The Girl They Never Saw Coming

Chapter 12 — The Post

Tuesday morning came too quickly.

My alarm rang at 6:30 a.m., and I immediately reached for my phone.

The first thing I saw was a notification from Ava.

Ava: Good morning. We're coming to pick you up.

I smiled.

Mia: We?

Ava: Me and Andrew.

Ava: He can drive, remember?

Mia: Oh, that's actually great.

Ava: Be ready.

Mia: What time?

Ava: In about thirty minutes.

I stared at the message.

Thirty minutes.

I jumped out of bed.

After getting dressed, I hurried downstairs.

Mom was already in the kitchen.

"Good morning, sweetheart."

"Morning, Mom."

She placed breakfast on the table.

"Eat before you leave."

I sat down.

As I picked up my phone again, another notification appeared.

Chloe.

Chloe: Morning. Please tell me you're actually going to school today.

I laughed.

Mia: Unfortunately, yes.

Chloe: Good. I was beginning to think Georgia kidnapped you.

Mia: Ava and Andrew are coming to pick me up.

Chloe: Andrew?

Mia: Her cousin.

Chloe: Ohhh. The California cousin.

Mia: Yes.

Chloe: And he's driving you to school?

Mia: Apparently.

Chloe: Look at you. Already getting VIP treatment.

Mia: Stop.

Chloe: Have a good day, okay?

Mia: You too.

I put my phone down and continued eating.

My mother looked at me.

"Chloe?"

"Yeah."

"She's still checking on you every morning?"

"Pretty much."

Mom smiled.

"That's a good friend."

"She is."

I finished breakfast just as a car horn sounded outside.

Ava.

I grabbed my bag.

"I'm going."

"Have a good day."

"I will."

I stepped outside.

Ava was sitting in the passenger seat, waving at me.

Andrew was behind the wheel.

He lowered the window.

"Good morning!"

I laughed.

"Good morning."

Ava opened the back door.

"Get in."

I climbed inside.

Andrew looked at me through the mirror.

"Ready for another day at Westbrook?"

"Not really."

He laughed.

"Same."

Ava turned around.

"Don't act scared. It's just school."

"Easy for you to say."

I smiled.

The drive to Westbrook was surprisingly fun.

We talked about music, teachers, food, and Andrew's first impressions of Georgia.

But then Ava suddenly looked at me.

"Wait."

"What?"

"Did you study?"

I froze.

"For what?"

She stared at me.

"The test."

My eyes widened.

"Oh my gosh."

Andrew laughed.

"You forgot?"

"I didn't forget."

Ava raised an eyebrow.

"You definitely forgot."

"I knew there was a test. I just didn't want to think about it."

Andrew shook his head.

"That's basically forgetting."

I sighed.

"I don't want a test today."

Ava laughed.

"Nobody does."

I leaned my head against the seat.

"I swear, yesterday the teacher said this school year was going to move quickly."

"And she wasn't joking," Ava said.

I looked out the window.

"Great."

---

When we arrived at Westbrook, students were already filling the entrance.

We walked into the school together.

This time, I wasn't walking through the doors alone.

Ava was beside me.

Andrew was with us.

Some students looked at us as we walked past, but I ignored them.

We eventually split up for our first classes.

My first class was English.

The teacher spent most of the lesson reviewing what we had learned.

Then came the moment I had been dreading.

She picked up a stack of papers.

"All right, everyone. It's time for your first test."

A collective groan filled the classroom.

I stared at the paper when it landed on my desk.

I took a deep breath.

I knew most of the material.

Still, I wasn't exactly excited about proving it.

I turned the paper over.

The questions were challenging, but they weren't impossible.

I worked through them carefully.

By the time I finished, I checked my answers twice before handing it in.

At least that was over.

For now.

---

The rest of the morning passed quickly.

By lunchtime, I was ready to forget about schoolwork for a while.

Ava was already sitting at our usual table.

Sophie arrived with her best friend, Naomi.

"Mia," Sophie said, "this is Naomi."

Naomi smiled.

"We've technically met before."

"I remember."

"Good."

She laughed.

"Because Sophie has already told me about you."

I looked at Sophie.

"You have?"

"Only good things."

Andrew sat down.

"That's suspicious."

We laughed.

For a few minutes, everything felt normal.

Then Andrew suddenly looked toward the cafeteria entrance.

"So..."

I looked at him.

"So what?"

"I've done my research."

Ava groaned.

"Oh no."

I laughed.

"What research?"

Andrew leaned back.

"Westbrook has a whole ecosystem."

Naomi laughed.

"You've been here for one day."

"Exactly. And I've already learned things."

Sophie smiled.

"Go on, detective."

Andrew pointed toward one side of the cafeteria.

"Those are the athletes."

Then he pointed somewhere else.

"Those are the people who somehow know everybody's business."

I laughed.

"Okay. What else?"

Andrew looked at me.

"Iris."

My smile faded.

"What about her?"

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

Ava glanced at him.

"Andrew..."

He shrugged.

"I heard Iris and Trent have been on and off for a while."

"How long?"

"Apparently, they've broken up seven times."

I stared at him.

"Seven?"

"That's what people are saying."

Sophie nodded.

"I've heard that too."

I looked down at my food.

Suddenly, some of my earlier conversations with Iris felt different.

I thought she was becoming my friend.

She had talked to me.

She had asked me questions.

I had trusted her.

"I didn't know," I admitted.

Ava touched my arm.

"Mia, don't overthink it."

"I'm not."

But I was.

Before anyone could say anything else, the noise in the cafeteria changed.

Whispers began spreading across the room.

I looked toward the entrance.

Iris had just walked in.

And beside her was Trent.

The school's most popular basketball player.

They were walking together.

Immediately, people started whispering.

"Are they back together?"

"Again?"

"That's the eighth time."

"No way."

I looked at Andrew.

He raised his eyebrows.

"See?"

I stared at Iris.

She didn't look at me.

But something about her expression made me uncomfortable.

Ava noticed.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

I forced a smile.

"I just feel like I missed an entire chapter."

Andrew smiled.

"Welcome to Westbrook."

The bell rang.

We gathered our things and headed back to class.

I thought the afternoon would be calmer.

It wasn't.

---

About twenty minutes into our next lesson, a phone vibrated.

Then another.

Then another.

Soon, almost everyone seemed to be checking their phones.

Our teacher stopped speaking.

"Phones away, please."

Everyone slowly put them down.

I looked at mine.

Nothing.

Then Ava's phone vibrated again.

She checked it.

Her expression changed immediately.

"Mia..."

"What?"

She locked her phone.

"Nothing."

I stared at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Seriously."

Andrew checked his phone.

His eyes widened.

"Oh my God."

I looked between them.

"What is going on?"

Sophie checked her phone.

Then Naomi.

Their expressions changed too.

My stomach tightened.

"What happened?"

Ava shook her head.

"Don't worry about it."

"Why are you all acting weird?"

"We should just leave it."

"No."

I looked at her.

"I want to know."

Ava hesitated.

"Mia..."

"What?"

"It's about you."

The room seemed to become silent.

"What about me?"

Sophie spoke quietly.

"Someone made a post."

"What kind of post?"

Ava looked uncomfortable.

I reached for her phone.

She hesitated before handing it to me.

I looked at the screen.

My name was there.

Underneath it were cruel comments about my appearance and accusations that I was trying to get attention from boys.

I stared at the screen.

For a few seconds, I couldn't move.

Then anger replaced the shock.

It wasn't the fact that people had opinions.

People were always going to have opinions.

It was the fact that someone had deliberately turned me into entertainment for the entire school.

I handed the phone back.

"Iris."

Ava looked at me.

"Mia, don't."

"Where is she?"

"Mia."

"Where is Iris?"

Andrew stood.

"Let's not do this in the middle of school."

"I'm not going to fight her."

I picked up my bag.

"I'm going to ask her why she did it."

Ava stood.

"Then we're coming with you."

Andrew nodded.

"Obviously."

Sophie stood too.

Naomi followed.

"We're coming."

I looked at them.

"You don't have to."

Sophie shook her head.

"Yes, we do."

Naomi nodded.

"You're not walking into that alone."

I smiled slightly.

"Thank you."

We left the classroom together.

We found Iris near the lockers with her clique.

She looked at me.

Then smiled.

"What?"

I held up my phone.

"What is this?"

She glanced at it.

Then shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Don't lie to me."

Her expression hardened.

"Excuse me?"

"You know exactly what this is."

"I didn't post anything."

"Then explain why it's about me."

She folded her arms.

"Maybe people are just saying what they think."

I stared at her.

"So that's your excuse?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do."

I kept my voice calm.

"You don't have to like me."

She laughed.

"I don't."

"Fine."

I nodded.

"But you don't get to turn me into a joke for the entire school because you're angry about something that wasn't my fault."

Her smile disappeared.

"You think you're so important."

"No."

I shook my head.

"I think I'm a person who deserves basic respect."

A few students had stopped nearby.

Iris noticed.

She lowered her voice.

"You're new here. You don't know how things work."

I looked directly at her.

"Then maybe it's time someone reminded you that Westbrook isn't yours."

Her expression changed.

"Watch yourself, Mia."

"I am."

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"And neither do you."

Andrew stepped beside me.

"You made the post. Own it."

Ava nodded.

"Exactly."

Sophie added,

"Being popular doesn't make bullying okay."

Naomi folded her arms.

"And everyone knows where that post came from."

Iris looked around.

For the first time, she seemed less confident.

I turned to leave.

"Mia."

I stopped.

I looked back.

Iris stared at me.

"This isn't over."

I gave her a calm smile.

"I didn't think it was."

Then I walked away.

Ava followed.

Andrew followed.

Sophie and Naomi came behind us.

Nobody spoke for several seconds.

Then Andrew looked at me.

"That was intense."

I laughed.

"I know."

Ava shook her head.

"I still can't believe she did that."

I looked at my phone.

The post was still there.

The comments were still there.

But I wasn't going to let them define me.

I slipped my phone into my pocket.

"Let's go."

"Where?"

"Class."

Andrew smiled.

"That's my girl."

We walked down the hallway together.

For the first time since arriving at Westbrook, I understood something clearly.

I wasn't going to let popularity scare me.

I wasn't going to let whispers decide who I was.

And I definitely wasn't going to let someone else write my story for me.

Whatever Iris thought was coming next...

I was ready.