The rumour
498 Words
The air at Willow Creek High felt heavier that morning, thick with the kind of silence that comes before a storm. Ava noticed it the second she stepped inside. Conversations hushed. Eyes lingered. Phones slipped quickly into pockets.
At first, she thought she was imagining it — until she reached her locker. Someone had taped a printed photo to the metal door.
Her face.
Her real face.
The scars faint but visible, the soft angle of her jaw caught mid-smile. It was a picture from months ago — one she didn’t even know existed.
Beneath it, written in red marker, were the words:
> Now we finally see her.
Her heart dropped so fast it made her dizzy.
Whispers rose around her like a wave: “That’s her… the faceless girl…”
Ava ripped the picture down, hands shaking, and bolted down the hallway, blind to everything but the heat rising behind her eyes.
By the time she reached the art room, tears had blurred her vision. She locked the door and slid to the floor, hugging her knees, trying to steady her breathing.
The door rattled.
“Ava, it’s me,” Eli’s voice called.
She pressed her forehead against the cool tile. “Go away.”
“I just want to talk—”
“Don’t, Eli.” Her voice cracked. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you feel sorry for me!” she snapped, turning toward him. “Like I’m some broken thing you have to protect.”
His jaw tightened. “That’s not how I see you.”
“Then how do you see me?”
“I see the girl who made me laugh when everything felt dark,” he said softly. “The one who taught me how to stop pretending. That’s who I see.”
She shook her head, voice trembling. “You don’t understand. I spent months trying to be invisible, and now—” her words broke into a sob “—now everyone’s staring again.”
He took a cautious step closer. “Then let them. You don’t have to hide anymore.”
“But I want to,” she whispered. “I don’t know how to be brave all the time, Eli.”
He reached for her hand, but she stepped back, eyes glassy with fear and shame.
“I can’t do this right now,” she said quietly. “Please… just go.”
Eli hesitated, then nodded — not because he wanted to leave, but because he finally understood she needed space.
When the door closed, Ava sank to the floor again, clutching the torn photo in her hands.
For the first time in a long while, she felt small again — like the world had found a new way to take her face from her.
But deep down, beneath the panic, something flickered — a spark of anger, of defiance.
Maybe this time, she wouldn’t let them win.
- Writer
