Ridgewood High – Friday | 12:00 PM
If the halls of Ridgewood High had ever seen chaos, they hadn't met Bee Rivera in full warpaint.
Her boots clacked like a ticking time bomb as she strode past rows of whispering students. The Queen Bee wasn't just back; she was rebranded, reborn, and running on revenge.
The halls were littered with shredded locker posters, lipstick-scrawled messages on mirrors, and anonymous screenshots printed and pinned across bulletin boards. Everyone had secrets now. And Bee had made sure they were no longer safe.
Kai Mendoza followed silently behind her, keeping pace. He didn't need to ask what she was doing—he already knew. The storm that started on Monday had turned into a full-blown war by Friday.
They turned the corner and ducked into the senior supply closet—a hidden cove behind the janitor's room, barely big enough for two people. It was their temporary war room.
"I told you we needed to wait. You were supposed to hold until Monday," Kai said, closing the door behind them.
Bee smirked as she tugged off her Ridgewood blazer and threw it onto a crate. "I did wait. I waited until the liars started running their mouths and the school board scheduled an emergency meeting. That's my cue."
From a shelf above, she pulled down a small locked box. Inside: burner phones, a labeled USB, and a sealed envelope marked _"Property of Brielle Kingston."_
Kai raised a brow. "You brought out the Kingston archive? That's your nuke. Are we really going nuclear?"
Bee opened the envelope and pulled out the contents—photos, fake transcripts, and a confidential memo from Principal Harrow.
"They wanted the old Bee to burn. I'm giving them Brielle. It's poetic justice," she said.
Before Kai could respond, the intercom buzzed:
"Bee Rivera. Kai Mendoza. Report to the principal's office immediately. And bring whatever you're hiding."
The air in the closet shifted. Cold. Heavy.
Kai exhaled sharply. "How do they know?"
Bee's lips curled into something between a smirk and a snarl. "They don't. But I'm about to make them wish they hadn't asked."
---
Principal Harrow's Office – 12:15 PM
The tension in the room was sharp enough to slice through steel.
Principal Harrow sat behind his desk, fingers steepled. Beside him, School Board Liaison Mrs. Jennings looked like she hadn't slept in days. Her eyes darted between Bee and Kai like they were about to explode.
"Miss Rivera," Harrow began, "there have been… incidents. Dozens of students have reported exposure, embarrassment, even bullying tied to recent anonymous leaks. Do you know anything about them?"
Bee blinked, the picture of innocence. "Anonymous, sir? Doesn't that mean we don't know who's behind it?"
Harrow leaned forward. "You were seen near the school servers. You've been caught printing unauthorized files. Your name—"
"Was cleared last semester," Bee interrupted. "Remember? After the cheating scandal? I even got a scholarship nomination to prove it."
Jennings rubbed her temples. "Bee, this isn't a game. If you're caught in another scandal, we can't protect you."
Bee's voice dropped. Cold. Calculated.
"You think I want your protection?" she asked. "After what happened to Hailey? After what you covered up? No. I don't need protection. I need truth."
Kai put a hand on her arm, gently. But she shook it off.
"Do you know what it's like," Bee continued, "to walk into this school every day knowing that the person responsible for a girl's death is still sitting pretty on the school board? Because I do."
Silence. Jennings stiffened. Harrow's jaw tensed.
Then: "You don't know what you're talking about," Harrow said, too fast.
Bee smiled. Sweet. Deadly.
"Don't I? Then explain this," she said, sliding the Kingston envelope across the desk.
The contents spilled out—emails, bank receipts, a disciplinary report that had been erased from school files.
Jennings gasped. "Where did you get this?"
Bee leaned in. "Closets are funny things, Mrs. Jennings. You never know what you'll find when you clean them out."
---
Ridgewood Courtyard – Later That Day
Word spread like fire. Bee Rivera was on the warpath, and the administration was officially sweating.
Zuri and Serena intercepted her by the cafeteria steps.
"Girl, you just dragged half the board by their expensive wigs," Zuri said, stunned.
Serena grinned. "That was hot. Terrifying. But hot."
Bee shrugged. "Let them panic. We're not done."
Kai approached, holding his phone up.
"You'll want to see this."
It was a message. From the Unknown Number. "Nice move, Queen. But you forgot: closets hold skeletons too. Let's see how yours rattle."
Bee's blood ran cold.
Zuri blinked. "What does that mean?"
Bee didn't answer. She couldn't. Because she knew exactly which skeleton they meant. And that door was never supposed to open again.
Not after what she did.