Chapter 10_ QUEEN BEES
1103 Words
The library was never truly silent.
There were always whispers.
Pages turning.
Soft footsteps.
The occasional cough.
The distant hum of air conditioning.
But the moment Vivian Laurent entered—
silence happened.
Not natural silence.
Not peaceful silence.
The kind of silence people created when trouble walked into a room.
Arielle felt it before she even looked up.
The atmosphere shifted.
Students stiffened.
Heads lowered.
Eyes darted away.
Because everyone knew Vivian.
Everyone knew Sophia.
Everyone knew Camille.
And everyone knew it was never wise to be caught in their path.
Arielle slowly lifted her gaze from her book.
The three girls stood at the entrance.
Vivian in the middle.
Sophia on the left.
Camille on the right.
Like a queen and her court.
Vivian's eyes immediately found her.
Of course they did.
A slow smile spread across Vivian's face.
Arielle's stomach dropped.
Not because she was afraid.
Because she was tired.
So unbelievably tired.
Sophia noticed Arielle first.
Then Camille.
Their expressions darkened instantly.
Well.
Look who it is.
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The girl who left.
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The girl who returned.
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The girl nobody knew what to do with anymore.
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Vivian started walking.
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Click.
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Click.
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Click.
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The sound of her heels echoed across the library floor.
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Every student watched.
Pretending not to.
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Vivian stopped beside a table.
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A boy sat there studying.
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Without a word—
she simply looked at him.
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One look.
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One.
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The boy immediately grabbed his books.
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And left.
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Another table.
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Another student.
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Another stare.
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Gone.
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Sophia smirked.
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Camille laughed.
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Soon it became a chain reaction.
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One student left.
Then another.
Then another.
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Nobody wanted to witness whatever was about to happen.
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Nobody wanted to become collateral damage.
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Within minutes—
the entire section of the library was empty.
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Except for Arielle.
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And them.
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Arielle stared at her book.
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The silence pressed down on her chest.
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Click.
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Click.
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Click.
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Vivian approached her table.
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Then stopped.
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Nobody spoke.
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Nobody moved.
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Finally—
Vivian pulled out a chair.
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The scraping sound echoed painfully through the empty library.
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Then she sat directly across from Arielle.
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Sophia sat beside her.
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Camille leaned against a nearby shelf.
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Watching.
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Waiting.
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Arielle closed her book.
Slowly.
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The title stared back at her.
The Last Letter Before Spring.
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How ironic.
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Vivian noticed it.
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"Still reading romance novels?"
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Arielle looked up.
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"Still bullying people?"
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Sophia almost choked.
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Camille blinked.
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Even Vivian looked surprised.
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Because Arielle rarely answered back.
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Then Vivian laughed.
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A genuine laugh.
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"Oh."
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She leaned back.
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"She speaks."
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Arielle remained silent.
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Vivian studied her face.
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The paler skin.
The tired eyes.
The exhaustion.
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Something was different.
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But Vivian couldn't figure out what.
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And honestly?
She didn't care.
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"Tell me something."
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Arielle already knew she wouldn't like the question.
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"What?"
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Vivian tilted her head.
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"Did you enjoy it?"
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Arielle frowned.
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"Enjoy what?"
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"The attention."
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Silence.
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"The way everyone revolved around you."
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Arielle looked away.
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Vivian laughed.
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"Look at you."
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Her voice sharpened.
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"You walk back into Crestview after disappearing for years and somehow people are already talking about you."
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"I didn't ask them to."
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"No."
Vivian smiled.
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"You never ask."
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Arielle felt her chest tighten.
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Because that sounded familiar.
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Too familiar.
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Vivian leaned forward.
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"That's what makes you so annoying."
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The words came out quietly.
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Dangerously quietly.
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"You never try."
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Arielle blinked.
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"What?"
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"You never try."
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Vivian repeated it slower.
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"Everything just falls into your lap."
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Sophia folded her arms.
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"She's right."
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Camille nodded.
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"Honestly."
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Vivian continued.
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"You were a scholarship student."
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Silence.
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"A nobody."
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Silence.
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"And somehow you became the school's golden girl."
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Arielle lowered her gaze.
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The memories hurt.
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Not because they were good.
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Because they were gone.
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Vivian noticed.
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And mistook it for guilt.
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"Then there was Lucien."
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Everything stopped.
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Arielle's fingers froze.
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Just hearing his name hurt.
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Vivian saw it.
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And smiled.
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There.
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A weakness.
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"Interesting."
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Arielle looked away.
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Vivian's smile widened.
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"You still react."
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"Stop."
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The word escaped before Arielle could stop it.
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Vivian laughed.
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"No."
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Arielle inhaled slowly.
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Not Lucien.
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Please not Lucien.
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Anything but him.
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But Vivian wasn't finished.
Not even close.
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"I spent years trying to get his attention."
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Her voice lowered.
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"Years."
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Arielle remained silent.
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"And then you showed up."
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The bitterness in Vivian's voice surprised even Sophia.
"You know what was funny?"
No answer.
"He never looked at anybody."
No answer.
"Not me."
Silence.
"Not any girl."
Silence.
"Except you."
The words landed like a slap.
Arielle's throat tightened.
Because she remembered.
God.
She remembered.
The old Lucien.
The boy before the tattoos.
Before the red hair.
Before the hatred.
The boy who sat beside her during lunch.
The boy who silently carried her books.
The boy who taught her how to throw a punch.
Gone.
All gone.
Vivian suddenly stood.
Her chair screeched backward.
"You know what I hate most?"
Arielle slowly looked up.
Vivian's eyes burned.
"After everything."
Silence.
"After abandoning him."
Silence.
"After abandoning all of them."
Silence.
"You still look sad."
Arielle froze.
Vivian laughed bitterly.
"You should feel lucky."
The words hit harder than they should have.
"You should be grateful."
Arielle swallowed.
Because if Vivian knew.
If any of them knew.
How desperately she wished she could trade places with every healthy student in this building.
How desperately she wished she had a future.
How desperately she wished she wasn't counting months instead of years.
She wouldn't be saying those words.
But Arielle couldn't tell them.
Couldn't tell anyone.
So she simply sat there.
Taking it.
Just like always.
And somehow—
that hurt even more than the insults.
Because deep down—
a tiny part of her still wished Vivian would ask:
> "Are you okay?"
But she never would.
None of them would.
Not when all they could see was the girl who left.
Not the girl who was quietly breaking apart.
- Writer
