A Friend's Betrayal?

The weight of Sophie’s email sat in my inbox for hours, a tiny digital ember glowing with a promise of something I wasn’t sure I wanted. *“First meeting. Argentum Review. Tuesday, 7 PM. Room 304, Ashford Hall.”* Ashford Hall. My dorm. She’d made it convenient, almost too convenient. A calculated move, no doubt. Or was it? The thought of her, of the way her eyes had met mine, of the strange, unsettling flutter in my chest, was more distracting than any lecture or strategic calculation.

Daniel, bless his organized heart, had already signed up for the Chess Club and the Debate Society. He’d also, quite helpfully, informed me that the Argentum Review meeting was in our building. “Convenient, right?” he’d said, beaming. “Maybe you can finally get that story about the cafeteria food quality.”

I’d just nodded, a tight smile plastered on my face, and retreated to my desk. The words “piss people off” echoed in my mind. She’d said that when describing the Review’s mission. *Piss people off.* It was a phrase that resonated with me, a familiar echo of my own internal landscape.