Chapter 7
375 Words
By the next day, avoiding Alex had become a plan.
A very intentional plan.
Rose came to school earlier than usual. Sat in a different seat. Left classes quickly. Even changed where she usually stood during breaks.
It was exhausting.
But necessary.
---
“Okay… what is going on with you?”
Rose didn’t look up. “Nothing.”
Rosa dropped into the seat across from her in the cafeteria, unimpressed. “You’ve said ‘nothing’ like five times this week. It’s starting to sound suspicious.”
“I’m just tired.”
“You’re lying.”
Rose finally looked at her. “Why are you even here? Don’t you have your own friends?”
“I do,” Rosa said calmly. “But right now, I’m more interested in you.”
That made Rose pause.
There was something different about her tone.
Too sharp.
Too observant.
---
“…You heard something, didn’t you?” Rose said quietly.
Rosa smiled slightly.
Not playful this time.
“Depends,” she said. “Are you hiding something?”
Silence.
---
Rose stood up abruptly. “I have class.”
“Rose—”
“I said I have class.”
She didn’t wait.
She just left.
---
Rosa watched her go, her expression unreadable.
“…Yeah,” she murmured. “You’re definitely hiding something.”
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Later—
Everything went wrong.
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It started in class.
A simple question.
Something Rose should have answered easily.
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“Rose?”
The teacher’s voice snapped her back.
She blinked.
The board.
The numbers.
The question—
She knew this.
She always knew this.
---
But her mind…
Went blank.
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“I…” she started.
Nothing came out.
---
The class went quiet.
---
From the side—
Alex noticed.
Immediately.
---
That had never happened before.
---
Rose swallowed. “Sorry… I don’t know.”
A few students exchanged looks.
Surprised.
Confused.
---
The teacher frowned slightly. “Alright… Alex?”
---
He answered without hesitation.
Correct, as always.
---
But he wasn’t paying attention to the teacher.
He was watching her.
---
Rose didn’t look up again for the rest of the class.
---
After school—
She didn’t stay.
Didn’t talk.
Didn’t wait.
---
She just left.
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