CHAPTER 11 ~ FINN'S POV

Waking up brought the distinct feeling of having committed a felony, especially since the morning light was streaming aggressively through the gap in my curtains to hit me right in the eye. Groaning and rolling over allowed me to bury my face in my pillow with the desperate hope that staying there long enough would turn yesterday into a fever dream induced by too much caffeine and stress.Perhaps the trip to the library had never happened, and meeting Kyle Bennett was just an illusion rather than a reality, where he dragged me to a party and held me like a prized possession in front of his ex-girlfriend.Reaching for the phone on the nightstand to check the time caused the screen to light up, and it just kept lighting up with a barrage of notifications.Instagram: 99+ new followers.

CHAPTER 12 ~ KYLE'S POV

The metrics were beautiful.Sitting on a bench outside the Life Sciences building, scrolling through the analytics on my phone revealed that in the twelve hours since posting the photo of the soda cups, engagement was up 45%. The comments were 90% positive, 5% confused, and 5% trolls, which was a noticeably better ratio than the campaign for Student Body President.However, the most important statistic wasn't a number but rather a single view.Vanessa_L had viewed the story three minutes after it went live.She hadn’t liked it, commented, or texted to hurl accusations of lying. That silence was golden because it meant she was stewing and wondering if she had misjudged everything, perhaps realizing her assumption of a safe and predictable robot was entirely wrong.Mission accomplished, the thought crossed my mind while closing the app to signify Phase One was complete.Now it was time for Phase Two: Maintenance.A quick glance at the watch showed 10:50 AM, meaning Finn’s Anatomy lectur

CHAPTER 13 ~ FINN'S POV

Knowing the peace wouldn't last, my anxiety spiked at 7:00 PM while sitting at my desk to memorize the cranial nerves for the third time just as my phone started vibrating against the wood.There was no need to look at the screen to know who was calling because the aggressive, sustained, and demanding vibration pattern made it obvious that it was the Queen Mother.Staring at the phone felt like looking at a bomb that had just ticked down to zero since ignoring the call meant she would immediately ring Sarah. If Sarah didn't answer, she would dial the campus police, and if they ignored her, she would probably drive down here herself armed with a casserole and a battering ram.Taking a deep breath and muttering a prayer to the god of patience was the only preparation before swiping to answer."Hi, Mo.....""Finnian James Parker!"Her voice was so incredibly loud that the phone had to be held at least six inches away from my ear."Why," she continued, without pausing for breath, "am I fi

All Chapters of PLAYING PRETEND: Chapter 11 - Chapter 13

CHAPTER 11 ~ FINN'S POV

CHAPTER 12 ~ KYLE'S POV

CHAPTER 13 ~ FINN'S POV