Chahat inhaled deeply. I will not let Kiya win. I will not give her the satisfaction of seeing me panic.
Kiya, of course, was already reveling in the chaos she was about to unleash. She clasped her hands together, eyes gleaming. "Now, first things first—we need to establish mystery."
Chahat's eye twitched. "Mystery?"
"Oh, absolutely." Kiya turned, pacing like she was giving a TED Talk. "See, right now, the gossip is fun because you're fighting it. But soon, people will get bored unless we give them something new to obsess over." She spun on her heel dramatically. "That's where I come in."
Chahat crossed her arms. "You are not coming anywhere into my life."
Kiya ignored her. "I'll start acting just a little too involved. Dropping hints in all the right places, making cryptic comments about your secret feelings."
Chahat's jaw dropped. "I don't have secret feelings!"
Kiya smirked. "That's exactly what someone with secret feelings would say."
Chahat clenched her fists. Breathe. Stay calm. If you react, she wins.
"Of course," Kiya continued, "I'll also have to be seen whispering dramatically with Jay. Maybe looking troubled. People love a good misunderstanding."
Chahat's fingers twitched with the urge to throttle her. "You're making this worse on purpose!"
Kiya placed a hand over her heart. "Worse? Or legendary?"
Chahat took another deep breath. "No. No way. You are not turning my life into some dramatic campus-wide mystery saga."
Kiya hummed. "Too late. The wheels are already turning."
Chahat shook her head. No. I will not react. I will not let Kiya drag me into whatever unhinged social experiment this is.
She squared her shoulders. "Fine."
Kiya blinked. "Fine?"
"Fine," Chahat repeated. "Do whatever you want. I don't care." She gave a deliberately casual shrug. "Let people talk. I won't react. It's boring now."
Kiya narrowed her eyes, studying her. "You're bluffing."
Chahat forced herself to smile. "Am I?"
A pause. Then, Kiya scoffed, crossing her arms. "Ugh. You're no fun."
Chahat bit back a victorious smirk. Yes. I won. If Kiya thinks I don't care, she won't have any fun making this worse.
Kiya sighed dramatically. "Fine. I'll drop it."
Chahat let out a relieved breath. Finally.
Then Kiya grinned. "I'll just shift to Phase Two instead."
Chahat froze. "What."
Kiya winked. "Oh, you'll see."
And with that, she spun on her heel and strutted away, leaving Chahat standing there with a terrible, terrible feeling in her gut.
Kiya was up to something. And Chahat had just let her walk away unchallenged.
…This was going to be a disaster.