Love Unscripted

✨ Chapter Six:Cracks in the walls

I walked out of the principal’s office feeling oddly lighter, like i had just exhaled after holding breath all day. For the first time since arriving at Wheelerslane High, someone had seen through my hard shell—and hadn’t turned away.

My sneakers echoed down the polished hallway as i made my way back to class. I was halfway there when a familiar voice called out.

"Yo, Keller!"

I turned to see Thierry leaning casually against a locker, a crooked grin on his face. He was one of the few people who had tried to talk to me since i arrived—always cracking jokes or giving me a nod in the hallway. Annoying, but not in a bad way.

"You good?" he asked, straightening up and falling into step beside me.

"Yeah. Principal just wanted to check in. Nothing serious," i said, hugging my books tighter.

Thierry tilted his head. “That’s rare. Usually when you get called in there, it’s because you set something on fire. Or punched Sasha."

I chuckled. “Tempting... but no. We just talked.”

We walked in comfortable silence for a few seconds before Thierry added, “You’re different, you know. In a good way. People talk, but they don’t really know you.”

I raised a brow. “You think you do?”

He shrugged. “Nah. But I’d like to.”

Before i could respond, we turned into the classroom—and it was like stepping into a storm of teenage chaos.

Voices buzzed, students leaned across desks, passing notes, sharing phones, laughing. Someone had started playing music quietly from the back. It was like no one remembered they were in school.

“Ouuuu lovebirds!” someone teased as I and Thierry walked in together.

Thierry shot back with a smirk, “Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, Kyle.”

I just rolled my eyes and headed to my seat near the window. Telly, was already there—head buried in a sketchpad, drawing something with intense focus.

“Hey,” I said softly as i sat.

Telly looked up, eyes wide like she’d just been pulled from another world. “Oh! Keller! You’re back. How’d it go? People were saying a lot,trust me.”

I sank into my chair and whispered, “Relax. I wasn’t expelled or anything.”

Telly smiled. “Good. That means I don’t have to sit next to Sasha.”

I laughed for real this time. “That bad, huh?”

Telly leaned closer and whispered, “Worse. She talks about herself in third person and smells like four different perfumes fighting for dominance.”

As we giggled, I realized something strange: i was actually enjoying myself. Slowly, cautiously, the walls i had built around my heart were starting to show tiny cracks.

And for once, that didn’t scare me.

I was still smiling from Telly’s perfume joke when the door burst open with a loud bang.

In she came—Sasha.

The girl walked in like she owned the air in the room. Her braids were freshly done, long and swinging, her lip gloss sparkled like it had its own filter, and her blazer hung off one shoulder in that I-break-rules-but-still-pass-my-classes kind of way. A few boys near the back whistled low under their breath.

“Sorry I’m late, Miss Carter,” Sasha said with zero remorse as she slid into her seat—unapologetically loud, unapologetically Sasha.

Miss Carter wasn’t even in the room yet.

Telly muttered, “Brace yourself,” like a warning from a horror movie.

Sasha’s eyes swept across the room like a heat-seeking missile—and landed on Keller.

“Oh. Look who’s back from her little therapy session with the principal,” she sneered loud enough for everyone to hear.

The room quieted just a little. Enough for people to pretend they weren’t listening—when they definitely were.

I didn’t flinch. I leaned back in my chair and raised my brow. “You keep tabs on me that much? Should I be flattered or file a restraining order?”

A few students chuckled.

Sasha’s smile thinned. “Sweetie, no one’s checking for you. I just like knowing when a stray shows up in my yard.”

Thierry, still nearby, turned in his seat. “Chill, Sasha. She’s not here for your drama.”

“Oh, please.” Sasha turned her attention to him. “You’re all friendly now, huh? What happened to your standards?”

“Maybe they’re too high for you to reach,” he shot back without missing a beat.

The class oooh’d like they were watching a live show.

Sasha’s eyes narrowed, but before she could respond, Miss Carter finally walked in, holding a pile of textbooks and looking already exhausted.

“Okay, everyone, settle down. Mouths shut, books open.”

Sasha leaned toward her desk mate and whispered loudly enough for Keller to hear, “The stray better watch it. Just 'cause the principal likes her doesn’t mean the rest of us do.”

I ignored her, but my fingers tightened around my pen.

Telly gently nudged my knee under the desk. “Don’t let her get to you. She feeds off attention. Like a mosquito.”

I smirked. “She better hope I don’t slap back.”

The class was still buzzing beneath the surface, but I felt something shift again—this time, in myself. I wasn’t going to fade into the background. Not anymore.