"Electric shock executed." The metallic voice cut through the chant and Denise's hand spasmed against the rooftop railing. "What's wrong with you?" a kid behind her shouted. "Move, freak!" another answered. A circle of boys pressed around a slim figure on his knees, one palm flat on the other's back. They laughed. They recorded. Denise blinked. The sun burned her eyes. The pinned boy didn't look up. He had that cold composure people called beautiful and unreachable. She recognized the face from years of shrugging at book covers she mocked in late-night posts. "Who are you staring at?" a girl in a varsity jacket asked. "I was looking at you," Denise said before she knew she would. Her voice sounded flat even to her ears. A hand reached for the pinned boy's hair. The kid on the ground hissed. The crowd's chant rose: "Get up, rich kid! Scare the poor, huh? Scare the poor!" Denise took a step between them. "Back off," she said. Before her feet could find solid ground, a cold, electrical pain bit her palm. Her fingers clenched. The voice returned, audible only to her. [001: HOST BOUND. IDENTIFICATION COMPLETE.] [001: READOUT: ROLE - VILLAIN (ORIGINAL NOVEL).] [001: SIMP TRAINING INITIATED.] Denise's mouth went dry. She tried to move her other hand and met resistance, like a magnet locked inside her skull. The rooftop blurred for a second. Students pointed. Doyle Rocha shoved up close, face paint smeared, hair spiking a neon banner