"But my car is worth millions. How could I let a country bumpkin taint it? I told her to catch a ride and follow us. That idiot probably doesn't even know how to use an app. She's probably crying for her mom right now."
The crowd erupted into laughter.
"Anna, that's brutal!"
"A country girl has never seen a place like this. Let's see how long it takes that loser to crawl her way over here."
However...
After laughing for a long time.
There was still no sign of Serena.
The minutes ticked by.
Half an hour, an hour...
The group that had been busy mocking her began to lose patience.
"Anna, is she actually coming? Everyone's waiting to play with the new toy. Are you messing with us?"
"Yeah, you got everyone hyped up, and now there's not even a ghost in sight. What a killjoy."
"Anna, are you just talking big? That bumpkin probably doesn't listen to you at all!"
Their complaints made Anna flush with embarrassment.
She had bragged all day about how she was going to humiliate Serena.
If she didn't show up.
Wouldn't it be utterly humiliating?
Anna snapped in frustration. "Shut up! She's definitely coming!"
She angrily pulled out her phone to call Serena, only to realize she didn't even have her number.
Forced to swallow her pride, she called Kiera, making up an excuse that she took Serena out with friends but they accidentally got separated.
Only then did she manage to get Serena's contact information from Kiera.
She dialed the number.
It rang for a long time before it was lazily picked up.
Seething with rage, Anna instantly launched into an interrogation.
"Where are you? Do you knowel
timent is? Everyone is waiting just
for
Have you no shame?"
On the other end of the line, the background was completely quiet, save for the faint sound of a television.
Serena's voice was relaxed and sluggish. "At the hotel."
She let out a slow yawn. "It's late. I'm getting ready for bed, obviously."
"The hotel?! Bed?!"
Anna's voice spiked an octave. "You promised to come out and meet my friends, and you went back to the hotel to sleep? Are you playing me?!"
She was so furious she almost threw her phone.
"Playing you?" Serena's tone carried a hint of sarcasm, her voice light with amusement. "Anna, it was obvious you didn't actually want me there So
So, I decided not to crash your fittle party.
The casual way she said her name carried a biting edge of mockery.
A vein throbbed on Anna's forehead. "You get a cab right now. I'll reimburse you!"
"No," Serena replied.
"You—!" Anna was enraged enough to smash her phone again.
The friends around her had already started booing.
"Anna, maybe you just don't have it in you?"
"Looks like she doesn't even care about you."
"Hahaha, Miss Vinton, you can't even boss around a country bumpkin."
Being mocked so relentlessly left Anna thoroughly humiliated. She had never been this embarrassed in her entire life.
Swallowing her rage, she forced the
words out through gritted teeth. I'm sorry, Serena. That was my fault. You wait at the hotel. I'm coming back to get you right now!"
She hung up.
Anna kicked her car's tire viciously in a fit of rage.
"Damn hillbilly. Just you wait!"