Dane dropped her off at the airport. He waited with her until it was time to go in, then turned around and left. Shirley had promised to pick her up later. On her way over, she scrolled through the group chat where everyone was still obsessed with figuring out who had saved Oakley. She didn't say a word about it being Claire.
The girl who'd recognized Claire before couldn't let it go and slid into Shirley's DMs.
"Shirley, just be real with me. Did you ask your friend? Was it really her?"
"Uh..." Shirley hesitated. Honestly, she was terrified. If Claire found out she'd spilled, she'd probably get a beating. Back when they were kids, she used to tease Claire all the time. Whatever Claire told her not to do, she would do on purpose. One time she broke something of Claire's and got smacked right then and there. Nobody could stop Claire once she got mad. That beating had her sore for a whole week, and even though Claire ended up getting punished too, it taught Shirley a lesson she never forgot. After that, she still liked to push buttons, but never too hard.
"Don't stall. Just tell me, was it her?"
"You know what, forget it," the girl messaged again. "Even if you won't say it, I already know it's definitely her!"
Her friend was already scheming. "So Shirley, your friend is Oakley's savior. She must have his autograph, right? I want to send her a gift to thank her for saving Oakley. Do you think she'd give me one of his signed photos?"
Shirley instantly tapped out a reply, feeling a little possessive, "No way. The autograph is mine!"
On the other side of the screen, the girl smirked. There it was. Shirley had basically admitted it.
"Come on, Shirley. We're friends too, aren't we? Your friend is basically my friend. Since she saved Oakley, I should call her my sister, right?"
"And you live in Apex, don't you? We're basically neighbors. I was thinking, why not visit Apex this weekend?"
Her name was Freda. She and Shirley had been friends online for two years and always got along great. Shirley had even invited her to come visit before. The high- speed train only took about an hour, so it was easy.
But Shirley didn't hesitate at all, "Don't come."
"Too late. You already promised to show me around. I don't need any fancy meals or anything, just introduce me to your friend. She saved Oakley! I have to pick the perfect gift for her."
"She really doesn't need anything," Shirley said rolling her eyes a little. "She's got plenty of money herself She couldn't help but feel a little sour, thinking about Claire's twenty million. She'd never had övere million in her account, not even close.
"So, what does your rich friend like?"
Freda was trying to figure it out. If Shirley's friend could just waltz onto a film set, she definitely wasn't short on cash. A normal gift probably wouldn't even make an impression.
"Um..." Shirley held her phone, totally blank for a second. Honestly, she had no idea what Claire liked.
Suddenly, she remembered the time
at the school gates. Claire had been hanging on the arm of this
ridiculously good-looking guy and telling her, "If you're choosing aman, go for the most handsome.one." After breaking off her engagement with York, of course the new guy had to be even hotter.
it.
Almost without thinking, Shirley sent the message, "She likes handsome guys."
She panicked and tried to delete it right away, but it was too late. Freda already saw
"Why did you unsend that? I like
handsome guys too. Great minds think alike." Freda laughed. No wonder she idolized Oakley. He was gorgeous and could actually act so made sense that people were obsessed with him.
"Wait, are you sure your friend doesn't like Oakley?"
"Why do you ask?" Shirley replied. "She said herself that she's not a fan." Shirley
was pretty sure Claire would never lie about something like that.