Chapter 5: Before the Fall

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Before the Fall

The waitress arrived with effortless efficiency, a warm smile on her face and a notepad balanced expertly in one hand.

"Ready to order now?"

Zoey didn’t even need to glance at the menu again.

"I’ve been ready since we walked through the door," she declared confidently. "I’ll have the double bacon cheeseburger with extra fries, and don’t let anybody tell you there is such a thing as too much cheese. Oh, and an iced mocha."

The waitress laughed softly as she scribbled down the order. "Noted."

Vanessa closed her menu and smiled politely. "I’ll have the grilled chicken panini and a caramel latte, please."

The waitress turned to Iris. "And for you?"

Iris took one last look at the menu before answering. "I’ll have the creamy mushroom pasta with garlic bread... and a strawberry lemonade."

"Excellent. Your food should be out shortly."

She gathered the menus and disappeared toward the kitchen.

After the excitement of the game, the tension surrounding iris about Jason’s attitude towards her and her nervousness towards their current relationship status, the quiet hum of the café felt almost therapeutic.

Zoey stretched comfortably against the leather booth. "I don’t care what anybody says, or that the star player is your cocky-ass boyfriend, but victory food always tastes better."

Vanessa laughed, tucking the thoughts of Jason and Iris at the back of her mind....for now.

"I wasn’t aware losing food had a different flavor."

"Oh It absolutely does." Zoey replied, taking a sip of her mocha.

"And what does defeat food taste like?" Iris asked with a smile.

Zoey didn’t hesitate to answer her. "It tastes like cafeteria meatloaf."

Both girls burst into laughter. Iris shook her head. "You really have something against the cafeteria food Zoey." Iris remarked.

"Hell yeah! I have something against food that looks like it survived two world wars. The food in the school cafeteria is terrible. Even prison inmates don’t eat that junk."

Iris and Vanessa chuckled at Zoey’s words. Their laughter gradually settled into a comfortable silence.

Vanessa stirred her latte absentmindedly before looking across the table at Iris.

"So..." There was something gentle and hesitant in her voice. "Did you buy the lingerie that you’ll be wearing tonight?" Vanessa asked taking a sip of her own drink.

"Uhh, are we still talking about that? I thought we already decided that she’s no longer sleeping with the guy tonight?" Zoey complained immediately.

"Hey don’t get me wrong, am just asking in case things work out for them after their dinner tonight and the impending conversation go smoothly." Vanessa said with her hands raised. "She’ll need the make sure that everything is set, so she doesn’t regret that she didn’t plan it well. Just saying.." Vanessa finished talking and ate her chicken.

Heat returned back to Iris face and she blushed. "Yes I did, right after I booked the hotel." She said shyly.

"What color did you buy?" Zoey asked immediately.

"Red." Iris replied.

"Atta girl." Zoey cheered her on. "The color is great and all, but it’ll only be out to great use, if golden boy decided to show up for the anniversary dinner."

"Zoey!" Vanessa tried to come to his defense. "He will come. Stop trying to make her nervous."

"I’m not trying to make her nervous or anything, I’m just saying," Zoey said, her tone flat, lacking even the pretense of sympathy. "It’s your birthday today and he hasn’t called or texted her yet. No matter the game that he’s playing or the pressure on his shoulders....If he wanted to be here, he’d be here. He wouldn’t leave you on read for fourty-eight hours just to show up for a ’surprise’ that he’s clearly dreading or don’t care about anymore."

Vanessa reached across the table, her hand hovering near Iris’s wrist, offering a gentle, manicured bridge of support. "Iris, don’t listen to her. Jason is a Falcon and a captain. He’s under immense pressure right now. The playoffs are everything. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you."

"No Vanessa, Zoey is right. He forgot my birthday, Vanessa," Iris whispered, the words feeling heavy, like stones she’d been carrying in her coat pocket for months. "We’ve been dating for years and no matter the pressure or how busy he was, he never forgot my birthday. But he did this time, so I’ll just keep my hands crossed and see what happens at the end of the day." She said.

"Exactly my point," Zoey snapped, her fingers dancing over her phone screen with practiced, frantic energy. "People prioritize what they value. And right now, Jason values the optics of being the golden boy, and winning his championship."

Suddenly, the screen of Zoey’s phone flickered, casting a cool, blue light against her sharp features. A sharp, rhythmic ping-ping-ping of notification sounds erupted from the device, sounding like gunfire in the claustrophobic space of the diner.

She picked it up absentmindedly and went through the message and hummed.

"Hmm..."

"What is it?" Vanessa asked. Watching as Zoey frowned at the screen.

"It’s the Campus Pulse app."

Vanessa groaned dramatically. "Oh no. Don’t tell me they’ve updated another ranking."

"They have."

"Those rankings are ridiculous," Iris said, taking a sip of her lemonade. "Half the students vote because they’re bored."

"And yet," Zoey replied without looking up, "everyone still checks them. It makes our mundane life very interesting and gives us something to gossip about."

"Not everyone checks the campus pulse." Iris tried to argue.

"You checked the ’Top Professors to Avoid Before Midterms’ list last semester."

"...That was for research." Iris said with a straight face.

Vanessa laughed. "Sure it was."

Zoey scrolled further. "Looks like today’s update is the annual popularity rankings."

Vanessa leaned across the table immediately. "Read them out loud for us to hear."

Zoey cleared her throat theatrically and started reading. "’Emerald Heights University’s Most Eligible Men.’"

Vanessa grinned. "This should be interesting."

Zoey’s eyes scanned the screen. "Number five is... Ethan Zane from the swim team."

"That’s fair...he is very good looking. Especially when he goes shirtless...the girls go crazy." Vanessa said with a grin.

"That why I registered for the swim team even though I can’t swim." Zoey said and the girls bust into laughter.

"Number four..." Zoey continued. "Liam Foster from Student Council."

"I still don’t understand that one," Vanessa muttered. "Why do people vote for him? And why is he even popular?"

"I think it’s the dimples." Zoey replied. "And second, he’s the president of the student council. So he is pretty popular."

"Dimples shouldn’t carry that much power." Vanessa muttered.

"Baby girl in this century....they do."

Zoey continued scrolling. "Number three... Noah Blake from the Music Department."

Vanessa nodded approvingly. "Yeah, he kind of deserves that."

"Why do you think so? You’ve never even spoken to him." Iris asked her.

"I’ve seen him play the violin. And I can guarantee you that, you’ll fall in love with music right then and there." Vanessa replied.

"...Fair enough." Iris said with a nod.

"And for number one..." Zoey paused for dramatic effect.

"Oh, for heaven’s sake, just say it," Vanessa laughed.

Zoey smirked. "Our golden boy....Jason Montgomery."

Iris smiled into her drink. "I don’t think anyone’s surprised about that ranking."

"I’m certainly not," Vanessa admitted. "Half the girls in this university have a crush on him."

"And yet," Zoey said, smiling at Iris, "he chose our birthday girl. But for now and until they have their dinner, that we will find out, if he still choses her."

Vanessa lifted her coffee. "He will, so I’ll drink to that."

The three clinked their glasses together. Then Zoey scrolled again.

"Oh..."

"What?" Vanessa asked her.

"The women’s rankings is up."

Vanessa immediately leaned closer again. "This particular ranking is always where the drama starts."

Zoey chuckled. "You’re not wrong on that one.".She began reading. "Number five..."

"No one cares about number five." Vanessa interrupted her.

"Vanessa!"

"What? We all know everyone’s waiting for the top spot. They’re the ones that actually matter."

Zoey rolled her eyes. "Fine." She skipped ahead. "Number two..." At seeing the name that appeared in the campus pulse, Zoey gasped and looked up.

"Iris Carter."

Iris blinked surprised. "...Me?"

Vanessa clapped excitedly. "I knew it!"

"Oh my God!"

"I told you!"

Several customers glanced over at the sudden outburst. And so Vanessa had to lower her voice only slightly. "Remember when I said you’d be in the top three. And now....am proved right....again."

Iris shook her head in disbelief. "This is ridiculous."

"What do you mean ridiculous?" Zoey laughed. "You should’ve been number one. Iris have you looked at yourself in the mirror? Girl you’re hot. If you weren’t, do you think that someone like Jadon Montgomery will ask you out and date you for three years?"

"I don’t know." Iris said. "And i don’t even know why people vote on these things. It just seems ridiculous to me that’s all."

"Because sometimes university students have too much free time and are bored. They need some form of entertainment and mostly.....gossip." Zoey said and Vanessa nodded solemnly.

"That’s actually true."

Iris leaned across the table to look at the screen herself.

Sure enough...she saw her name thete

#2 — Iris Carter Final Year Business Administration. And beneath her picture were hundreds of comments.

"She’s gorgeous."

"Most beautiful smile on campus."

"Those green eyes should be illegal."

"Jason Montgomery won at life."

Her cheeks warmed instantly reading all the comments about her.

"Can we please stop looking at this?" Iris asked.

"No." Zoey grinned. "I’m enjoying your embarrassment."

Vanessa scrolled upward. "So...Who’s number one?"

Zoey’s expression changed slightly. "Scarlett Dubois."

Iris wasn’t surprised. Scarlett Dubois had been impossible to ignore since freshman year. She’s beautiful, always looked elegant and impossibly wealthy.

She’s the daughter of one of Seattle’s most influential business families. And she’s currently the vice president of Emerald Heights’ Student Council.

She’s also a fourth-year Law student who somehow managed to graduate at the top of every class she entered.

She was the kind of woman magazine covers seemed to adore.

Perfect blonde hair, blue eyes and a flawless posture. She always wore designer clothes that somehow never looked like they were trying too hard.

Even people who disliked Scarlett admitted one thing....She was stunning. Except that she’s rude.....that’s was her only flaw in Iris’s view.

Vanessa shrugged. "I expected that."

"So did I," Zoey admitted. "She always tops the ranking. But honestly..." She looked at Iris. "I still think they’re wrong."

Iris laughed. "Please don’t start."

"I’m serious. Your picture that was uploaded in the campus pulse doesn’t do justice to how you actually look. If a clear picture of you were uploaded, you’d beat her hands down."

"No, you’re biased Zoey." Iris said.

"You’re right, I absolutely am. But you can’t say that am wrong."

Vanessa nodded in agreement. "Zoey’s right iris. We’re both biased, and proud of it."

Iris could only shake her head. "You two are impossible."

Her phone vibrated softly against the table, and without thinking, Iris picked it up. Immediately, her heart lifted.

It was from Jason. She smiled immediately before opening the conversation. But the smile that was on her face slowly faded.

Jason had finally opened and read her message but he sent no reply to her. Nothing at all, not even a thumbs-up.

Zoey noticed the tiny change in Iris’s expression almost instantly and asked her. "What is it iris?"

"Jason read my text that I sent him earlier." Iris replied with a sigh.

"And?" Zoey asked. "Did he reply or even wish you a happy birthday or a happy anniversary?"

Iris hesitated. "...No he didn’t."

Vanessa frowned. "What happened?"

"I don’t know. The message clearly showed that he read it, but I got nothing from him."

Iris forced a small smile. "He probably got pulled into interviews after the game and didn’t have the time to reply."

Zoey didn’t look convinced. "He couldn’t spare five seconds?"

"I’m sure he will later."

Vanessa reached over and squeezed Iris’s hand reassuringly. "Don’t overthink it babe. At least on the bright side, he knows about dinner now. So he’ll be there."

Iris nodded. "Yeah. He would."

He had to be....Tonight was her birthday and their third anniversary. And... She glanced down at her handbag.

Hidden inside was the key card to the hotel room she’d booked weeks ago. Everything had been planned perfectly. It all led to the future she’d imagined with Jason.

She smiled to herself. By this time tomorrow...everything would be different.

Neither Iris...Nor the two women sitting across from her...Had the faintest idea just how true those words would become.