From 280 Pounds To The Red Carpet Chapter 09
The Reckoning
The recording stopped. Nobody moved.
Jessica stood there, face completely drained.
“Sera, you recorded me?”
“We were just talking. Since when do you secretly record people?”
Deflecting. Classic Jessica.
Before I could respond, Kross spoke up.
“Using someone’s trauma for entertainment. You call that just talking?”
Jessica’s lip trembled.
“Director Kross, you don’t understand. Sera and I were always close. Back in school it was just silly stuff.”
“Close?”
I picked up the old gym shirt from the wall.
“Then put it on.”
Jessica froze.
“What?”
I held the shirt out to her.
“Put it on. Step on the scale. Let everyone take photos with the sign on your back.”
“If you really think there’s nothing wrong with it, then prove it.”
Every pair of eyes in the room landed on her.
The same people who’d been cheering the loudest were now dead quiet.
Jessica’s eyes went red.
“Sera, you’re going too far!”
I smiled.
“Funny. So when it’s on you, suddenly it’s too far?”
Her face went white. The tears started falling on cue.
“Fine. I admit tonight was wrong.”
“But it wasn’t just me back then. Why am I the only one getting blamed?”
One sentence and she’d dragged half the room down with her.
Matt panicked immediately.
“Jessica, don’t drag us into this!”
“You posted the video. You set up the shirt. This is on you.”
“Yeah, we just said a few things. We didn’t know you were actually bullying her.”
Everyone who’d been laughing with her was suddenly scrambling to distance themselves.
Jessica stared at them in disbelief.
“You’re all pretending now?”
“Who blocked the bathroom door? Who carried the scale into the classroom?”
“And Tyler!”
She pointed straight at him.
“He’s the one who wrote that sign!”
Every head turned.
Tyler’s face went dark.
“You’re making stuff up.”
“Am I?”
Jessica laughed bitterly.
“You knew Sera was in love with you. You made a bet with us that if she dropped to one-twenty, you’d ask her out.”
My whole body went still.
I never knew about this.
Jessica was past the point of caring now.
“She starved herself until she collapsed on the track because of you.”
“And you said she was faking it for attention. You said…”
“Shut up!”
Tyler yelled loud enough to make everyone flinch.
Dead silence.
I looked at him and felt my stomach turn.
The guy I chased for three years was standing in the crowd the whole time, watching me fall apart.
“Sera, let me explain.”
Tyler rushed over.
“I was just talking trash. I never thought you’d actually take it seriously.”
“But I want to make it right now.”
He reached for my hand.
I slapped him across the face.
The crack echoed through the room. Tyler’s head snapped to the side. He stood there, stunned.
“That’s for the girl who starved herself until she collapsed. Because of you.”
I looked at Jessica and everyone else in the room.
“As for the rest of you.”
“The videos, the recordings, the group chat screenshots. All of it goes to my lawyer.”
“Everyone who was part of this. Every single one of you.”
Jessica panicked.
“You can’t do that!”
“You just got into the industry. If this blows up it’ll hurt you too!”
Nora let out a cold laugh.
“That’s not really your problem, is it?”
“Stellaris’ legal team happens to be working late tonight.”
Kross dropped his smile entirely.
“An actress who can’t stand up for herself has no business being on screen.”
“I’m behind her on this. All the way.”
Jessica’s legs gave out. She dropped back into her chair.
I didn’t look at her again. I turned and walked toward the door.
Nora held it open for me.
Behind me, Tyler suddenly chased after us.
“Sera!”
“You were in love with me for three years!”
“I know I was wrong. Can’t we start over?”
I stopped. Turned around.
Half his face was still red from the slap.
But his eyes weren’t full of regret. He just couldn’t handle that the girl he’d walked all over for years wouldn’t even look at him now.
“No.”
I reached up and took off the cheap hair clip he’d given me back in high school. Tossed it in the trash.
“Tyler.”
“I got over you a long time ago.”