The wasp stings had faded by the weekend, but Ploy's anger had not. Ava walked around school like nothing happened. So Ploy planned the biggest birthday party in town. Her father rented the whole backyard party. She hired a real pop star to sing. And she made sure Ava was invited, because a party is no good unless your enemy has to watch you win. Ploy wore her rainbow heart dress with the gold chain belt. She rode in on a white pony with a pink mane and star clips. Every kid clapped. Ava clapped too, standing near the fence in her plain shirt and denim skirt. Ploy smiled at her like a queen smiles at a servant. "Happy birthday," Ava said, holding out a small wrapped box. "I got you a video game. It's really fun, because you can play with a friend." Ploy took it and dropped it on a chair without looking. "I don't play baby games," she said. A few kids laughed. Ava's face fell. The pop star climbed on the little stage. Sand still clung to her blonde hair. She wore a sparkly cover-up over her bright pink swimsuit. "This one is for the birthday girl," she called, and started her beach song. The whole yard cheered. Ploy stood in front, sure everyone was watching only her. Then Coral pushed through the crowd to reach her. Coral was Ava's best friend. Ava thought so, anyway. Coral wore her white Hello Kitty jacket and matching bows. She grabbed Ploy's arm like they had known each other forever. "You look perfect," Coral said. "Better than anyone here." She said it flat, like a fact. Then she leaned close. "Ava only came to copy you. She's been telling people the party is boring." Ploy blinked. "She said that?" "Once. I heard her." Coral did not blink back. Her braces flashed when she smiled. This was better than any plan Ploy had made herself. She turned to the party. She raised her hand until the music stopped. "Ava thinks my party is boring," Ploy announced. "She came to steal my ideas." Heads turned toward Ava. Ava's mouth opened. "I didn't—I never said that, because I don't even—" "Then why are you here?" Ploy said. Kids started whispering. Ava's eyes went wet. She dropped her paper plate and ran for the gate. Nobody followed her. Ploy grinned. She had done it. She had made Ava look bad and cry, all at her own party. Coral stood beside her, still holding her arm, watching her like she was the only person in the yard. "See?" Coral said quietly. "I'm always on your side." But Ava had left the video game behind. And she had left something else too. Her phone sat on the chair, screen up, still recording every word Ploy had just said in front of everyone.

The party was over, but Ploy's plan wasn't. She wanted to make Ava fall for her humiliation completely. To do that, she needed to steal the boy Ava liked. One problem stopped her cold. She had no idea who the boy was. Ava never said his name. Ploy could flirt with the wrong boy and waste everything. So she went to the ice cream shop, the pink one shaped like a giant cone. She wore the outfit that made boys stare. The fishnet sleeves, the chain belt, the spiked boots. Three boys tripped over their own feet to hold the door. Ploy smiled. Somewhere in this town, she thought, the right boy would react. She just had to find him. A girl leaned against the counter, watching her. Black hair, dark lips, a leather jacket with gold zippers. Raven had been Ploy's best friend once, years ago, before Ploy dropped her. Now Raven's eyes locked on Ploy like she had waited all this time. "You're hunting," Raven said. Not a question. "I can smell it." Ploy lifted her chin. "I'm looking for someone. Ava's crush. She won't tell me who." Raven's mouth curled. "Ava dropped me too. I know everything about her." She stepped close. "His name is Axel. Blue hair. Soft grunge kid. She's liked him since spring." Ploy's heart jumped. Finally. A name. A face. "How do you know?" "Because Ava tells everyone everything." Raven pulled out her phone and showed a photo. A chubby boy with light blue hair and green eyes, laughing at something offscreen. "That's him." Ploy stared at the boy. Axel Morrison. Now she had a real target. She could aim every smile, every flirt, straight at him. Ava would watch the boy she loved choose her enemy. "Why help me?" Ploy asked. Raven leaned in. "Because I want to be your friend again. And because I want Ava to hurt." Her cold eyes didn't blink. "Same as you." Ploy should have felt happy. She had the name. But Raven's stare pressed on her like a hand. This wasn't a friend. This was someone who never let go. The door chimed. Ava walked in, holding her grandmother's hand. Lola Marisol Santos wore a bright embroidered jacket and gold hoops. She scanned the shop, saw Ploy, and stopped smiling. She knew this was the girl who made Ava cry. Ava froze when she saw Raven beside Ploy. Her face went pale. "You're talking to her?" she said. "Raven, you're talking to her? So it's true, because you hate me now." "I never liked you," Raven said flatly. Lola pulled Ava back toward the door. "We're leaving, anak." She glared at Ploy. "Stay away from my granddaughter." The door swung shut. Ploy stood there, the name burning in her head. Axel. She had what she needed. But now Ava knew Ploy was hunting. And Raven wasn't leaving her side.

Thirteen years passed. The video Raven held never surfaced. Elliot married Ploy instead of Ava. Now Ploy stood inside a bright science camp with painted rockets on the porch. She had taken a counselor job here for one reason. Ava worked here too. Every morning they signed the same clipboard, and every morning Ploy smiled like it cost her nothing. Ava arrived with two kids and a cousin trailing behind. Ava still wore soft floral things, still spoke in bursts. "Morning. So, the telescopes are set up. Because the kids want stars." She never once looked Ploy in the eye. Ploy hated her more for that. Ava's daughter, Riley, walked at her side. Ploy knew the girl was Elliot's too, from before. That fact sat in her chest like a stone. Sofia slid up beside Ploy at the sign-in desk. Ava's cousin had followed Ploy for years, pink sneakers and all, still hungry to please her. "I heard something," Sofia said, flat. "Ava's been leaving the little kids alone by the pond. Maxwell. Her son." Ploy's heart jumped. This was it. Proof Ava was a bad mother, in front of everyone. "Show me," Ploy said. "Today." At lunch, Sofia led Ploy to the pond deck. Maxwell sat alone at the water's edge, throwing pebbles. No adult near him. Ploy pulled out her phone and filmed. "See?" she whispered. "She left him. I'll send this to Elliot." Then Riley stepped in front of the camera. The girl's boots planted wide. "Stop," Riley said. "My mom told me to watch him. She's getting bandaids. He scraped his knee." Riley pointed at Maxwell's leg. A thin red line ran down his shin. Ploy lowered the phone. Ava came back running, a bandaid in her hand, breathless. She dropped beside Maxwell and pressed it to his knee. Then she saw Ploy's phone still up. "You were filming him," Ava said. Her voice shook, then steadied. "So this is what you do. Still. After everything." She stood. For the first time in thirteen years, Ava looked Ploy straight in the eye. "I know you married Elliot. I don't care anymore. But you leave my kids alone." Other counselors had stopped walking. They watched. Sofia had drifted back, saying nothing, protecting only herself. Ploy stood holding a phone with nothing on it but a boy and his sister and a bandaid. The camp director called Ploy inside that afternoon. A parent had complained about a counselor filming children. Ploy was suspended from the pond duty and put on notice. Ploy walked to her car alone. Her plan to shame Ava had flipped and cut her instead. But Sofia caught her at the gate, quiet and quick. "Elliot," Sofia said. "He still doesn't know Riley is his by Ava. Use that." Ploy stopped. A new, colder idea took root.