Luke was sitting in one of the middle seats of the bus, next to the window. Chaos reigned around him: the Shadyside students, dressed in the team’s colors, were singing at the top of their lungs, their shouts and chants echoing against the vehicle’s walls.
Some were banging on the seatbacks in rhythm with the songs, while others waved small flags in their school’s colors, shaking them with fervor.
Luke remained silent. With one arm resting on the edge of the window and his chin propped on his hand, he stared outside.
His face was blank, completely detached from the commotion around him. Through the glass, he watched as the landscape slowly changed, the buildings of Shadyside giving way to the road that connected both towns.
His mind, however, was far from the game. He was thinking about the vampire clan and whether they would find any trace of them in Sunnyvale.
After spending more than a month in Shadyside, it was obvious they weren’t based there. That left only two options: either they had their base in Sunnyvale or in the forests separating the two towns.
Near the middle of the bus, a tall, lanky boy wearing a black Shadyside hoodie and with messy hair climbed onto a seat, turning to look at those behind him. With a teasing smile and a glint of excitement in his eyes, he raised his hands and started shouting:
“Come on, losers! What’s with this dead-town energy? Shadyside doesn’t stay quiet!”
“And this time, we’ve got the advantage! We have the goddess Tuesday on our side!” he added with a wide smile.
The students on the bus erupted into cheers and laughter.
“Yess!” a girl shouted from the front, banging the bus ceiling with her hand. “Tuesday, monarch of Shadyside! Show them who’s in charge here!”
A chorus of “Tuesday! Tuesday!” rose among the students, chanted as if it were a war cry.
“Are you going to say something, or are you just going to let them keep worshiping you?” Violet asked with a strange expression.
Luke shifted his gaze from the window, his perfect features barely softening into a small, arrogant smile. Then, he gave the slightest nod—barely noticeable, yet everyone caught it.
The effect was immediate and electrifying. The students exploded into even louder shouts, as if Tuesday’s gesture had confirmed that she was, in fact, their monarch.
Some began clapping, others banged on the windows, and more than one shouted, “There it is! Our monarch has our back!”
Over the past month, Luke had abandoned his act as the popular student—the persona he had meticulously crafted when he took on the identity of Tuesday. And yet, his popularity had only grown with each passing day.
For Luke, this had been nothing more than a social experiment. Like an actor testing out a role: arrogant smiles, words that felt like commands disguised as suggestions, and calculated gestures that left everyone mesmerized. It was a game to him—a large-scale manipulation to see just how much he could influence those around him.
How easy was it to shape people’s perceptions and emotions? Turns out, it was easier than he had thought.
However, the novelty of this “game” quickly wore off. As the days passed, he started growing bored. Pretending to be someone he wasn’t—especially someone so opposed to his true nature—was exhausting.
So, little by little, he began shedding the personality of Tuesday. He became colder, more expressionless, responding to praise with indifferent looks or barely noticeable nods. He stopped making an effort to lead or manipulate; he simply didn’t find it entertaining anymore. But ironically, this distant attitude only made him more popular.
Tuesday’s indifference was seen as a sign of confidence and mystery. The less she seemed to care about what others thought, the more they admired her. Her coldness, her lack of expression, even her apparent arrogance, all fueled the myth of her perfection.
Inside, Luke felt torn between irritation and cold satisfaction. At Nevermore, he was always under watchful eyes, so in the end, he was used to people staring and pointing at him.
Simon and Kate were also shouting and cheering. Their reputation had skyrocketed simply by being the closest to Tuesday, and most teenagers loved popularity and being the center of attention.
As for that episode where they spent hours digging up graves, it remained a secret within the group. Their investigation continued, but they found nothing. Luke, for his part, contributed nothing of value—he only pretended to. He preferred to keep these normies out of a mess that was far beyond their league.
Either way, it was impossible for Violet, Simon, or Kate to find another clue that would lead them to solve the mystery of Shadyside’s disappearances. There was nothing in town. He and Wednesday had only succeeded thanks to Wednesday’s visions; without them, they wouldn’t have gotten anywhere.
Bored of watching the passing landscape, Luke searched for Wednesday. She was sitting in the back seats. She wore her typical nerdy normie look, her presence still nearly invisible—the most notable thing about her was that she was Tuesday’s sister.
She had truly perfected the act, becoming nearly invisible thanks to the unbearably dull personality she put on display.
Luke’s brow furrowed slightly as he noticed a boy talking to Wednesday. He recognized him, Elías. The son of the woman who worked at Shadyside Realty.
There was also a freckled girl next to them, chatting along. Her name was Lauren, and she was Elías’s cousin, at least, that’s what Wednesday had told him.
This was Jenna’s group of “friends.” Since Luke was part of the rebellious group consisting of Violet, Simon, and Kate, Wednesday had found her place among a group of nearly invisible brainiacs.
Luke stood up from his seat and walked toward Wednesday. Elías and Lauren’s eyes shifted to Tuesday, noticing the monarch unexpected approach. Their brows furrowed slightly.
A subtle shift in the atmosphere followed. Tuesday’s movements didn’t go unnoticed, and the chanting began to die down, with everyone turning their attention toward her.
‘What is she going to do?’ Violet wondered, her expression tense. She was Tuesday’s friend, she even had romantic feelings for her. She knew how strained the Foster sisters’ relationship was.
In fact, everyone knew. The Foster sisters had different fathers, creating an emotional distance between them.
What the world saw was Tuesday, with her dominant personality, completely overpowering Jenna, an introverted and timid girl.
“Sister… do you need something from me?” Jenna asked in a trembling, utterly submissive tone.
In Luke’s mind, he admired Wednesday’s phenomenal acting. Even he couldn’t perform so flawlessly. His girlfriend was truly a multifaceted genius.
“No… I was just wondering, why are you coming to the game? Shouldn’t you be locked away in your cave studying or something?” Luke said, his voice dripping with mockery and contempt, his arrogant smile fixed on his sister.
Jenna, hearing the cutting tone, lowered her gaze even further, biting her lip and clenching her hands.
Elías and Lauren’s brows furrowed at Jenna’s reaction.
“I… I wanted to attend the game,” Wednesday replied in a quiet voice.
“Oh, of course… you wanted to come to the game to, I don’t know, try to flirt with some guy, right? Get your first kiss? And if you’re lucky, lose your virginity,” Tuesday said with a small laugh that echoed maliciously through the bus.
The other students laughed along—if you could even call Tuesday’s words a joke.
Jenna didn’t say a word. She just sat there in silence, her head bowed.
Elías was about to retort to Tuesday, ready to defend Jenna. He couldn’t stand such treatment from one sister to another. It was too cruel.
As he was about to say something, Violet beat him to it. “Enough, Tuesday. That’s enough,” she said quietly but firmly, standing in front of Tuesday and grabbing her sleeve.
The silence that followed was nearly complete. The students’ eyes turned to Violet, surprised that anyone would dare stand up to the monarch of Shadyside.
Only one person in the past had ever openly dared challenge Tuesday. It had been Violet herself when she had confronted her in the cafeteria, complaining about being late because of her.
“Enough?” Luke asked, his tone almost curious but laden with coldness, slowly turning his head toward Violet.
Tuesday’s sky-blue eyes met Violet’s, and Violet felt a slight tremor inside her, though she forced herself to remain composed.
The eyes of Tuesday, which many feared. Beautiful eyes that could belong to a princess from a fairy tale, yet crowned by a face that, though beautiful, radiated an intimidating authority.
An unreal beauty accompanied by an aura so oppressive that no one, absolutely no one, dared to challenge her.
Violet swallowed, but didn’t back down. “Yes, enough of tormenting your sister,” she said.
“Tsch, whatever,” Tuesday muttered, roughly pulling herself free from Violet’s grip and returning to her seat under the gaze of everyone.
All eyes followed Tuesday, surprised she had dropped the issue so easily.
“Why all the silence? Keep chanting!” Tuesday snapped, glaring at the guy in the black Shadyside hoodie with messy hair who had been leading the chants.
The guy immediately followed the command, and the rest of the students returned to the enthusiastic atmosphere of the game, fearing Tuesday’s wrath.
Violet stayed where she was, sighing in relief. Many gave her respectful looks.
Wednesday slightly lifted her head, which she had kept lowered until then. Her dark, abyss-like eyes looked at Violet.
There was a cold glint in her gaze that didn’t match the shy and submissive image she had portrayed just moments before.
She hadn’t liked at all that Luke had given in to Violet’s demands.
Wednesday closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath, and when she opened them again, Jenna Foster’s mask was back in place.
Violet didn’t notice Wednesday’s cold gaze, as Simon and Kate approached her to show their respect for being the only person who could speak to Tuesday in that tone.
Elías and Lauren also didn’t notice that small and quick change in Jenna, as they were still watching Tuesday.
[Are you having fun?] Wednesday asked Luke through their telepathic link. Her mental voice was as cold as ice.
Luke flinched slightly inside. He knew that tone better than anyone. His sweet girlfriend was upset, even if she didn’t show it openly.
[What…? Why are you mad?] Luke responded through the link, keeping calm, though his confusion was evident.
There was a brief silence before Wednesday’s icy voice reached his mind again.
[I’m not mad, Luke. I’m disappointed]
[Disappointed? Why? We planned it this way, remember? You as the submissive sister, me as the cruel sister. We manipulated their perceptions however we wanted] Luke said, confused.
[It wasn’t what you said that bothered me. You know I don’t care if you insult me in front of them. It’s part of the game] Wednesday’s cold voice persisted.
[Then what?] Luke asked.
[What bothered me was that you gave in to Violet.]
[That bothered you? It wasn’t a big deal. Violet intervened, and well, I thought it was better to let it go so we wouldn’t ruin the mood. Everyone knows she’s close friends with Tuesday; it would be weird for me to be so aggressive and cruel with her, don’t you think?] Luke explained.
[Weird? Giving in is a crack in the personality you project and created yourself. Everyone knows Violet is lesbian] Wednesday replied, her mental voice cold but now tinged with something deeper: a barely contained hint of jealousy.
[What does that have to do with anything?] Luke asked.
[Tell me, Luke, when you’re in Tuesday’s body, do you see Violet as a possible romantic interest? Do you find her attractive? Do you flirt with her? Maybe the idea of having a relationship with a woman in a female body excites you?] Wednesday asked.
[What!? Where are you getting that from? Of course not!] Luke replied quickly, outraged by the insinuation.
[Are you sure? Because from where I stand, you seemed quite agreeable with her. So docile, even. And everyone knows Tuesday isn’t docile] Wednesday insisted, her voice cold, but clearly filled with a possessiveness Luke knew all too well.
[It wasn’t anything like that, Wednesday. I just thought it was better not to cause more problems. I don’t find her attractive, and I didn’t try to flirt with her, and I certainly don’t want to have a lesbian relationship in Tuesday’s body…] Luke responded, half indignant and trying to make everything clear.
[But if this bothers you so much, I’ll handle it differently next time. Is that okay?] Luke added.
There was a brief silence before Wednesday finally responded.
[You better, Luke. Because you’re mine. And I don’t plan on sharing even a fragment of you, whether you’re Luke or Tuesday]
[You don’t have to worry about that, Wednesday] Luke said, unable to avoid smiling slightly, recognizing that unique mix of coldness and possessiveness from Wednesday.
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