The scene was set at an artificialke on Riverside University''s campus, quite a trek from the dining hall. By the time Mirabe arrived, Summer, who had been waiting with dwindling patience, was on the verge of losing her cool.


    "I half-expected you to chicken out," Summer chuckled, her voiceced with mockery. With no prying eyes around, she dropped her pretense entirely.


    "Hand over the phone," Mirabe demanded, her gaze icy and unwavering.


    Summer couldn''t hide her delight at seeing Mirabe drop her usual indifferent act. "What''s with the change? Aren''t you always ying the saint, looking down on the rest of us?" she teased.


    Mirabe''s response was a withering re, but Summer wasn''t fazed. She knew exactly why Mirabe was rattled.


    Taking her time, Summer pulled out a bulky ck phone from her pocket. The sight of it sent Mirabe''s anger into overdrive, her eyes narrowing in a ze of fury. It was the phone Catherine had used before her passing, the one that had eluded Mirabe the previous year.


    Feigning ignorance to Mirabe''s fury, Summer tossed the phone lightly in her hand. "Feeling pissed? Dying to get your hands on this?" she taunted.


    "Do you have a death wish?" Mirabe''s eyes were slits, stray windblown hair brushing hershes, adding to her fierce demeanor.


    Summer, far from intimidated, found the situation even more satisfying. She relished seeing Mirabe lose her cool. The more riled up Mirabe got, the more amused Summer felt.


    With a smirk, Summer took a few steps toward theke, then paused to throw a parting shot. "Oh, almost slipped my mind. There''s a recording from Catherine on this phone," she said, feigning an offhand remark. "Or should I say, herst words?"


    Summer clicked her tongue, shaking her head as if in mock regret. "Too bad you''ll never hear it."


    With a swift motion, Summer hurled the phone into theke. A distant ssh broke the tension.


    Mirabe''s eyes widened, as though a string had snapped in her mind. That phone might have been thest piece of her grandmother''s legacy.


    With bloodshot eyes and no hesitation, Mirabe leaped towards theke But Summer had anticipated this. Just before


    Mirabe could dive in, Summer


    tackled her to the ground.


    Taking advantage of the moment, Summer plunged a syringe into Mirabe''s arm. "You brought this on yourself," she sneered as she pressed the plunger down.


    Satisfied with her work, Summer stood up, not sparing Mirabe a second nce. She pulled out her own phone, ready to call for help.


    But before she could even dial, Mirabe, who should have been knocked out cold, sprang to her feet.


    Startled, Summer dropped her phone, eyes wide with disbelief. "You..."


    Mirabe moved like lightning, her hand mping around Summer''s throat. "Trying to drug me? They didn''t mention I''m immune, did they?"


    Summer, caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, didn''t process Mirabe''s words. As the grip tightened around her neck, her face flushed red and blue.


    She struggled in vain, her breaths growing shallow as the shadow death foomed. Just when


    thought it was over, the get


    on


    her throat suddenly eased