"You might wanna fix your hair," Olivia said, standing up like she was about to save me from some horrible hair crime. I caught her wrist midair without even looking up from my food. Priorities, you know. She yanked her hand back and plopped into her seat, clearly offended. Boo-hoo.

"Why are you girls even doing this?" I asked, circling my face dramatically to point out the layers of makeup they were piling onto each other. Olivia and Ariel stared at me like I had just asked why the sky was blue.

"She doesn't know Lewis. I'm pretty sure she doesn't know Damien either," Sophie announced like she just discovered a new species, dabbing foundation on her face while peering into a tiny mirror—until Ariel snatched it right out of her hands like they were two toddlers fighting over a toy.

Makeup. For two guys. Two. I couldn't even get out of bed for myself some days and here they were glamming up for dudes. Was this what high society looked like? Becky, I’m lost. SOS.

Before I could spiral any further, the room collectively gasped. My eyes shot toward the door like a reflex and, speak of the devil, there was Lewis... and some other guy who could honestly have been ripped out of a vampire movie—black hair, grey eyes, jaw so sharp it could've cut glass. Tall, but Lewis still had a smidge of height on him. Typical.

And of course, because the universe loves cliches, they each had a blonde draped over them like accessories. Lewis’ blonde looked like that girl from earlier—the one who turned the hallway into a runway—and she was talking to him like they were besties. Lewis, meanwhile, looked like he was mentally anywhere but there. I could practically hear his soul sighing in boredom.

As they strutted toward us, the girls freaked out, shoving their makeup into their bags like they were hiding contraband. I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly saw my brain.

Then Lewis, being the mature gentleman he was, decided to bump me hard with his hip, sending me crashing into Sophie like I was a bowling pin. I clenched my jaw so tight I swear a few veins popped. Yeah, pretty sure he just crowned himself "Most Annoying Human" and it was only my first day.

Everyone at the table gave me the suspicious "what just happened" look. I threw up my hands and mouthed "nothing happened" like a guilty kid caught stealing cookies. They didn’t seem too convinced but decided to let it slide.

Ariel shoved her phone in my hand. I glanced down to see Lewis Anderson pulled up on Google. Because apparently, a simple introduction was too mainstream.

Turns out, Lewis is basically royalty. Son of billionaire William Anderson, whose family apparently owns everything from oil to fabrics to probably my soul at this point. Richest family in the country, blah blah blah.

Oh, and Lewis? Highest paid model. Millions of followers. Probably can't walk down the street without someone proposing marriage. His net worth? A mystery. Probably because numbers that big would just break the internet.

There was also a family photo. His dad, grinning like a lottery winner, wrapped around some woman who looked like she could be Lewis’s stepmom (or just a midlife crisis in human form). Then a young girl—probably the stepsister—smiling so hard it hurt me to look at. And Lewis? On his phone. Classic.

I handed the phone back to Ariel and caught the girls staring at me like I was about to deliver world peace.

"So?" Olivia leaned in like this was life-or-death.

"He's famous. I guess," I said flatly, stuffing another spoonful of food into my mouth.

"You guess?" Olivia raised an eyebrow like she was personally offended. I just shrugged. Honestly, who cared? Not me. (Okay, maybe a little.)

"I'm in love with his best friend," Sophie sighed dramatically, pink rushing up her cheeks.

"That playboy?" I deadpanned, eyebrows raised to the ceiling. She nodded dreamily like she hadn’t just watched him fondling two girls like human armrests.

"That's insane," I muttered under my breath, earning a smack from Ariel. Rude.

"Ouch," I said, shooting Sophie a look. She clutched her chest like I'd broken her heart. Oscar-worthy performance, honestly.

Maybe she was under some sort of hot-guy hypnosis, because there was no other explanation for falling for someone who treated women like furniture.

"I am, though," Sophie said defensively, as if she'd read my mind. I shook my head in disbelief.

Out of sheer curiosity (or self-destruction), I glanced over at Lewis. He was scrolling his phone like the world around him didn’t exist while everyone else laughed and chatted like normal humans.

"The blonde next to Lewis? That's Lily. She's a model," Sophie leaned in, clearly thrilled to dish out gossip. I nodded, not really surprised.

"They started hooking up a while ago," she whispered, like it was some national secret. I bobbed my head again. Good for them, I guess. Not my circus, not my monkeys.

"Why is your hair two colors?" Olivia suddenly blurted, pointing at my head. I touched my hair, momentarily confused, before remembering: oh yeah, that.

"Yeah, you look like you're shooting a movie," Olivia leaned in conspiratorially. "Are you?"

"Nope. That's just my natural hair," I said casually. "I usually dye it black, but prepping for school kind of took over my life."

"Cool," Ariel said, reaching out to touch my hair before I shot her a look that made her retract her hand like I was a cactus.

Then, I noticed something.

Everyone’s food was untouched. Meanwhile, my plate was nearly clean. I raised an eyebrow.

"Y'all gonna eat that or...?" I asked, half-joking.

Finally, they picked up their spoons, pretending they hadn’t just been too busy fangirling to eat.

I pulled out my phone, ready to check out for a bit, when suddenly—SPLAT.

Something heavy and cold hit the back of my head and dripped down my face.

Someone just dumped food on me.

Because, you know, apparently my day wasn’t dramatic enough already.