TERRAVERDE ISLAND, SPAIN — CARSON'S MANSION
The chilly morning air blowing through the open window of Emory's room woke her up.
Her eyelids moved slightly as she slowly rolled from one side of her soft bed to the other, pulling the duvet away.
Her hair was a tousled mess, and smeared mascara sat beneath her entrancing amber eyes—a result of last night's alcohol party.
Groaning, she sat up and placed her pedicured feet on the ground.
She opened her drawer, dragged out a joint pack, and rolled one professionally before lighting it with her Zippo.
Taking a long drag, she smiled and blew out the smoke softly.
She grabbed her phone and opened the girls' group chat. Messages from her friends were already waiting.
Nina: Who's here?
Lizzy: Shut the fuck up, Nina. Last night wasn't funny.
Rebekah: Let's meet in school. No comments for now.
Emory almost laughed as she typed her reply.
Emory: I love you, Nina! I needed the booze.
A knock sounded on her door.
"Em?" her mother's voice called.
Emory quickly hid the joint in the drawer, closed it, and sprayed the room to mask the smell.
She opened the door to find her mother standing there.
"Ma," she muttered.
Mrs. Carson smiled and embraced her, gently arranging her hair with her fingers.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Sure," Emory replied with a smile.
"Come on, breakfast is ready."
Her mother pulled her away from the door, and Emory followed her downstairs.
Their spacious mansion reflected their comfortable wealth. Her parents ran Carson Enterprises and could afford to give her almost anything she wanted.
Her father was already eating when they entered the dining room. Emory settled into the chair opposite him.
"Morning," she mumbled.
The man looked up sternly.
"You smell like weed. Did you smoke again?"
"Shit," Emory muttered, reaching for her cutlery.
"You think you're helping yourself with those smokes? You're literally making everything worse—"
"Hubby," Mrs. Carson tried to interrupt, but he continued.
"You're destroying yourself, Emory!"
"Fuck it! I'm not eating with you guys anymore!"
She slammed her palms on the table, stood up, and rushed upstairs.
"Emory!" her mother called, but she didn't turn back.
She entered the bathroom and emerged minutes later dressed in baggy jeans, a corset top, and one of her numerous black boots.
The chains on her boots clanged as she descended the stairs with her backpack hanging from her right arm.
She straightened her hair, applied light makeup and her favorite lipstick, and remained as beautiful as ever.
"Em!" her mother called, rushing toward her.
"Ma, I'm already late."
"You have a lash on your face."
Her mother gently removed it before Emory hugged her.
Her mum understood her better than anybody else, and that was why she would always be her favorite person.
"I love you," her mother said when they broke the hug.
Emory kissed her cheek before finally leaving.
She hopped into her black convertible and drove out of the mansion, opening the sunroof to let the cool air touch her skin.
Her hair almost became disheveled, but she kept sweeping the waves back until she arrived at Legacy College.
She pulled into the spacious parking lot and smiled when she saw her friends waiting.
"I'm the last one this morning, huh?"
"Yeah, Sofia the Last!" Nina replied.
Emory gave her the middle finger, making Nina burst into laughter.
Nina Young was the gossip queen of the group, always ready with a joke. Beside her stood Lizzy Greene, the campus fashion icon.
"Where's Bekah?" Emory asked.
Their fourth friend emerged from her car, looking elegant as ever.
Rebekah Van Doren was the princess of Terraverde. Her parents ruled the island, making her the richest member of their friendship.
"Here I am!" Rebekah winked before hugging Emory.
"Now we need to talk about what Nina did last night," Lizzy announced, adjusting her fur coat.
"Are you kidding? You guys drank the alcohol as soon as it hit the table. Not my fault," Nina argued.
"We wouldn't have drunk it if you hadn't brought the bottles, bitch! You know my condition!" Lizzy rolled her eyes.
Emory and Rebekah burst into laughter.
Lizzy and Nina behaved like enemies most of the time.
"Can we just go to class already?" Emory interrupted.
Lizzy grunted.
"I have a gist, though," Nina announced with a smile.
"Spill!" the other three chorused.
"I saw my dad's dick this morning, and I almost cried for Mum. It's small!"
"Eew! Gross!" Emory scrunched up her face.
"You're sick, Nina," Rebekah laughed.
"Crazy ass!" Lizzy added, joining Nina in laughter as they followed the others into campus.
Greetings followed the girls through the hallways. Nina's gossip friends waved at her, while Lizzy's fashion followers greeted her enthusiastically.
Rebekah received respectful greetings because of her royal status.
Emory was just as popular, but nobody seemed to relate to her.
She pulled out her phone to distract herself while walking. Suddenly, someone bumped into her.
Her phone fell.
She looked up and smirked when she met the nonchalant eyes of Chadwick, the heavily tattooed guy.
He smirked back.
Students nearby widened their eyes in shock.
"Do you have cataracts or something? You don't just bump into me and stand there like a moron! Pick up my phone!" Emory snapped.
Gasps filled the hallway as the crowd grew.
Chadwick was the most feared guy on campus. His father, Master X, ran an underground casino, and Chadwick himself led the dangerous fraternity known as The Titans.
Nobody dared argue with him unless they wanted trouble.
"Pick up your fucking phone for you?" Chadwick asked, tightening his brows.
"Heck yeah! You knocked it down, bastard!"
Emory stepped closer, and he scoffed.
Her again?
And it's Chadwick this time?
Gawd, I hate her!
Whispers spread through the crowd.
Chadwick would never pick up the phone, and Emory clearly wouldn't let the matter go.
Her friends watched from the crowd. There was no point trying to stop her when she got like this.
"Pick it up!" Emory demanded again.
Chadwick was about to grab her by the neck when the atmosphere suddenly changed.
Someone had entered the hallway.
Every head turned toward him.
Students made way as girls gasped, their eyes sparkling with admiration.
It was Levi Banks.
Banks?
It's Banks!
Nobody called him Levi. Everyone used his surname.
His face was a mask of icy calm, and his features looked as though they had been carved from marble.
He looked like he had stepped out of a luxury brand commercial. He wore a simple black sweatshirt, black denim jeans, and boots, carrying himself with effortless elegance.
He didn't need to speak. His powerful aura commanded respect, and despite his quiet nature, he was feared almost as much as Chadwick.
Chadwick's expression twisted with bitter resentment. He loathed Banks.
Emory barely spared Levi a glance. Her phone was still her priority.
Levi's two friends, Conrad and Hyce, walked beside him until the three disappeared farther down the hallway.
"Tell me you captured his face!"
"Of course! Especially his lips!"
"Send me the pictures right now!"
Girls scrambled to exchange photographs.
Chadwick returned his attention to Emory.
Slowly, he picked up her phone and handed it to her.
She snatched it and walked away with her friends, leaving him biting his tongue in fury.
She would pay for humiliating him.
LEGACY COLLEGE — CLASSROOM
By the time Emory and her friends reached class, the lecturer had already begun.
"We were discussing the company Facebook acquired in 2014 and the price paid," the lecturer explained.
Silence filled the room.
"Anyone?" she asked.
Nobody answered.
"Snapchat? For eighteen billion?" a voice suddenly suggested from the back.
Everyone turned.
Levi Banks.
It was the first time he had spoken in class, and the surprise was obvious.
"That's dumb. It was WhatsApp, for nineteen billion," Emory corrected immediately.
Everyone turned toward her.
"That's right, Miss Carson," the lecturer confirmed.
Instead of receiving praise, Emory earned hateful glares from girls who apparently couldn't stand her correcting Banks.
The lecture continued, but Levi's eyes settled on Emory. From the back of the classroom, he watched her with an unsettling intensity.
They attended four consecutive classes.
As soon as the last one ended, Nina jumped in front of Emory's desk.
"You called Banks dumb? Bitch, you're an icon! Girls will eat you alive!"
"Blah, blah, fucking blah," Emory replied, rolling her eyes.
Lizzy and Rebekah laughed.
"But damn, that naturally sleepy voice of his!" Nina continued. "I'd do anything to hear him call me baby. Seriously, if I don't fuck that guy, I'll kidnap him on his wedding day!"
"Nina!" Rebekah gasped between laughs.
"Party again tonight?" Emory asked as she left the classroom. "I need to get high again."
"Wait up!" the girls shouted, hurrying after her.
SCHOOL PARKING LOT
Levi arrived at the parking lot with his friends, all looking exhausted, especially Hyce.
The two friends were just as handsome.
"You intentionally gave the wrong answer earlier to make her talk to you, didn't you?" Conrad asked.
"Obviously," Levi replied, climbing onto his powerful bike.
"And what's going on between you and her? I can't stand the tension anymore."
Conrad pulled Levi's helmet from the car.
"Are you taking over Hyce's duty today? You've suddenly become the talkative one," Levi remarked, raising his thick brows.
Hyce lowered his hoodie and deliberately coughed in Conrad's face.
"Dude, fuck!" Conrad shoved him away.
"Uncle Reginald offered to make dinner tonight," Levi announced.
"Tell me his wife is doing the cooking," Hyce said, paling.
"She's on a trip," Levi replied, gripping the handlebars.
"I'd rather become paralyzed than eat your uncle's food again. He should be banned from the kitchen!"
Conrad laughed.
"Ciao," Levi said casually.
Conrad threw him the helmet. Levi put it on and drove away, with Conrad and Hyce following in their car.
"Banks!"
A girl rushed into the parking lot, breathing heavily. Sweat covered her face, making it obvious she'd run a considerable distance.
A guy came running behind her.
"He's gone?" he asked breathlessly.
"I'll talk to him tomorrow," the girl replied.
They were siblings. The girl was North, while the guy was Omar, her older brother by one year.
North threw her backpack at him.
"Meet me in the car."
She rolled her eyes and walked away.
Omar snickered at the bag before carrying it after her.
5 PM — TITANS MANSION
As the leader of The Titans, Chadwick received respectful greetings when he entered the mansion.
The place was already filled with invited women, prostitutes, and strippers preparing for the night's party.
Chadwick gritted his teeth as he thought about Levi again.
He knew almost everything about every student on campus, yet he knew nothing about Banks.
It was as if Levi had fallen from heaven. There was no trace of his family, and it infuriated Chadwick that the guy seemed untouchable.
Students treated Banks with respect and fear, sometimes even more than they treated him.
A wicked smile spread across Chadwick's lips as an idea struck him.
"Emory Carson needs to be taught a lesson tonight. Use Banks' name, though," he ordered.
"On it," four club members replied before rushing out to carry out the order.
"Send two girls to my room," he added, heading upstairs.
7 PM
Emory couldn't wait any longer. She drove out of her street, having sneaked through the window because her father would never allow her to go out after last night's drunkenness.
Her friends were already at the clubhouse. She needed to get there quickly.
She hadn't gone far when two men wearing black-and-white masks appeared in front of her car.
She nearly hit them before slamming on the brakes.
"What the fuck!" she shouted.
The men answered by smashing her windscreen with metal pipes.
Emory covered her face, but a shard of glass still cut her skin. Blood trickled down her face.
Furious, she jumped out and grabbed the first attacker, skillfully flipping him onto the ground.
She was about to remove his mask when the second man grabbed her.
"Son of bitches!" she yelled breathlessly.
Two more men appeared, bringing their number to four.
They held her down while the others continued destroying her car.
"Fuck you all! My car! Damn it!" she screamed, struggling to free herself.
"Next time, don't call Banks dumb," one of the men holding her said.
Her eyes widened.
Before she could respond, they released her and disappeared into the bushes beside the road.
"Banks?" she muttered, remembering what had happened in class.
Fuming, she grabbed her phone and bag from the damaged car and stormed down the road to find a taxi.