My castle crumbled overnight, I brought a knife to a gun fight, they took the crown but it's alri-

It's not, Natalie thinks as she slams down on the Spotify pause button. She huffs as her eyes go to her playlist, then down at the worksheet that lies on her study table.

No, she hasn't lost much. There's still a lot to be grateful for - she is an alive, functioning human who studies in one of the most prestigious secondary schools to exist. She has a family that is close-knit and not suffering financially. Natalie Kingsley is still Natalie Kingsley - she goes to school, she slays at sports, she gets the good grades in the bag. She's still a queen, the same queen she is.

But here's the problem - she's the only one who can think that. And no matter how much #grlpwr and feminist stuff she absorbs off the internet, it won't change a thing. This whole popularity thing was supposedly petty high school drama that would eventually pass, but to her, it is - and will always be - so much more than that.

At home, she is just good ol' Natalie - youngest daughter of the Kingsleys, with two glamourous parents and two equally excellent, cream-of-the-crop siblings. It's an obligation for her to be an all-rounder; the average person's amazing is her family's okay. And she was doing okay.

In Rifton, however, it was different. Everything that she'd ever considered to be an expectation was brilliant. She was the best of the best, and people actually flocked to her. They respected her - worshipped her, even. She was powerful, all-mighty, feared... she was a queen.

Now, she's just another student - and a loner at that, all because Selene decided to tarnish her reputation with one slip-up that no student should have heard of. God, she couldn't believe it. Of all people, Selene ruined her social life? Selene who she picked on, Selene who she apologised to because the girl was leaving the school?

Sure, she still has her grades and her awards - but she lost the crown. For good.

Sure, power never lasts forever. A fragile, fickle thing, concentrated in a glass crown that her own mistake had shattered. But that terrible thing wasn't just that - it was her validation, her happiness. The one thing that reminded her that she had people beneath her, people worse off, less worthy.

Power wasn't everything, but she had liked it. It was important to her.

And now, it was all gone.

"That bitch."

Gillian couldn't believe it- she'd suspected Selene Chan was shadier than she seemed - and she was right. Behind that clueless facade, that girl did know the art of manipulation and power play. The problem? She'd let it slide, closed one eye for the first time - now her clique was in shambles and her life was a mess. God, she was such a -

"Okay, just saying, I did not expect that out of her. There was foreshadowing and signs that she always knew more than she let on... but wow. Just wow," Addison Castle exclaimed, adjusting the blazer on her shoulders.

"I know, right! Of course, the escape route to Dubai or wherever the heck she's gone was planned. She must've known she was leaving, so she decided to screw us over and fly out of the country!" Gillian mutters, fury blazing in her brown eyes.

Though she'll never admit it, a big part of her anger comes from the fact that she did not see the move beforehand. The awkward chess geek had conjured such a poor image of herself that the public, including herself, had taken in without a hint of suspicion. Despite her seemingly-innocent appearance, Selene was ambitious and didn't fear pushing the limits to achieve her goal, and Gillian had to hand it to her for that.

Even if Gillian hated Selene and all the dodgy-as-hell quirks about her, she had to say she was a sucker for a good schemer.

They always made things interesting, and that was something she'd respect.

Lisa has been on the internet long enough to know for sure that the image that people curate for themselves on social media is often inaccurate. She does it, everyone does it. It's just how it is, a competition to see who's best at selling themselves, presenting their beauty and hiding their flaws.

She likes to think she's decent at it. It is a world that she rules; where she feels at ease - where she boasts a brilliant follower count, plenty of likes and a matching feed. Despite the pretenses, there is always a limit to how much social media can conceal about the real you - and thus, the media holds an element of truth. It is all simply information, up to a person to discern for themself.

She swipes to exit the text message - the last text message she presumes she'll ever receive from Selene Chan - and goes to Instagram, searching up Selene's handle. Her feed is typical of most introverted girls, featuring mostly pictures of food and scenery and one outlier - a picture of a stuffed toy on a bed, which is quite childish and embarrassing by Lisa's own standards.

Whatever the case, she certainly hadn't expected the same person who refuses to post her own face to be the snitch. A mocking, ironic grin forms on her face as she closes all tabs.

Lisa knows how to sell herself, how to capitalize on her pretty privilege. Perhaps, some people simply capitalise on how insignificant they appear.

She can't do anything right, can she?

Rianne's lost her leadership role, Jason ended things with her at the demands of their schools and now her life is in a mess. She knew she was risking it - but like the idiot she was, she took her chance. She jumped into a star-crossed lover situation, thinking it was romantic when it just turned out to be complete clownery.

And worse of all, it was that girl.

That Selene - the wreck, the troublemaker who can't keep her shit together - who reported her

Honestly, she regrets ever feeling that rage, that burning desire to know who the snitch was. She feels even crappier after knowing that it was Selene Chan. No wonder they say to be careful what you wish for - Rianne's gotten to know it well.

"Something on your mind, my dear?"

Rianne snaps back to the present, where old Mrs Kershaw is staring at her. They've already gotten to the other side of the road.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Just school stuff."

The old lady smiles kindly, showing her dentures, "Well, thank you for helping me out, dear. I'm sure you'll figure it out. Have a nice day, honey!"

As the old woman hobbles away, Rianne smiles, absorbing positive vibes for the first time in a while. Well, maybe it really is Jason's loss, and Rifton's mistake for not thinking she's good enough - because Rianne Clifford is good enough, and the old lady she helps across the road clearly thinks so.

Even if Mrs Kershaw doesn't write a letter to the school to talk about her good qualities, she's probably still worthy of leadership and kindness.

Julie smiles at the assignment that received the highest score in the class, aware of the dirty looks Sarah and the others are sending in her direction. Suck it up, scrubs, she thinks.

Their loss that they didn't want to be her followers anymore.

After all, she always knew that they didn't like her - they liked her grades. Julies knew she seemed too nerdy, too uncool to qualify as a good friend choice because society seemed to expect perfection out of everything. If she wanted a brilliant future and an Ivy League university to accept her, something was going to have to give.

But in Rifton, studious was good.

So she just worked as hard as she always did - at the max productivity. Her grades were her weapon to climb the ladder and these girls, desperate to learn her secrets of success, clung on to her for the sake of their grades. Of course, they, too, wanted to rise up when they got to those.

But Juliette Quinton is the valedictorian, the nerd, the goody-two-shoes of Rifton. She owns the title, and as long as she's here, she's got it in the bag. Even if she would like a good break sometime, and a chance to be chill, not the study machine who speaks in equation, she knows better than to risk it. Things like this are fickle, and once you get there, you don't stop.

You keep pressing on.

And she will keep pressing on - she will keep shoving it in their faces, keep letting them bite the dust - because Juliette Quinton will do whatever it takes to remain on top.

She stares out at the skyline, fixated on the faraway silhouette of the Burj Khalifa. It towers over the other buildings, unrivalled.

Funny how every situation is about trying to best the others - even in buildings and their heights.

Selene looks back to her phone on the table. While she'd normally be excited to finally have WiFi, she's muted her phone and chucked it on the table, scared to open it. There are messages on it that she needs to calm down and ponder over before she answers. She's had too much of reckless mistakes, and since Rifton students are made for greatness and all that, she sure doesn't want them to send assassins after her when they're rich and powerful adults. Hopefully, she won't be a noob then. Hopefully, being away will really change her.

But she's aware - before redemption, she needs to face the music.

So she takes in a deep breath and picks up her phone, entering Whatsapp.

All loose ends need to be tied.

But before she responds to the ones from her peers, she pastes the draft message and sends it.

To her mom.

As the ticks turn blue and footsteps are heard coming from the other end of the temporary service apartment that they live in, Selene knows shit will hit the fan - but she's surprisingly calm about that.

Something just tells her this: she needs to tell an authority figure about everything that's happened, just in case.

It's not right, she tells herself as she strides down the cold, air-conditioned hallway.

Selene may have done some really awful things, pretending to be innocent and sweet while she exposed dirty secrets but she was also just a kid. A kid struggling to find her place after being bullied; a kid trying to deal with the brutal system that she was forced into. She was just another kid, trying to fit in. She shouldn't have to be this way just because of doing those things. She was just doing what they did to her.

So why would it be her fault? This isn't right - not at all.

She walks into the toilet, staring back at the person she is. A neat uniform, blue sapphire eyes that shimmer with indignance and blonde hair kept firmly in place with the twisting of a braid. A braid that reminds her of the sister that extends control over much more than she should deserve; a braid that seems to remind her time and again that she is a spineless coward who has cracked under peer pressure time and again.

A symbol of her conformity and the cause of her receding hairline and frizzy strands.

No, it's not right. None of this is right.

In a moment of impulse, she reaches for the end of her braid and rips the dark hair tie off her hair, allowing long blonde waves to untangle and cascade down her shoulders. No, she will not continue to bend to the whims of the system that evil queens have continued to impose on her.

She will fight.

Selene may have caused quite a stir, but she is merely a lone spark. I, however, will be the rebellion. I will be free.

There will be no more pretending now - no, never again.

A new determination follows Avery Castle as she leaves the toilet and re-enters the world of pristine white walls and jet black lockers. She knows her mistake that has cost her individuality - and she aims to end that.

It's never too late for a new era - the end of a game with the cry of a checkmate is merely the beginning of a new one.

⎯⎯⎯ ⎯⎯⎯