T W E N T Y - E I G H T

With the summer ending, the new seniors received text messages from Olivia Cooper about her annual end-of-summer pool party. The kids buzzed in anticipation, coming up with different lies to their parents as every year, mostly about spending the night at their friend’s place while the friend used the same argument, simply vice versa.

This time, though, the usual classmates weren’t the only ones getting the invitations. This time, the Southsiders were invited, too.

Olivia had sent the message to Ani, without adding the inviter’s name, and the pink-haired girl had shared the invitation with every senior Southsider that was going to be attending New Field high this year. Most of them were Vipers, but the group also included a few Demons and a couple of non-gang members who just happened to live in the same area.

(Many kids from Southside High would attend Seaside High, or Baxter High in Greendale, depending on their location.)

Ramsay was sitting on his c