FLASHBACK: The First Time I Met Bridget

People think power is loud.

They think it walks in with fire and noise, with snapping fingers and stomping heels. But Bridget? She walked in quietly. Like a shadow. Like a thought you didn't remember thinking—but somehow, it was already changing everything.

I met her on the second week of term, in the library.

I was sitting alone, reading—well, pretending to read—when she slid into the seat across from me without saying a word. She didn't look up. Just opened her notebook and started writing something, fast and neat like her mind worked differently than the rest of ours.

"What are you working on?" I asked eventually.

She didn't pause. "Predicting behaviour patterns."

I blinked. "Like... for class?"

She looked up for the first time. Her eyes were big. Innocent. Owl-like. But her stare? It unsettled me.

"For survival," she said simply. Then went back to writing.

I didn't understand then. But I never forgot it.

They say Tendai's the leader of our group.

She's the loud one. The face. The one who gets the boys and makes the rules. But every decision? Every idea? Every twisted little dare that got out of hand?

Bridget was there. Watching.

And if you looked closely, you'd see her blink twice, and Tendai would suddenly change her mind. You'd see her whisper once, and the whole group would turn on someone like they'd rehearsed it.

Everyone treats Bridget like she's delicate.Like she doesn't belong.Like the nerd in the wrong clique.

They think she's there by mistake.But she's not.

She's the queen on the chessboard.

And like any real queen, she doesn't move unless she wants to. She lets the others run wild, cause chaos, take hits, and get attention.

While she stays protected.

Hidden.Still.Deadly.

I used to think she was the fragile one.

But now… now I know better.

She's not just part of the game.

She is the game.

And the rest of us?We're just pieces moving. ves.