Sitting in one of the corners of the hall, completely lost in my own world, I forgot reality even existed. My thoughts spun everywhere—Matthew's words, Fabian's touches, and how dangerously close all of it pulled me back into the Titi incident.
Shit… today was an overwhelming ass day.
"Veronica."
Now I was hearing voices in my head.
"Earth to Veronica."
I'm honestly losing it. I seriously need therapy.
"VERONICA!"
I jumped out of wherever the hell I was, bolting to my feet so fast my chair toppled backward onto the floor. Standing in front of me was Renae, her face worried, her eyebrow arched in fury.
"Renae… heeeey," I answered awkwardly.
"I'm gonna kill her," Renae snapped, turning on her heels like a loaded gun.
Waaaait. Hold up.
Grabbing her, stopping her in her tracks, I spun her around to face me, shocked.
"Kill who?" I asked, trying to process this entire scene.
"That bitch with the dramatic eyeliner," Renae snapped, angrier than before.
"Titi?" I asked in disbelief.
"Whatever the hell its name… that thing," Renae answered harshly.
And I just stood there—face frozen, lips parted, eyes wide. That same guarded expression I always wore when shit hit the fan. Not fear. Not confusion. Just that quiet, composed stare with a hint of what the actual fuck behind it. My mouth didn't move, but my eyes said everything: I'm here. I'm watching. And I'm two seconds from either laughing or losing it.
I couldn't hold it anymore. My lips twitched, my chest tightened, and then—boom. I burst out laughing. Loud, uncontrollable, stomach-gripping laughter. The kind that made my knees weak and my eyes water.
Renae blinked at me like I'd just started speaking in tongues. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked, dead serious, which only made it worse.
I doubled over, clutching my stomach, gasping between laughs. "You said 'that thing' like she was a damn demon from a horror movie!"
Renae squinted, still confused. "I mean… have you seen her eyeliner? That shit got wings longer than my GPA."
I wheezed, nearly choking. "Stop—stop—I can't breathe!"
"Oh no, you gon' breathe," she said, pointing at me. "You not dying on me in public. I ain't explaining that to nobody."
"Can you imagine someone—or worse, mom or dad—asking how did she die, and I'm like, 'She laughed.' What kinda fucked up death is that?" she continued.
We both lost it. Laughing so hard we had to lean on each other, tears streaming down our faces, people walking past giving us side-eyes like we were insane.
And maybe we were. But in that moment, it didn't matter.
Because after everything—after the chaos, the warnings, the weight—I needed this.
We both did.
And damn, it felt good to laugh like that.
"Fabian told you, huh?" I frowned, annoyed at the thought that he went ahead and told her about the incident without my permission.
"Nah. He did come in time though, saved her from me smashing her damn head in with a fire extinguisher. I heard her talking about you with her kiss-ass friends," Renae said casually, like smashing someone with a fire extinguisher was normal.
Waaaaiiit a damn minute.
"A fire… extinguisher?" I asked, blinking in disbelief.
She turned her face away, shielding herself with her palm like that would stop me from looking at her like she'd just grown two heads. Watching her attempt multiple side-eyes from behind her hand, I was in awe—and complete shock—at how much of a psychopath she was.
"You almost murdered her eyeliners… giiiirrrl," I said, trying not to laugh, but I lost it when Renae spun around to look at me.
"Girl what?" Renae laughed.
We laughed so hard, wiping tears from our faces, when the mood shifted—fast.
Two staff members in USC polos approached us, clipboards in hand, faces tight like they'd just walked into a crime scene.
"Veronica Thompson and Renae Richards?" one of them asked, voice clipped.
Renae raised an eyebrow. "Depends… who's asking."
"You both need to report to the hearing room. Now."
I blinked. "Hearing? For what?"
"For the incident earlier," the other one said, already turning like we were supposed to follow without question.
Standing to our feet, I shot Renae a look like, Girl, now see what you did.
Renae scoffed. "It's not my fault. I almost turned Titi into a puff of smoke," she whispered, trying to defend herself. I sighed, elbowed her, giggling a little, watching her smirk as the USC staff looked over their shoulders at us.
Soon we arrived at the hearing room and took our seats. The air was heavy, tense, like the walls themselves were waiting for the explosion.
And then—boom—Julian stormed in. Our dad. Looking like he'd just walked out of a boardroom and straight into a war zone. His suit was crisp, his jaw locked, his eyes scanning the room like he was ready to tear it apart piece by piece..
His eyes continue to scan the room, landed on us, and narrowed. "What the hell is going on? This is your first day."
Renae shrugged. "Technically, it's our first hour."
"I hope your ass is still a comedian when your mom hears about this," he snapped.
Julian didn't laugh. He looked at the staff, then at Fabian, who was already seated, arms crossed, jaw tight. Soon, he dropped into a seat beside us.
A gentleman, looking like he was in his mid-50s, introduced himself as Joseph Bomstorm. He sat at the head of the table, calm but commanding. Faculty members flanked him, and a campus security officer stood nearby. I sat beside Renae, witnesses lined the back wall. Titi glared across the table, her fury barely contained.
Joseph's voice was steady. "We are here to address the incident. Titi, you attempted to strike Veronica. Fabian restrained you before contact was made. Renae, you overheard this and later escalated by threatening Titi with a fire extinguisher. We will hear from each of you."
The hearing room was tense, air thick like it was about to snap. Staff sat stiff behind the table, pens ready, eyes sharp. Titi sat there, eyeliner wings stretched like she was about to take flight straight into hell.
Then her witness opened her mouth.
"I saw Renae grab the fire extinguisher and charge at Titi," the girl lied smoothly, voice dripping fake innocence. "She was screaming she'd kill her. And Veronica? She was egging her on, saying 'Do it, do it!'"
My jaw dropped. "What the actual hell?!"
Renae slammed her hands on the table, half-rising. "You lying piece of—!"
"Renae Richards, sit down," Joseph commanded.
"OOH… you're dead, bitch," Renae muttered, dropping back into her chair.
"Okay, Renae, since you were ready to intervene… you can take the floor," one of the faculty members said.
Renae stood, her voice sharp but honest.
"I wasn't there when it happened. But when I heard Titi tried to hit Veronica, I lost it. I wasn't going to let anyone hurt her. I didn't swing the extinguisher. I didn't hurt anyone. But I made sure she knew not to try again."
I leaned forward, my voice steady, cutting through the tension.
"She's right. Titi came at me. Fabian stopped her. I wasn't even there when anyone attacked anyone with a fire extinguisher."
The room went still, every eye locked on me. My words hung heavy, undeniable. Titi shifted in her seat, eyeliner sharp but her smirk faltered. Renae's fists clenched at her sides, her jaw tight with fury. Fabian's gaze flicked toward me, steady, backing me up without a word.
And for a moment, the lies in the room cracked under the weight of the truth.
"Veronica, we are not ready for your input. Wait your turn," a female staff member shot back, her tone clipped and dismissive.
I bit my lip—not because I was obedient, but because I knew damn well what I wanted to tell that witch would've gotten me suspended. My tongue burned with words sharp enough to slice her composure in half, but I swallowed them down, my glare doing all the talking.
The silence that followed was thick, suffocating. Titi's smirk tried to crawl back onto her face, but the crack in her armor was already showing. And I sat there, biting back fire.
Fabian raised from his seat, frustration clear. "Joseph, listen. Titi was the aggressor. I had to pin her to the wall to stop her. Renae wasn't even there at first—she overheard and reacted. Yes, she grabbed the extinguisher, but she didn't use it. She lowered it when I told her Veronica was fine. She shouldn't be punished the same way as Titi."
Joseph turned to Titi. "You attempted to strike Veronica. What do you have to say?"
"I did attack Veronica, I won't say I didn't," Titi spoke, glaring. "But Renae attacked me without reason just the same, and all I was doing was having a fun, meaningful convo with my friends." She spoke through fake tears, and even I was glued to my seat in disbelief.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Renae jump from her seat in Titi's direction, but her dad grabbed her arm, yanking her back before she could launch herself across the table. His grip was iron, his voice booming. "Sit down, Renae! Don't you dare give them what they want."
But Renae was shaking, eyes blazing. "She's lying! She's lying straight through her teeth!"
I tried to stand too, fury boiling, but security shoved me back down into my chair, their hand firm on my shoulder. "Stay seated, Miss Thompson."
"Don't this institution have cameras? This is bullshit," Julian finally exploded, seeing through all the lies. He had kept quiet to observe, but enough was enough.
"Language, Mr. Richards," Joseph warned.
"Language my ass… My daughters are in a hearing and these spawns that came from the crack of Satan's rotten asshole balls are sitting here with their theatrics and fake tears. I don't tolerate bullying," Dad snapped, not dealing with this anymore.
Titi smirked, feeding off the chaos. Then she snapped, voice venomous, words flying like daggers.
"You think you can punish me? My family will hear about this. My uncle's on the board. My cousin runs contracts with this school. My father will sue every single one of you. You'll lose your jobs. You'll lose your homes. You'll regret ever touching me!"
Her friends gasped, nodding like backup dancers to her threats.
A vein popped in Joseph's head—he looked like he'd had enough of her bullshit, not just now but from past incidents as well.
"Here is my decision. Titi, you are placed on disciplinary probation for the entire semester. You will attend mandatory anger management sessions and are barred from student leadership positions. Any further incidents of threatening behavior will result in suspension, Ms. Bardot." His tone was stern, final.
The moment Joseph announced the punishment, Titi shot up from her chair, face flushed red, eyes blazing.
"You've got to be kidding me!" she snapped, voice echoing through the room. "Probation? Anger management? For what? I didn't even hit her! Fabian pinned me before anything happened, and now I'm the one getting dragged through the mud while she—" she jabbed a finger at me, "—gets away with a slap on the wrist for threatening me with a damn fire extinguisher!"
Her chair screeched against the floor as she shoved it back, fists clenched at her sides. "This is bullshit. Everyone here saw her raise that thing like she was about to smash my head in. But no, because she's the golden girl with her sob story sister, suddenly I'm the villain."
"You are the villain, Titi. You rely on your family name to rescue you constantly from all the bullshit you keep doing," Fabian shot back.
"So because you have a new freshman pussy to fuck, you wanna throw me under the bus?" Titi exploded.
"Nooo. I am just downright tired of your bullshit," Fabian snapped.
They glared at each other, fighting battles with their eyes. Renae, Julian, and I looked at each other, still awaiting our verdict. And believe me… my heart was pounding with anticipation