Sweet Home Alabama

I kept my head down, clutching my books tightly to my chest as if they could shield me from the weight of all the stares. It was lunch, and the school courtyard was buzzing with noise; laughter, gossip, the sound of trays clattering against picnic tables… but all of it felt like they were muffled under the hammering of my heartbeat. Jordan was sitting with his friends by the basketball hoop. He always sat there, legs stretched out like he owned the place with that lazy grin on his face. But today, he didn’t look at me. Not once. I had sent him three texts this morning. Three. And he hadn’t replied to a single one. He hadn’t even read them. I paused under the shade of the oak tree, debating whether I should just turn around and forget this whole thing. Maybe I could pretend it wasn’t happening. Pretend he wasn’t pulling away, wasn’t avoiding me like I was some kind of disease. But I couldn’t. Not when my chest felt like it was going to cave in from the weight of not knowing. “Jordan,” I called out, my voice so soft it barely won over the noise. He didn’t hear me. Or maybe he did, but he didn’t care. I stepped closer, my legs shaking beneath me. “Jordan.” This time, his head turned. Slowly. Too slowly. His friends followed his gaze, their laughter dying down as they noticed me standing there, small and awkward and out of place. “Mia,” he said, his tone flat. “What do you want?” I flinched at the coldness in his voice. But I forced myself to speak. “Can we talk? Please?” His friends exchanged looks and a couple of them smirked. I hated them. I hated the way they always made me feel like I was some kind of inside joke. Jordan sighed and pushed himself to his feet. “Alright,” he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Let’s talk.” He didn’t move. He didn’t even gesture for me to follow him somewhere private. He just stood there, waiting, like we talking was an inconvenience he wanted to get over with as quickly as possible. “Um… can we go somewhere else?” I asked, my voice trembling. “Just the two of us?” He shook his head. “Whatever you have to say, you can say it here.” The world seemed to tilt beneath me. My palms were sweaty, and I could feel the weight of everyone’s eyes on me now. Their curiosity was already sharpened. Like knives. I really don't do well with eyes on me. But, it's for Jordan. For us, and for our love. “I don’t understand,” I started, my voice barely above a whisper. “You’ve been avoiding me all week. You won’t answer my texts, you won’t look at me in class... Did I do something wrong?” His jaw tightened, and for a moment, he looked annoyed. “No, Mia. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just... over it.” The words hit me like a slap. My throat tightened, and I struggled to keep my voice steady. “Over it?” “Yeah.” He shrugged, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. “I don’t want to do this anymore.” The whispers around us grew louder, and I could feel tears stinging my eyes. This was definitely a break up, right? “But... but why? What did I do?” “You didn’t do anything,” he said, looking away. “I just... I’ve moved on.” My chest felt like it was being crushed. “Moved on? To what?” His friends started laughing, and one of them muttered something I couldn’t quite catch. Jordan smirked, and it was like he’d twisted the knife that was already lodged in my heart. “To someone else,” he said, his tone casual. I stared at him, my vision blurring with tears. “What? Who?” He didn’t answer. But his eyes flicked toward the fountain, where a group of girls were sitting. One of them; Amanda, with her perfect hair and perfect smile, noticed and waved. Of course, it's her. The perfect one; with rich parents, a car, beautiful, fashionable, outgoing...., everything. Everybody loves her. But, she was always around. If he liked her so much why did he call me pretty three weeks ago. Why did we sit together, eat together, laugh? I did his homework, brought juice for him accurately after lunch, carried his bag around for him, waited for him in school till they were done with football practices even when school period was over.. all in two weeks? He likes me, right? That's why he saw her, ignored her and came to my locker every morning instead. “No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “No, you’re lying.” He sighed, as if he was already bored with the conversation. “I’m not lying, Mia. I’m with Amanda now.” The world seemed to stop. My heart shattered into a million pieces. And for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. “Jordan, please,” I begged, stepping closer to him. “You can’t do this. I love you. I’ll do anything… anything you want. Just don’t leave me.” His expression hardened, and he took a step back. “Mia, stop. You’re embarrassing yourself.” Embarrassing. The word cut deeper than anything else he’d said. I looked around, noticing the way people were staring, with their phones out, doing God-knows-what. Taking pre-wedding pics of me and Jordan? “I don’t care,” I said, my voice breaking. “I don’t care if I’m embarrassing myself. I love you, Jordan. I can’t lose you.” He shook his head, his eyes cold. “It’s over, Mia. Just let it go.” “But I can change!” I cried, the tears streaming freely down my face now. “I can be better. Please, just give me another chance.” “There’s nothing to change,” he said, his tone indifferent. “I’m happy with Amanda now. You should move on.” I felt like I was going to collapse. My legs were shaking, my chest was heaving with sobs. But he didn’t care. He just turned and walked away, leaving me standing there, broken in front of the entire school. Laughter. Whispers. I wished more than anything that the ground would just open up and swallow me whole. _____ The ride home felt like a blur. Dad tried to ask me how school was, but I couldn’t even bring myself to answer. I just mumbled that I was tired and kept my eyes on the road. I was hoping and praying he wouldn’t notice the redness in my face or the trembling of my hands and he didn't. When we got home, he placed a hand on my shoulder before I could escape upstairs. “Mia, are you okay?” I froze for a moment. The lump in my throat swelled. But I forced myself to nod, not trusting myself to speak. He didn’t look convinced, but he let it go. “Alright. I’m here if you need me, okay?” I mumbled another half-hearted “okay” and hurried to my room, closing the door behind me before collapsing onto my bed. The weight of everything hit me like a truck, and the tears I’d been holding back all day came pouring out. I buried my face in my pillow, muffling my sobs as my chest heaved with the force of it all. The scene in the courtyard replayed over and over in my mind; Jordan’s cold eyes, his cruel words, the laughter, the whispers. I cried until my head ached and my throat burned. But just as I started to catch my breath, my phone pinged. I ignored it at first. I was too drained to care about anything. But then it pinged again. And again. With a groan, I reached for it, wiping my face on my sleeve as I unlocked the screen. My heart dropped when I saw the notification. Tag: LoserGirlNerdRejected My fingers shook as I tapped on it. The first thing I saw was the video… the video. Someone had recorded the entire breakup, from the moment I approached Jordan to the second he walked away, leaving me crying in front of everyone. The caption read: "When you shoot your shot and miss. #LoserGirl #CringeFest" What?! What is this?!!