The livestream is on. Those involved are seated.

The Q&A is in session - and Masked stands to speak. (Yes, there is still blatant refusal to reveal a legitimate name, or even come up with a legit pen name. Suggestions are still open.)

"Hello everyone, welcome to the inaugural - "

Gillian Bishop raises a hand to interrupt. "Yes, yes, we all know. Can we get a move on now?"

Masked's eyes widen in surprise - surprise at being dissed by her own character, her own creation. "Uh, sure, Gillian. Just for the readers to take note, I've been selective of the questions that I'm responding to, since some of the questions asked in the middle of the story regarding plot have probably already been answered. So yeah, let's get the ball rollin'!"

"My favourite chapter would definitely be the epilogue, because it was really fun to write, to show everyone a glimpse into how the other girls were dealing after the events of the story and their own individual quirks and personalities. After full chapters of Selene's one-sided narration, I think it's been liberating for everyone to see the others and how they operate in general, whether for better or for worse. it's also symbolic in the sense that sometimes, you only truly understand people when the drama ends," the author continues, "My fave character other than Selene would have to be Angeline, because she's balanced, and essentially who I would stan and aspire to be irl for being able to handle school like a boss."

(The answer to the last one is shown in chapter 23 if my dumbass self remembers correctly)

Selene laughs awkwardly, "Uhhh... am I?" She glances around, appearing rather disturbed. "AM I, AUTHOR? HELLO?"

Masked also joins in on the nervous laughter, "Well, um, I'm not sure either. That's been left ambiguous and open for the readers to decide. Is Selene simply being a toxic, angsty teenager confused about life and her beliefs, still immature and with room to grow, and is there some serious damage done to her mental health that requires professional help?

But as seen in the epilogue, Selene gets the guts to talk to her mom about everything. It's a suggestion that they'll eventually talk things out and figure out what's next. Whatever it is, if she does need it, Selene will get the help she needs to become a better person. Next question."

Selene 'hmm's a little at this one, "Who do I like? Like in the story?"

Natalie snorts, "Where else?"

The loner glares for a moment, before regaining her composure, "Okay... I'll have to go with Angeline, because she manages to keep a cool appearance despite not succumbing to social norms."

"Whoa, legit?" Angeline widens her eyes.

Selene nods solemnly, "Yes. Teach me, senpai."

"Honestly, I don't know how you think I look 'cool'. Have you ever seen my multiple internal mental breakdowns - okay, sorry. Forget I said that - "

K-Pop Kids ringleader Tina appears out of nowhere, "I think we all heard it."

"Next question, my dudes," Masked hushes the children.

"Earl grey milk tea is always superior," Natalie perks up as the drinks are mentioned. Gillian responds for herself and her friend, "Taro flavour, and Lisa just likes the regular milk tea."

Juliette grins, a certain fellow brunette already in mind when she answers, "The entire Harry Potter series."

"The names chosen were somewhat random from the pool of female names that I am familiar with, mostly based on whether the vibes of the name fit the character. Others were totally random. Julie's name was suggested by autocorrect or somethi-"

"Wait, what?!" Juliette exclaims, letting out a horrified gasp, "H-how dare you!"

"Uh, yeah, sorry. But anyways, I deadass came up with Rianne's name without even searching if such a name existed-"

"Wow, thanks," the prefect snaps sarcastically, "You're glad I just googled it and it means 'great queen' or 'goddess'."

"As for Natalie, that's a slightly more... special situation. I've known many people whose names start with N IRL, and I haven't had the best experiences associating with some of them. Some, not all. Many of these girls were also named Natalie... so, yeah," Masked admits sheepishly.

"Yikes," Natalie adds.

Selene raises one of the mineral water bottles that are always on meeting tables. "Tea, sis," she remarks as she unscrews the cap and takes a big, dramatic sip. The other girls all stare at her. Everyone knows there's a fine line between being quirky and 'not-like-other-girls' and being just outright dodgy.

"But if you somehow figured out who I am in real life, and are actually named Natalie or a name that begins with N, or if we have a mutual acquaintance with someone of that naming, please don't spread rumours or assume who I like or don't like," Masked frantically reassures, despite knowing that people are still going to judge and diss, "This is solely between me and any Natalie(s)/person(s) with names starting with N! But if you somehow know I outright don't like you then... contact me and let's clear the air?"

"I do work on my grades," Selene protests, "The work is just hard, okay?"

"Yes, she does try," Masked continues, "It's just that she's a big fish who left a small pond for the humongous lake, and now she's flopping. Also, Selene spends a lot of time worrying about how she's doing compared to everyone else and angsting about that, which distracts her from actually getting goals fulfilled."

FROM

"Well, Rifton is populated by rich kids, but it's not corrupt in that sense. I've seen so many plots about how rich kids get poor students' parents fired from their jobs or caught from corruption, but... why would your millionaire parents bother to take your requests to screw people over? Why?!" Masked shakes her head. "Like, maybe they will if they treat you like the most precious of uwus, but I'm sure they have more parties to attend and deals to make before they do that for you."

"Plus, I was already in a bad situation," Selene comments, "Worst case scenario, ostracism again. Plus, not like most of them could do anything to me for reporting broken school rules, and I covered my tracks well enough with Natalie and Julie. Plus, Natalie, do you think you could've gotten your parents to screw over my life, even if you knew?"

"Maybe," Natalie mutters under her breath, snarling, "But truth be told, Masked is right. My mom tried to talk to the school, but she came back and lectured me about my 'foolish behaviour', so that's that."

"Well, well," Masked smiles, "We've come to the end of our Q&A session. For any further questions regarding characters and plot, please comment on this chapter, and they will be answered. One final thanks to everyone who's stuck to the end, and for being such lovely readers for voting and commenting. Goodbye for now, and please check out the other stories on my profile."