Cassie Howard sat slumped in the passenger seat of Suze's car, her hands clasped in her lap like a child awaiting a scolding. The silence was deafening, broken only by the occasional clicking of Suze's perfectly manicured nails against the steering wheel. Cassie could feel the storm brewing—her mother was a ticking time bomb of rage, and the car ride home felt like the calm before the inevitable explosion.

"So…" Suze finally began, her voice eerily calm. "Do you want to explain to me why I had to bail you out of jail because of a Target event?"

Cassie opened her mouth, searching for an excuse, but nothing came. "It's not what it looks like," she mumbled.

"Oh, really?" Suze snapped, her voice rising. "Because what it looks like is my daughter losing her mind over a bottle of body wash and calling Ashley Tisdale a 'washed-up bitch' in front of half the town."

"It wasn't about the body wash," Cassie muttered.

Suze slammed her hand against the steering wheel, making Cassie jump. "Do you even hear yourself? This is insane! I've had PTA meetings less embarrassing than this, and those involved fights over gluten-free pizza!"

Cassie shrank into her seat, staring out the window as they pulled into the driveway. Suze threw the car into park and turned to her, her face a mixture of anger and disbelief.

"And now," Suze continued, her voice trembling with rage, "you're a meme. A meme, Cassie. You're on the Internet as 'Karen of the Week.' Do you know how humiliating that is for me?"

Cassie's head snapped toward her. "Wait, what?"

Suze pulled out her phone, her hands shaking slightly as she opened YouTube. She clicked on a video titled "Top 10 Karens of Target: Gone Wild Edition" and shoved the screen in Cassie's face.

Cassie's heart sank as the video began to play. There she was, screaming at Ashley Tisdale, her voice distorted for comedic effect. The video cut to her being handcuffed, the caption reading: "When you think it's your event, but it's not."

Cassie buried her face in her hands. "Oh my God."

"Oh, it gets worse," Suze said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She scrolled to another video titled "Viall Files Podcast: The Karen Chronicles," featuring Nick Viall himself.

Cassie groaned. "No. No, no, no. This can't be real."

Suze hit play.

Nick Viall's smooth voice filled the room. "So, today we're talking about one of the most chaotic Karen moments we've seen in a while. Cassie Howard—yes, the same Cassie from East Highland High—went viral after a meltdown at a Target. Apparently, she thought she could outshine Ashley Tisdale."

Cassie flinched as Nick laughed.

His co-host chimed in. "I mean, who does that? It's Ashley Tisdale! She's, like, unproblematic. This is wild."

"And the best part," Nick continued, "is the drama didn't stop there. Word on the street is Maddy Perez might have had something to do with all this. A classic case of high school rivalry spilling into adulthood."

Suze paused the video, glaring at Cassie. "Well? Care to comment?"

Cassie threw up her hands. "It's not my fault! Maddy started it! She's the one who made it go viral!"

Suze laughed, but it was the kind of laugh that sent chills down Cassie's spine. "Oh, so it's Maddy's fault you stormed back to Target like a lunatic and got arrested?"

"Yes!" Cassie exclaimed, desperate. "She's obsessed with ruining my life!"

Suze shook her head, leaning back in her chair. "No, Cassie. You're ruining your own life. And I'm running out of ways to fix it."

Cassie opened her mouth to respond, but Suze held up a hand. "No. I don't want to hear it. You're grounded until further notice. No phone, no social media, no boys. Do you understand me?"

Cassie groaned. "Mom, come on—"

"Do you understand me?" Suze repeated, her voice like steel.

Cassie slumped back in her seat. "Yes."


Hours later, Cassie sat on her bed, staring at her blank phone screen. She could hear Lexi in the next room, probably laughing at her expense. She couldn't take it anymore.

She stormed into Lexi's room, finding her sister curled up on the bed with her laptop. "Did you know about this?" Cassie demanded, pointing to the YouTube video playing on the screen.

Lexi looked up, her face calm. "Oh, you mean the viral Karen video? Yeah, everyone knows. It's trending."

Cassie groaned, flopping onto Lexi's bed. "This is a nightmare. How am I supposed to show my face at school?"

Lexi closed her laptop, smirking. "I don't know. Maybe try not yelling at celebrities in public?"

Cassie glared at her. "You're not helping."

Lexi shrugged. "I'm not trying to."

Cassie sat up, her voice trembling. "Do you think Maddy's watching all of this and laughing at me right now?"

Lexi didn't hesitate. "Oh, absolutely."

Cassie groaned again, burying her face in her hands.

"Look," Lexi said, her tone softening slightly, "maybe this is a sign. You need to stop letting Maddy get to you. Every time you try to one-up her, you just make things worse for yourself."

Cassie peeked out from between her fingers. "So, what? I'm just supposed to let her win?"

"Maybe," Lexi said with a shrug. "Or you could focus on something other than boys, drama, and your TikTok follower count."

Cassie sighed, flopping back onto the bed. "I hate this."

Lexi smiled faintly. "You'll survive. But maybe next time, think twice before challenging Ashley Tisdale."

Cassie didn't respond, but deep down, she knew Lexi was right. For now, though, all she could do was wait for the chaos to die down—and pray Maddy didn't find a new way to make her life a living hell.

But knowing Maddy, that was probably wishful thinking.