. I didn't hang out with many people anyway."
"I'm new at Maplewood now."
"Maplewood?? I used to study there before I transferred! What a coincidence."
Hazel raised a brow. "Wow, fate much?"
Then Lemon (as Jayden) asked:
"Did you have close friends here in Maplewood?"
"Ugh, no. The girls I used to hang out with were horrible. Mean, attention-seeking. Not like me. I'm honest and chill."
Scarlett snorted. "Yeah, right."
"How many of you were there?"
No reply.
A heavy pause. 10 minutes passed. Still nothing.
Then finally...
"Including me? Five."
Lemon blinked. "But Grace said there were six…"
Autumn whispered, "She's hiding someone."
Lemon tried again:
"What were their names? I might know some."
"Lydia, Sophia, Luna, Georgia."
"Four," Evelyn said, narrowing her eyes.
Lemon's fingers flew.
"Don't you know they're dead?"
"I didn't know."
"I heard someone killed them."
Seen.
Silence.
One hour later…
"That's just a rumour. They died by themselves. They weren't good girls anyway. That's why!"
The room went cold.
"She's lying," Hazel said.
"She's scared," Riley replied.
Lemon quickly closed the chat.
"Gotta go for lecture. I'll text later. Bye!"
"Bye Jayden <3"
She tossed her phone to the bed.
"That girl's got secrets," Scarlett muttered.
"She said five. But we all know—there were six," Lemon said slowly. "She erased someone from the group."
"Maybe the sixth is the one who really died first," Evelyn whispered.
Lemon looked at her friends. "Now that we've got her attention, we just have to play it smart."
"And keep Jayden flirty," Riley smirked.