The Rival Heirs

Chapter 6: Brokened first day

Alex povs

The rest of the day crawled by, every moment feeling slower and heavier than the last. After the horrifying episode in the hallway with Andrian, I refused to accept that Jacob, or rather Andrian, could do this to me. my brain could not still process what had happened.

This was supposed to be my first day of college, the most memorable day for me, the day I’d been waiting for, but as it was already the most confusing and horrible day of my life. it was already ruined. I tried to focus on the teacher’s voice and tried to make sense of the scribbled notes on the board, but all I could see was Andrian's cold indifference face filled with disgust and coldness.

Andrian. Jacob. Or whatever his real name was. My mind replayed that moment over and over, the look in his eyes, the cold indifference in his voice. It made my chest ache, like a part of me was breaking from the inside out.

I could barely sit still in class, staring blankly at the board, while that familiar feeling of embarrassment and shame settled over me. He had looked at me like I was nothing, a stranger in his life. And then, as if it couldn’t get worse, I heard a stern voice cut through my thoughts.

“Mr Alex, please answer the question?”

I blinked, my brain coming back to reality, i realized that the teacher and the whole class were staring directly at me. My cheeks burned as I stumbled over my words, not even knowing what the question was. Laughter and whispers rose around me, and each side commented like a fresh stab to my already bruised heart.

“Are you even paying attention?” the teacher, a stern looking woman, asked, with a frown. from her expression, I already know that I was in her black book already.

"Loser," someone muttered from across the room, just loud enough for me to hear. The other student burst out in laughter, further worsening my situation. I forced myself not to react, but the words stung deep, and I couldn’t shake the feeling of shame.

The bell finally rang for break, and I grabbed my bags and bolted out of the classroom, but not after the stern teacher called me back to hand over my detention slip.

I practically run down the hallway, blocking every other side glance from the student. I needed air. I needed to be anywhere but here. i just wanted to go home, but I know it was not possible, i was not that type of person to ditch school.

“Alex!” I turned to see Linda waiting for me, her eyes filled with concern. She’d probably heard the whispers, too.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice soft. Giving me a concerned look. We had separated in the morning to attend our different classes.

I forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just... a rough morning.” I didn’t want to explain. How could I, when I barely understood what was happening myself?

She looked at me with a knowing smile, which I recognised too well. She didn't want to disturb me, even though she knew I was not feeling well.

We walked to the cafeteria, Linda chatting about her morning, how a guy named Moses had already asked her out. She sounded so excited, and honestly, I was happy for her. but as I tried to pay attention, my thoughts kept drifting back to Andrian. Around us, couples stood together, snuggling with each other, while others made out, friends laughed, and everyone looked like they were having a perfect day. Everyone but me.

The line in the cafeteria was moving slowly, and linda kept glancing at me with that worried look. She had probably given up in her efforts to lighten my mood. “So... what happened with you and one of the elites of the school in the hallway earlier?” she asked the inevitable, nudging me.

I felt a flash of panic and shame, my heart racing. I didn’t want to talk about it. “It’s... no one,” I muttered, trying to sound casual.

But Linda didn't believe me, she kept on pestering me, even after we were walking to take our searts. “Come on, you know you can tell me.

“He is no one Linda…, he looked like someone I knew, that's all”. I tried to dismiss her questions

“ Is he the Jacob you kept talking about? You know your first kiss” she whispered the last part in my ears.

My face grew hot, and i blushed profusely. Her words made me stumble forward, my tray slipping of my hands and clattering on the floor as I bumped into someone hard.

The cafeteria went silent as I looked up, realizing who I had just walked into.

Andrian, the one of the Elites.

Of all people, it had to be him.

My heart dropped, and before I could even mutter an apology, he looked down at me, his face twisting in anger. Without a word, he grabbed his own tray and, with a cold, calculated motion, dumped his food right onto me. I felt the hot food splatter across my shirt, my face dripping down in humiliating clumps.

The cafeteria erupted in laughter. I could hear people pointing and whispering, their laughter echoing around the room, each sound cutting into me like a knife.

Comments like “ please marry me andrian”

And “loser", and f*g” kept flying in the air. Further compounding my misery and shame.

Andrian looked down at me, his eyes icy and filled with loathing and anger. “Watch where you’re going, lowly poor fool,” he said, his voice dripping with disdain.

My face burned, and I felt a lump in my throat as I looked up at him, desperately hoping for even a hint of the friend I once knew. But all I saw was cold indifference, like I was nothing more than an insect he’d swatted away.

Then his lackeys, his fellow elites of the school, joined in, jeering and throwing insults my way.

“Does it look like he belongs here, huh? Maybe he should just stick to bumping into trash cans,” one of them sneered,

“Or let him go and hug his fellow faggots” Josh the one that shoved me in the morning said, clearly irritated, and looked at me with disgust.

another laughed, adding, “Bet the faggot couldn’t even afford a new shirt after this mess.”

I could feel my whole body trembling with a mix of anger and humiliation, and all I wanted was to say something, to fight back, to tell them they were wrong. But the words caught in my throat, and my heart felt like it was shattering into a million pieces.

Everyone around us was laughing, pointing, enjoying my misery like it was some kind of show. And even Andrian...he had an unreadable expression on his face, his eyes showing nothing but indifference. But I bet he was enjoying it like every other person. I couldn’t bear to look at him any longer. This wasn’t the friend I’d known, the person i had been dreaming of, looking for, for the past three years. I had thought I might reconnect with him.

My chest felt tight, and I knew I should stand up for myself, at least try to salvage some dignity. But the embarrassment and heartache were too much. It felt like everyone in the room was staring at me, waiting to see what I’d do next.

Without another word, I did the only thing I could think of.

I ran.

I bolted out of the cafeteria, not caring where I was going, just needing to get away from the laughter, the stares, the pain. I heard Alice calling after me, but I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t afford to face anyone right now.

I ran until I found an empty janitor's closet, leaning against the wall as I tried to catch my breath, the tears finally spilling over like waterfall. The pain was unbearable, as I sank to the floor, my shoulders shaking as I buried my face in my hands, letting it all out.

This wasn’t how things were supposed to be.