When Lucy returned to her dorm, she plopped onto her bed, hugging her knees tightly.
Her mind kept replaying Kane’s words on repeat.
Being betrayed says more about the person who betrayed you than the person who was betrayed.
Her lips parted as she stared at nothing in particular.
For one fleeting moment, it felt as though he hadn’t been talking about Chelsea at all.
It felt as though he’d been talking about her..
Bryce had cheated on her as well.
She blew out a breath, while she rubbed her forehead.
"Why does everything he says linger in my head?" She murmured, splaying on the bed while she stared at the ceiling.
Just then, her phone pinged.
She reached out to the side of the bed and picked it up.
It was a message from the group, and she had been tagged.
Victor: @Lucyiscute, did you have a confrontation with a member of the football team?
Lucy read it, and she rolled her eyes almost instantly before she swiftly typed out a reply.
Lucy: That’s my best friend’s ex. He cheated on her.
Victor: Charles had a girlfriend?
Lucy: He did.
Maya: Who’s Charles?
Lucy: Not worth talking about.
Lucy: Any progress? We only have a few days before the deadline.
She deftly changed the topic.
Victor: *Crying emoji*
Victor: Sasha has us reading microbiology papers.
Victor: I miss chemistry.
Daniel: Lol (laughing emoji)
Daniel: @Lucyiscute, I’ve identified one resistance mechanism that’s unique to one of the three organisms.
Lucy sat up as she reread the statement.
Victor: Are you... serious?
Daniel: Yes, I am.
Sasha: What organism is that?
Daniel: Hold on, I’m still verifying it.
Victor: Don’t tell me you came to the group chat just to tease us.
Daniel: *Rolls eye* I’m just making sure I didn’t misunderstand the paper.
Lucy leaned forward on her bed, staring at the screen. Her fingers hovered.
Lucy: Daniel...
Victor: Don’t "Daniel" him. Threaten him.
Maya: *Laughing emoji*
The group chat went silent after that.
Then after a little delay.
Daniel: Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Victor: So... we found it?
Sasha: Not necessarily.
Victor: ???
Sasha: We only found the likely target. This means the assignment starts now.
Victor: !!!
Lucy nibbled her lower lips, her brows drawing together.
Victor: Can I get an explanation?
Sasha: We know who the compound was probably designed for. We still don’t know what the compound actually does.
Silence settled over the chat.
Maya typed first.
Maya: We have an incomplete structure. We have to predict what the missing functional group contributes.
Victor: I’m speechless. Just so every single one of you know, I’m groaning currently.
Lucy snickered.
Victor: So we are basically playing detective with half a molecule?
Daniel: Pretty much.
Lucy climbed out of her bed, and walked straight to her study table. She opened her laptop, and directly clicked on the image structure.
She studied it intensely, her brows creasing.
Lucy: Then the missing group probably isn’t random. It must have been designed to counter whatever makes carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae so difficult to treat.
The group chat was silent for the next three minutes.
Then—
Victor: Save me, mummy! *crying emoji*
Maya reacted with a laughing emoji.
Sasha: That’s our working hypothesis.
Daniel: Let’s each investigate one possible role for the missing group. We’ll compare notes on Sunday.
Victor: Fuck my life.
Lucy chuckled, her eyes drifting to the structure.
They were close. She could feel it.
That night, Lucy was staring at her laptop’s screen when a knock resounded.
Without her speaking, the door opened, and Chelsea popped a head in.
"Lu?"
Lucy looked up, and a small smile tugged at her lips. "Come in."
Chelsea exhaled as she walked in holding two cups of ice-cream.
Lucy raised a brow.
"I remembered you offered this morning." Chelsea held one out. "Thought we could both use some."
Lucy laughed softly, rising to her feet. She took one cup as they both settled at the feet of her bed.
They were quiet for a while, each to their thoughts.
Chelsea was the first to break the silence.
"I saw the video." She said, after clearing her throat. "Thank you for standing up for me."
Lucy turned to her, but she shook her head.
Cocking her head to the side, she said, "I thought we were past the stage where we thanked each other."
Chelsea laughed, scooping a spoonful of ice-cream.
Lucy did the same.
"Someone told me something. And you should hear it as well."
One of Chelsea’s brows raised. "And what could that be?"
"Being betrayed says more about the person who betrayed you than the person who was betrayed."
Kane’s words.
Chelsea turned silent as she pondered on the words. She let out a deep breath, closing her eyes. "Those words..."
Lucy rubbed her arms.
Then Chelsea turned to her with narrowed eyes. "Tell me Lu, who gave you such lovely advice?"
Lucy cleared her throat awkwardly, avoiding Chelsea’s gaze.
"Lucy Marie Bennett," Chelsea said slowly, narrowing her eyes. "Who told you that?"
"Does it matter?"
"Very much."
"I don’t think it does."
Chelsea gasped dramatically. "You’re hiding something."
"I’m not."
"You blinked."
"People blink, Chelsea."
"Not like that."
"You should be an interrogator, you know?"
Chelsea flipped her hair, a smug smile dancing on her lips. "I know right."
"But you are still not getting away from this. What are you hiding, Lu?"
Bowing her head, Lucy replied, "I’m not hiding anything."
Chelsea took another spoonful of ice cream before pointing hers at Lucy.
"I’m letting you off... for now."
Lucy let out a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness."
"But," Chelsea added with a grin, "I’ll find out eventually."
Lucy groaned dramatically, making Chelsea burst into laughter.
Soon, Lucy joined in.
The room that had felt unbearably heavy that morning was now filled with quiet laughter and the clink of spoons against paper cups.
For tonight, there were no cheating boyfriends.
There were just two best friends, two melting cups of ice cream... and the comforting reminder that neither of them had to face heartbreak alone.