Chapter 2: Midnight Drama

1 a.m.

"JessieCan’tWakeUp" dropped a message in the team group:

"Any girls still awake? Want to play matches together? Any skin in the shop, you pick."

Maybe everyone else had already crashed, but our team had just finished a ranked match, so the chat was buzzing. Instantly, a bunch of guys jumped in, all eager:

"Rich lady, I’ll play with you!"

"Come on, pick any hero, I’ll support you."

"JessieCan’tWakeUp" replied:

"Sorry, I want to find a girl."

That shut everyone up for a moment.

Then our admin, Taylor, fired off a sarcastic sticker and said:

"What are you even doing? Which girl here isn’t maxed out? We’re not interested in your handouts, not gonna indulge your princess syndrome."

Then the girls piled on:

"Exactly, just throwing money to get attention from the guys. Too bad we’re not interested—save it for someone who actually cares. We’re not your charity case."

"Sending Venmo and skins—who knows where your money comes from. If you didn’t earn it yourself, of course you don’t feel the pain."

"If you want to play, just play, stop making a scene. Ladies, let’s do a casual match, ignore her."

I’d just opened my eyes and saw all this drama lighting up my notifications.

No time to think.

I immediately @-ed "JessieCan’tWakeUp":

"Hey girl, look at me, double national server badges for Angela and Sera, always available."

Then I dropped a screenshot of my account with the two national badges into the chat.

The next second—

Taylor and the girls started blowing up my DMs:

"Sam, what’s your problem? Didn’t we tell you not to talk to her?"

My phone buzzed so much it nearly vibrated off my dorm desk. I glanced at the digital clock blinking 1:13 a.m. and let out a low breath, steeling myself for the storm. This felt a little like high school drama, only meaner—and with more cash at stake.