Tessa, like the detective, circled me, scrutinizing every detail and pushing her glasses up. “Lena, look at you blushing. Do you have a crush for that Asher? You’re in trouble—you’re falling for him!”

Flushing, I tried to protest, “No... I haven’t...”

But they weren’t convinced. They started piecing together information I hadn’t even noticed.

“I remember Asher was into someone. Who was it again?” Tessa asked.

“It’s Isla, the beauty from the Civil Engineering Department. Last month, Asher got into a fight with a guy from her department and broke his bones.”

“Yeah, that was all over the campus forum,” Ava added. “You’ve got to be careful, or you’ll end up in a mess like that. Don’t become a love-struck fool.”

Ava pulled up the campus forum on her phone. The headline read: #School Bully’s Love Feud Almost Breaks Bones.

She patted my shoulder sympathetically. “Wise people don’t fall in love, but they do get rich.”

I tried to play it cool. “Let’s stay single together. Whoever gets out of singlehood first loses.”

But for some reason, my heart felt heavy.