Ch. I received a video 5 I received a video 5

Chapter 5 The Last Laugh 

The private group exploded as soon as Benjamin’s announcement appeared in the class group chat. 

“What the heck?” 

“Didn’t Rachel and Silas say Sonia never checked her college application? I bet they’re eating their words now.” 

“Holy crap!” 

In the class group chat, I followed everyone else’s lead and replied, “Thank you, Mr. Miller.” 

Then, I switched back to the private group. “So, Defense Technology Institute is a community college, huh? How did I not know that?” 

After that, I tagged both Silas and Rachel and said, “Why aren’t you two saying anything? Cat got your tongues?” 

The moment the message went through, a system notification popped up. Both Silas and Rachel had left the group chat. 

The member count next to the group name at the top of the screen dropped from 43 to 41. 

The group chat stayed quiet for a bit. Then, the screen flooded with messages. It was like water coming to a boil. 

People kept typing “That’s awesome!” over and over. Someone sent several exclamation marks in a row. Someone else filled the chat with “Hahahahaha.” 

Another person posted a meme of someone pounding a table with laughter. One person simply typed, “That was so satisfying.” 

I stared at the screen for a few seconds without replying. Then, I locked my phone and set it face down on my knee. 

It was already completely dark out. The warm glow of my desk lamp fell across the back of my hand. 

A moment later, my phone vibrated again. Silas’ number lit up on the screen. I answered and held the phone to my ear without saying a word. 

“Sonia, what was that supposed to mean? How’d you get accepted to Defense Technology Institute?” 

“Defense Technology Institute was the school I applied to,” I said evenly. 

“Weren’t you applying to Bradford University? The three of us agreed we’d all go there 

“Silas.” I cut him off. “The day you changed my college application was at 3 p.m. on June 12th at the internet cafe below your apartment.” 

He immediately fell silent, and all I could hear was the faint static on the time and my own breathing. 

“I changed it back before the application deadline.” 

Several seconds passed before his breathing returned. It sounded much heavier than before, as though something was lodged in his throat. 

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“You lied to me?” He finally spoke, his voice as rough as sandpaper. 

+15 Bonus 

“You kept this from me the whole time? You watched me make a fool of myself right in front of you, and you thought that was funny?” 

I let out a small laugh. “I have to say, it was a little funny. Oh, that reminds me! Didn’t you think it was the height of hilarity when you secretly changed my college application, Silas?” 

He didn’t answer, and the only sound I could hear on the line was his breathing. 

I hung up. Then, I opened my contacts and dragged his number into the blocked list. I locked my phone and tossed it beside my pillow as the screen went dark. Then, I got up and walked to my desk. 

I bent down, pulled open the bottom drawer, and found an old photograph. It had been taken when I was six. 

Silas and I were flying a kite in the park. Our faces were splattered with mud, but we were grinning so hard our eyes were nearly slits. 

My mother had stood behind the camera and called out, “Look over here!” 

We’d turned our heads at the same time, and the shutter clicked. 

I stared at the picture for a long time. Then, I turned it over so the back faced me and slipped it beneath a stack of old notebooks at the very bottom of the drawer. 

The drawer closed with a dull thud. I went back to bed and reached over to switch off the desk lamp. 

I could hear my mother talking to my father in the next room. Their voices drifted through the wall in a soft murmur, too muffled to make out the words. 

I rolled over, pulled the blanket tighter around myself, and closed my eyes. 

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