Chapter 1: The Chaos
1592 Words
The first rumor started with a whisper. Rei didn't even hear it. Not at first.
It passed from one person to another, quite and harmless at the beginning, like a joke shared between friends. A small lie twisted just enough to sound believable.
"She said that?"
"No way"
" I heard it too"
Rei walked through the school gates that morning like she always did head slightly down, earphones in and trying to ignore the world before it could ignore her.
Everything felt normal
or at least it looked normal
She didn't notice the stares right away.
Didn't notice how conversations stopped when she passed.
Didn't notice how someone whispered her name...followed by a quite laugh.
It wasn't until lunch that things began to feel off.
Rei say at her usual table, placing her stray down carefully. Her eyes searched for her friends. Mika, Lianne and Rose.
they were there
But something was wrong
They weren't looking at her
"Hey" Rei said, forcing a smile as she sat down, "What's with the serious faces guys?"
No one answered
Mika glanced at Lianne
Lianne looked away
Rose stayed quite, her fingers nervously tapping against the table
Rei's smile slowly faded
"What?..."
still nothing
the silence stretched heavy and uncomfortable
"I asked a question and you all didn't answer me, can you tell me what's going on here guys?" Rei said as her voice is firmer now.
Mika finally spoke.
"Rei is it true?.."
Rei blinked
"is what true?"
Mika hesitated, then looked at her directly.
"that you've been snitching on us and talk behind our back?"
Rei was confused and ask again
"what? I didn't even spoke any single word on anyone"
"That you've been saying things...Private things" Lianne added quietly
Rei let out a short confused laugh
"Are you serious? since when did this happen? and why I didn't know this?"
Rose finally spoke "someone say you did it...."
"Who?" Rei demanded" Tell me who said that"
no one answered because they didn't know or maybe they didn't care at all.
Rei felt something sink inside her chest.
"So you're going to believe some random person over me? she asked, her voice shaking slightly.
"It's not just one person" Lianne said. " A lot of people are saying it....while you're here still hanging out with us.."
Rei stared at them
A lot of people
That's how it starts..
One lie becomes two
Two becomes ten
And suddenly...it's everywhere.
"I didn't do it.." She said it again, softer this time
But her words felt weak
Mika sighed
"We just...need time to think.."
Rei let out a hallow laugh
"Time? For what? To decide if I'm a bad person? Guys we been hang out for almost 5 years and you guys already know me for who I am and what kind of person I am and you all are doubting me?" Rei spoke like she's going to snapped out in a minute
Rei it's n-
Rei cut her off
"It's always been like that..."
Her appetite was gone
Her chest felt tight.
"Forget it" she muttered, standing up.
She grabbed her tray and walked away ignoring the stares that now followed her more openly.
that was the moment everything changed.
By the next day, the rumor had grown.
it wasn't just about her talking behind her friends anymore.
now she was a "fake writer"
A "backstabber"
Someone who "pretended to be nice"
Rei walked through the hallway, her steps quick, her eyes fixed on the floor.
"Isn't that her?"
"Yeah, the one who spreads secrets"
"She looks so innocent though and she still got a nerve to steal the moonlight whispers book and even it her name on it?"
A group of girls laughed quietly
Rei clenched her fists.
She wanted to turn around.
To shout
To defend herself.
But what was the point?
They already believed that they wanted to believe.
In class, It wasn't any better.
Her seatmate moved his chair slightly farther away.
While her step sister name Clara came inside the room and everyone looks at her admirable as they take her a seat. Clara looks at Rei and smirked because her planned to humiliate Rei already work.
The teacher name Miss Denise called her name and she answered like normal but even that felt different, Like everyone was watching her and judging her already.
Waiting for her to prove the rumors right.
Clara was gossiping with Rei's former friends "it's okay to me that she's going to steal my book but I'm still the original author you know"
"Clara you're the best!"
"Yes you're more 10 times better than Rei!"
Rei clenched at her fists.. She wanted to shout.. to cry that everything is plotted by Clara but no one is willing to believe her.
When the bell rang, Rei packed her things quickly.
She just wanted to go home
But that wasn't even easy.
As she stepped out in the hallway, someone bumped into her shoulder
Her bag slipped from her grip, falling to the floor.
Books shattered.
"Watch were you going" The gurl muttered.
Rei looked up.
"I didn't even-"
But the gurl had already walked away
Rei swallowed her words
Slowly, she knelt down and gathered her things.
No one helped her
No one ever did
Days passed
The rumors didn't stop as they changed and they grew.
Now, she was "attention seeker"
"She lies all the time"
"She can't be trusted"
Each version worse than the last.
Rei stopped sitting at her usual ta le
Stopped talking in class unless necessary.
Stopped trying .
Because no matter what she did..
It didn't matter ..
One afternoon she overheard something that made her chest ache even more than anything else...
"I felt bad for her"
Clara then spoke while she was doing her make up
"why? Everything goes as I planned and of course she's delusional being on a top student? Her work? is my work. everything she had will also be mine bit by bit even her best friend and her parents love too.
She giggled and quietly grinned
Rei stood up frozen behind the wall, her sister plot this...she wanted to expose her...but she's scared... because her family might hate her again..
Everyone hates her now..
The words seem to echoed in her mind
Over and over
Until they started to feel real..
At home things weren't much better
Rei sat on her bed while Clara spoiled by their family with luxurious things and even snatch her two brothers love and trust already.
Her messages were all empty no notifications no nothing...
She opened her chat with Mika
Her thumb hovered over the keyboard
I didn't do it.
Please believed me..
She type the words and deleted them..
what was the point?
if they trusted her they wouldn't need any proof.
If they didn't...
Then nothing she said could matter...
Rei dropped her phone because her and lay back on bed..
One day as she walked past a group students, she hear her name again
"Rei right!"
"Yeah"
"She's the one who ruined her own reputation"
Ruined.
Like it was her fault
Like she did this to herself
Rei kept walking
Step by step
until the voices faded behind her..
Then came the rain
It started suddenly, just as classes ended
students rushed out, laughing, and shouting as they ran for cover.
Rei walked slower
She didn't mind the rain
In fact...
She liked it...
Because when it rained, people didn't look at her as much.
They were too busy avoiding getting wet .
she stepped outside, letting the cold drops hit her skin..
Her uniform quickly soaked through, but she didn't stop.
Didn't run
didn't hide
the sky was gray
heavy
just like her thoughts
Rei walked past the school gates, her bag hanging loosely from her shoulder
Cars passed by, splashing water on the road.
The world kept moving
like nothing had changed
Like she didn't matter
she let out a laugh
"of course..." she muttered
why would it stop for her?
why would anyone care.
She reached the old waiting shed near the street.
The roof was cracked, barely giving any protection
Rei stepped under it anyway.
Drops of water still fell through the gaps, landing softly on her shoulders
She didn't move
didn't adjust.
Just stood there.
Alone..
Her mind replayed everything...
The whispers
The stares
The Blame
The silence of people who to be her friends..
" I didn't do anything wrong" she whispered
her voice tremble
But the rain drowned it out
A tear mixed with the raindrops on her face
Then another
She covered her eyes with her hand, biting her lip to stop herself from crying harder.
I didn't do anything"
She repeat but it didn't change anything
After a while, she lowered her hand
Her eyes were red
Her expression empty
Something inside her had changed
Not broken
Not completely
But....Cracked...
"If they want a villain.." she murmured softly..
Her fingers slowly clenched into fists
"then maybe I become one"..
the though scared her
but it also felt comforting....
because being misunderstood hurt more than being hated on purpose. ..
At least then ....
She would have control
Rei took a small step forward, out into the rain again.
The cold hit her instantly. But she didn't flinch.
Didn't stop
Didn't care..
And that was the moment
Right before everything changed
Right before she would meet someone who would turn the world upside down
Right before kindnesses would find her
In the most unexpected way....
- Writer
