episode 2- Rumors and secrets
732 Words
The next morning, Westbridge High buzzed with noise long before the first bell rang.
Students crowded the hallways, laughing with friends, showing each other videos on their phones, and rushing to class before teachers could catch them late.
But the moment Emily Carter walked through the front doors—
The whispers started again.
“That’s her.” “The new girl.” “She was with Mason yesterday.”
Emily tightened her grip on her bag and kept walking.
She already regretted transferring here.
Why did everybody care so much about one conversation?
As she reached her locker, she carefully typed the combination the office had given her.
Wrong.
She tried again.
Still wrong.
Emily groaned quietly under her breath.
“Need help?”
She turned quickly.
Mason leaned against the locker beside hers with his usual lazy expression, earbuds hanging around his neck.
“No,” Emily replied immediately.
Mason raised an eyebrow.
“You’ve been trying for like two minutes.”
“I was figuring it out.”
“Sure.”
Before she could stop him, he stepped closer and spun the lock quickly until it clicked open.
Emily blinked.
“How did you do that?”
“I’m talented.”
“You’re annoying.”
“That too.”
For the first time since arriving at Westbridge, Emily smiled a little without realizing it.
Mason noticed.
And so did several students walking past them.
Phones immediately came out.
Great.
Emily’s smile disappeared instantly.
Mason sighed.
“They act like they’ve never seen two people talk before.”
“Maybe because you’re apparently famous here,” Emily muttered.
“Trust me,” Mason said, grabbing a book from his locker, “you don’t wanna know why.”
Before Emily could ask what he meant, a sharp voice interrupted them.
“Mason.”
The hallway suddenly became quieter.
Emily turned to see a tall blonde girl walking toward them confidently with two friends behind her.
Perfect makeup. Perfect hair. Perfect fake smile.
Everyone nearby moved aside for her automatically.
“Mia,” Mason said flatly.
So this was Mia Thompson.
Emily had already heard students talking about her all morning.
Cheer captain. Popular. Rich. Basically treated like a celebrity at school.
Mia’s eyes slowly moved toward Emily.
“So you’re the new girl.”
Emily crossed her arms slightly.
“And you’re clearly important around here.”
A few students nearby gasped quietly.
Mia’s smile tightened.
“I like her,” one of Mia’s friends whispered sarcastically.
Mason looked tired already.
“Mia, what do you want?”
“Oh nothing,” Mia replied sweetly. “I just think it’s funny.”
“What is?”
“You suddenly talking to someone.”
Emily frowned slightly.
“We’re literally just classmates.”
“Right,” Mia said. “Because Mason totally hangs around classmates.”
Mason shut his locker harder than necessary.
“Can you not do this today?”
Mia ignored him completely and stepped closer to Emily.
“Little advice?” she said softly. “Don’t believe everything he tells you.”
Emily looked between both of them carefully.
Something definitely happened between these two.
“You done?” Mason asked coldly.
Mia’s expression changed slightly at his tone.
For one second, she almost looked hurt.
But it disappeared quickly.
“See you around,” she said before turning and walking away with her friends.
The hallway noise slowly returned again.
Emily looked at Mason.
“…What was that?”
Mason rubbed the back of his neck.
“Drama.”
“That didn’t look like normal drama.”
“It’s complicated.”
Emily stared at him for a moment.
“You say that a lot.”
“Because it usually is.”
Before she could respond, the warning bell rang loudly through the hallway.
Students immediately rushed toward their classrooms.
Mason started walking before stopping beside her.
“You coming?”
Emily blinked.
“Oh. Yeah.”
As they walked side by side through the crowded hallway, Emily noticed people staring again.
Some looked curious. Some looked jealous.
And strangely enough…
Mia Thompson was still watching them from the other end of the hallway.
Her eyes locked onto Emily’s.
Cold.
Careful.
Like a warning.
And for the first time since arriving at Westbridge High—
Emily felt like she had just stepped into something much bigger than simple school rumors.
- Writer
