THE CENTER OF TROUBLE.
1284 Words
(STARS HIGH SCHOOL — MORNING)
Whispers always arrived before Raymond did.
"…he's coming."
"Don't block his way."
"Why does he look even more intimidating today?"
The hallway shifted instantly.
Students moved aside without being asked.
No one wanted to be in his path.
Raymond walked in slowly.
Unbothered.
Tie loose. Shirt slightly undone. Hands in pockets.
Like rules didn't apply to him.
Because they didn't.
Anna leaned closer to René.
"That's him," she whispered.
René slowly looked up.
And their eyes met.
The hallway noise faded for half a second.
Her breath caught—unexpected, uninvited.
She looked away immediately.
Too fast.
Too obvious.
Raymond noticed.
Of course he did.
His gaze stayed on her for a brief second longer than necessary.
Small.
Quiet.
Out of place.
Then he looked away.
Not because she didn't matter…
But because something about her felt like a problem he hadn't decided to solve yet.
*
(CAFETERIA — LUNCH BREAK)
The cafeteria was loud, but controlled.
Like even chaos here had rules.
René and Anna sat with trays of food they barely recognized.
Everything looked expensive.
Everything tasted like it belonged to someone else.
A girl with glasses hesitated before sitting near them.
"You should avoid Raymond," she said quietly.
Anna blinked.
"Why?"
The girl lowered her voice.
"Once you get his attention… your life becomes difficult."
René paused.
"…difficult how?"
The girl glanced around.
"He doesn't lose influence here. His family basically runs this school."
Silence.
Anna swallowed.
"That's… extreme."
The girl nodded.
"And Darwin is no different."
That name lingered in the air.
René stirred her food slowly.
So this place…
Was built on names like that.
The girl exhaled softly.
"I stay invisible. That's how I survive here."
Anna frowned.
"Invisible?"
The girl nodded.
"Less trouble."
René suddenly nudged Anna gently under the table.
"Let's finish eating."
But her eyes had changed slightly.
This school wasn't just rich.
It was dangerous in ways money couldn't explain.
*
(HALLWAY — MOMENTS LATER)
A shout cut through the building.
"RAYMOND AND DARWIN ARE FIGHTING!!!"
Silence broke instantly.
Then—
Explosion.
"Where?!"
"Let's go!"
Phones came out.
Feet rushed.
Anna grabbed René's wrist.
"We're going!"
"Wait—!"
Too late.
They were already pulled into the moving crowd.
*
(OUTSIDE CLASSROOM BLOCK)
A massive circle had formed.
Students stood on tiptoe, pushing forward, desperate to see.
Excitement.
Chaos.
Tension.
"Darwin is finally challenging him!"
Anna laughed nervously.
"This is going to be insane…"
But René didn't laugh.
Something felt wrong.
Heavy.
Too sharp.
She stood at the edge of the crowd, trying to see—
Then—
PUSH.
Someone shoved her from behind.
"Ah—!"
Her balance broke.
Her tray fell.
And her body stumbled forward—
(THE CENTER)
Silence.
Instant.
Complete.
René froze.
Every eye turned toward her.
Too many faces.
Too much attention.
Her heartbeat spiked violently.
Then she saw them.
Raymond.
Darwin.
Standing face to face.
Gripping each other's collars.
Bruises forming already.
The air between them felt charged—like it could break at any second.
René couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe properly.
She was standing exactly between them.
Uninvited.
Unnoticed.
Until now.
Darwin's eyes flicked past her.
Raymond's didn't.
His grip loosened slightly.
He studied her.
Like she wasn't an interruption…
But an unexpected variable.
Then—
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
Slow.
Controlled.
Uncomfortable.
"Her?"
His voice was quiet.
But it cut through everything.
René's stomach dropped instantly.
Her fingers tightened at her sides.
Her throat went dry.
Something deep inside her shifted—
Danger.
Real danger.
Raymond tilted his head slightly.
Still looking at her.
And for the first time since stepping into STARS High School…
René understood something clearly.
She wasn't just in the wrong place.
She was in the middle of something she was never meant to survive.
*
(RENÉ'S HOME — NIGHT)
The room was too quiet.
Not peaceful quiet.
The kind that made thoughts louder.
René sat on the edge of her bed, school bag still half-open beside her.
But she wasn't thinking about school.
Not at all.
Her mind kept going back.
The hallway.
The crowd.
And Raymond.
Especially Raymond.
That moment their eyes met.
It wasn't fear that stayed with her.
It was something worse.
Something she couldn't explain.
René exhaled slowly.
"…why do I feel like this?"
A knock came at the door.
"René?" Anna's voice.
"I'm fine," she answered quickly.
Too quickly.
A pause.
Then—
"You've been quiet since school."
René didn't reply.
Because she didn't understand herself either.
*
(STARS HIGH SCHOOL — MORNING)
The school didn't feel normal today.
It felt… unstable.
Like something had already shifted without anyone saying it out loud.
Students gathered in clusters, whispering nonstop.
"Did you hear?"
"Raymond has a girlfriend now."
"It's Senator Carter's daughter."
Phones were already recording gossip.
Rumors traveled faster than footsteps here.
René walked beside Anna through the gates.
"Why is everyone acting weird?" Anna asked.
"I don't know," René replied.
But she did feel it.
That pressure in the air.
Like she had stepped into something already in motion.
(CLASSROOM)
René sat by the window.
Staring.
Not seeing.
Anna leaned closer.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine."
But she wasn't.
Because every few seconds, her thoughts drifted somewhere else.
And that annoyed her more than anything.
(HALLWAY — LUNCH BREAK)
The hallway changed again.
Instantly.
"Raymond is here."
The whisper spread like electricity.
Students stepped aside automatically.
And there he was.
Raymond.
Walking like silence belonged to him.
Cold expression.
Hands in pockets.
No effort.
No urgency.
Just presence.
Anna tugged René slightly.
"That's him."
René froze.
She didn't want to look.
But she did.
And when she did—
His eyes landed on hers.
Only for a second.
But it was enough.
Enough to make her look away immediately.
Her heartbeat reacted before she did.
*
(STARS HIGH — INTERRUPTION)
"Ray!"
The hallway stopped.
Jacinta Carter walked in confidently.
Like she belonged there.
She stopped directly in front of Raymond.
Smiling.
"I enrolled here," she said.
Raymond didn't react.
"…why?" he asked flatly.
"I missed you," she replied casually.
Gasps spread instantly.
Students leaned in.
Phones came out.
Then she said it louder.
"I'm his girlfriend anyway."
Silence.
Then chaos.
Whispers exploded.
Recording started everywhere.
But Raymond still didn't move.
His expression only darkened slightly.
"…don't speak for me," he said coldly.
Jacinta smiled.
"Then correct me."
Silence again.
Raymond said nothing.
And that silence did more damage than any answer could.
*
(RENÉ — LATER)
René stood by her locker.
Trying to breathe normally.
But the hallway felt heavier now.
Like something had settled inside it.
Anna rushed up.
"Did you hear?! It's everywhere!"
"What is?" René asked.
"Jacinta said she's Raymond's girlfriend!"
René froze.
"…oh."
Just that.
But she didn't move for a second longer than necessary.
Because she didn't understand why that bothered her.
And that was what scared her the most.
*
(REESEMON'S CASTLE — NIGHT)
The house was large.
But empty in a way that felt heavier than silence.
Raymond stood by the glass window.
City lights stretched below him.
Alive.
Distant.
A maid knocked.
"Dinner is ready, sir."
"No."
The door closed.
Silence returned immediately.
Raymond didn't move.
His phone vibrated once.
He didn't check it.
After a moment, he walked slowly through the room.
Awards.
Trophies.
Old memories.
Things people expected him to care about.
He stopped at one frame.
Younger him.
Standing beside Darwin.
For a fraction of a second—
His jaw tightened.
Then he looked away.
As if it meant nothing.
But his hand didn't relax immediately after.
He sat on the edge of his bed.
Still.
Quiet.
And for once…
Not fully in control of his thoughts.
- Writer
