Flora’s Guide to a Second Chance at Love and Life

Tyler gave a quick rundown of what went down. Without missing a beat, Nash snatched the breakfast from Fiona's hand and urged them to hustle to the

infirmary.

"Come on, let's move it! I can't stand holding stuff!" he grumbled, shooting Fiona a playful look. But he didn't ditch them; he stuck with the two all the way to the infirmary.

...

Back in class, the trio strolled in, one after the other, and the room went silent, all eyes glued to them. As they settled into their seats, the whispers picked up again. "Look at them, they're tight-knit. Nothing's off-limits between them."

"I wonder what Fiona's secret is to keep Nash so hooked. She's got that sly, foxy vibe."

"And she's always bragging too, like wanting tickets to her brother's concert. It's probably just for Nash's ears. For the Woods family, snagging concert tickets is a piece of cake."

"Exactly, but our Janet's the real MVP, scoring her brother's concert tickets all on her own."

With everyone buttering her up, Janet couldn't help but feel smug.

"Oh, come on, don't give me too much credit. Sure, Fiona likes to put on a show, but Nash isn't exactly clueless about her tricks. If she really got him to fetch her tickets like that, it's pretty low. But don't worry, the tickets I promised you are a done deal."

Janet was bursting with pride, even as she pretended to be considerate of others.

"Janet, you're incredible! Not only are you at the top academically, but you're also super generous with us."

The thought of concert tickets had them thrilled.

Fed up with the chatter, Fiona found that even with headphones on, the gossip seemed to seep in, making her uncomfortable.

"Sorry to interrupt," Fiona said, casually walking over and standing behind them. "Were you talking about me?"

Everyone jumped at her sudden

appearance and turned to see Fiona

standing there, calm as ever, like

she'd appeared out of thin ai

"Fiona, when did you sneak up on us?" Janet's face went pale.

Getting caught talking smack was always awkward.

"Seriously, Fiona, do you have a stealth mode or something?"

Fiona crossed her arms, a sarcastic smirk playing on her lips. These folks were pros at dodging the topic.

"Here's a tip: don't go around

gossipin

Unless you're itchingnoveldrama

some trouble," she quipped, the bet

headed back to her seat.

They

the bout to confront Fiona,

but

the intimidating glare n

off. In the end, no

d to approach her. Cent

Janet, however, spotted the red marks on Fiona's wrist and whispered to her friends.

"Did you catch that? Fiona's wrist looked all red. How'd she get hurt out of nowhere?"

Janet's comment quickly got everyone nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, I noticed the red marks too. And they all came in together. Do you think they're hiding something?"

"I didn't catch the wrist thing. I'll take a closer look."