Secrets spread like wildfire in high school.
Even though Maya promised to keep quiet, I could feel the tension building, the weight of the truth pressing harder each day. One slip, one careless glance, one too-long touch in public, and everything would unravel.
And maybe Maya hadn’t said a word, but rumors didn’t need proof—they only needed suspicion.
⸻
It started small. A whisper in the hallway. A pair of eyes lingering too long when Jason brushed past me. By Friday, I could hear my name paired with his in the cafeteria, hushed voices rising into not-so-hushed laughter.
“Did you see the way she looked at him?”
“They’re always together.”
“Bet you something’s going on.”
My stomach twisted as I shoved my tray onto the table next to Maya. She gave me a pointed look. “You hear it too,
