CHAPTER SIX. Not one, but two steps ahead

Helena was lost in the hum of the computer lab, the tapping of keys around her creating a rhythm that almost drowned out her thoughts. It was her least favorite class—one that she had to take for the credits. Computers weren't her thing, but sitting next to Stella Stradlin and Ginny Crawford made it bearable, even if they were worlds apart in terms of their interests.

Stella sat to her right, her guitar case resting against the side of her desk, and her eyes flickering from Helena's screen to Ginny's, who was furiously typing on her laptop. Ginny, the whiz kid who seemed to understand every line of code like it was second nature, wasn't exactly paying attention to the class, but she was focused enough to keep the conversation flowing.

Stella raised an eyebrow, looking over at Ginny's screen. "So, you're saying that someone managed to hack the group chat, and you can't track them?"

Ginny paused her typing and turned to Stella, a frown pulling at the corner of her lips. "I didn't say I can't track them. I said whoever did it is damn good. Too good. Whoever it is, they know how to cover their tracks." She tapped her fingers against the edge of her laptop, staring at the screen as if it held all the answers.

Helena leaned forward, trying to keep up with the conversation. "Wait, you mean the Watcher?" she asked, glancing from Stella to Ginny. "Is this about that group chat thing?"

Stella snorted, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. "Yeah, it's about the Watcher. But how the hell is this person always ahead of us? It's like they know everything." She lowered her voice, glancing around as if someone might be eavesdropping, but the only people close enough were the others in the class, all just as absorbed in their own projects. "I mean, how is it possible they know all the gossip, all the little details? One would need cameras everywhere for that to work."

Helena swallowed, a shiver running down her spine at the thought. She'd heard the rumors, seen the messages that made her stomach churn, but hearing Stella voice it out loud made it feel real.

Ginny nodded, her fingers flying over the keyboard again. "Cameras, bugs, data mining, it's all possible," she muttered, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "But what really gets me is that they're able to predict who'll talk, who'll make a move... it's like they're always one step ahead. And that's not just tech knowledge. That's... manipulation, maybe even psychological. Whoever's doing this, they're not just a hacker. They're playing a much bigger game."

Helena shifted uncomfortably in her seat, glancing over at Stella, who was now absentmindedly strumming her fingers on her guitar case, the weight of the conversation heavy on her.

"Okay," Stella said, breaking the silence with her usual confidence. "But what do we do about it? How do we even fight back against someone who knows all our secrets and has every move mapped out?"

Ginny stopped typing, her eyes now fixed on her screen with an intensity Helena had never seen before. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. I've been going through the code of the group chat, seeing if I can find anything—any trace of where this person's pulling their information from." She exhaled slowly, looking frustrated. "But this person is so good. They're using a method I've never seen before. They've set it up so no one can track them, and even their messaging system is encrypted in a way that's... next level."

Stella leaned in a bit, her eyes sharpening with interest. "So, you're saying they could be right here, watching us as we talk?"

Ginny sighed, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. "Maybe. Maybe not. But the way they seem to know everything about us—our movements, our personal lives, even the things we say in private... it's almost like they have eyes everywhere."

Helena felt the weight of that statement settle in. Eyes everywhere. That was the thing that got to her. What if they were being watched at this very moment? She shifted uncomfortably in her seat again, glancing around the room, her mind racing.

Stella shrugged, flicking a piece of hair behind her ear. "So what do we do? Sit here and let them play us like pawns? Hell no."

Ginny shook her head. "No. But if we confront them now without having any concrete evidence, we're just going to look paranoid. We need to be careful."

Helena didn't know how to respond to that. Part of her wanted to say no, to walk away from it all. The Watcher had already caused enough chaos. But there was something inside her that made her hesitate. If there was a way to stop them, to uncover their secrets before they could do more damage, then maybe she had to try.

"Alright," Helena said slowly, her voice firm despite the unease gnawing at her insides.

Stella grinned, clearly liking the challenge. "Now that's what I'm talking about. We're not just going to sit around and wait for the Watcher to destroy us."

Ginny cracked a rare smile. "Good. Then let's get to work."

Gwen tapped her pencil against her notebook, half-listening as the economics teacher droned on about supply and demand. She usually liked this class—numbers made sense, patterns could be predicted—but today, her mind was elsewhere.

She glanced to her side, at Aria Sinclair, who sat with perfect posture, scribbling notes in her neat, controlled handwriting. Aria had this effortless grace about her—always poised, always composed. It was annoying, honestly. Nothing ever seemed to shake her.

Gwen, on the other hand, felt like she was slowly unraveling.

She sighed and flicked her eyes to the front of the class, pretending to pay attention. The teacher was talking about game theory now, about how in economics, every decision had a consequence, every move had a reaction.

Kind of like what was happening with the Watcher.

A folded piece of paper suddenly landed on Gwen's desk. She blinked, then discreetly unfolded it under the cover of her notebook.

You look like you're about to scream. Something on your mind?

Gwen didn't need to look to know it was from Aria. She sighed and scribbled back:

Just trying to understand how people make stupid decisions.

She flicked the note back, watching as Aria opened it and smirked slightly before writing her response.

Simple. People are predictable.

Gwen rolled her eyes. Of course Aria would say that. The girl treated life like a chessboard, and everyone around her were just pieces waiting to be moved.

She wrote back: Are we predictable?

Aria's expression barely changed as she read the note. But then, instead of writing back, she leaned in slightly and whispered, "I don't know about you, but I don't plan on being anyone's pawn."

Gwen turned her head, meeting Aria's sharp gaze.

"Neither do I," she murmured.

For a moment, there was something unspoken between them. A challenge. A shared understanding.

And then the teacher called Gwen's name.

She startled, looking up. "Huh?"

A few students chuckled. The teacher sighed. "Since you seem so engaged in your own little discussion, perhaps you can answer the question."

Gwen clenched her jaw, glancing at the board. A graph of a prisoner's dilemma was displayed, two players with two choices—cooperate or betray.

She exhaled, gripping her pencil.

"The best move depends on who you're playing against," she said slowly, eyes flicking briefly to Aria. "But at the end of the day, if you can't trust the other person, then self-preservation is the safest bet."

The teacher nodded. "Correct."

Aria tilted her head at Gwen, something almost amused in her expression.

"Interesting answer," she mused under her breath.

Gwen turned back to her notebook, pulse thrumming.

Because the more she thought about it, the more she realized—

This whole thing with the Watcher? It was just one giant game.

And she had no idea who she could trust.

EJONA SPEAKS !!

More side characters and i love them smmm