The Girl Everyone Hates
1055 Words
The first bell rang just as I reached the school gate.
My heart sank.
"No, no, no..."
I tightened my grip on my backpack and ran, weaving through clusters of students who looked far too relaxed for people who weren't about to be marked late. By the time I reached the security checkpoint, my lungs were burning. The guard motioned for me to open my backpack. Seriously? Of all mornings.
I unzipped it with shaky hands while my eyes drifted toward the staircase leading to the fourth floor. Every second felt like another reason for my teacher to sigh the moment I walked in. The moment the guard waved me through, I took off again.
Heat rushed into my cheeks as I climbed the stairs two at a time. One hand skimmed the railing to keep my balance while my backpack bounced against my shoulders. Fourth floor. Almost there. The moment I stepped into the fourth-floor hallway, conversations faded. Dozens of eyes followed me before eight in the morning.
"There she is."
"Did she even sleep at home?"
"I heard she got into another fight."
"My cousin said she smokes after school."
"No wonder her parents don't care."
I rolled my eyes. Amazing.
"Late. Again."
The words echoed through the hallway before I even reached my classroom. By the second week of school, almost everyone knew my name.
Not because I'd won an award.
Not because I was the smartest student.
People remembered me because rumors traveled faster than the truth.
They had written an entire version of my life without bothering to ask if any of it was real.
Every hallway had another version of me.
None of them belonged to the girl walking in this uniform.
I adjusted the strap of my backpack and forced myself to keep walking.
Room 401 came into view.
I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob.
Three. Two. One.
I pushed the door open.
Every head turned.
Even the ceiling fan sounded louder.
Mrs. Hernandez lowered the attendance sheet in her hand.
"Miss Cruz."
Her voice carried the kind of disappointment reserved for students who had exhausted every ounce of patience.
"Would you care to explain why you're late for the third time this week?"
I looked at the clock. Seven minutes. Not exactly a lifetime.
"My alarm didn't ring."
A few students laughed.
Mrs. Hernandez folded her arms.
"Really?"
"No."
Another wave of laughter.
"I overslept."
Her eyebrows pinched together.
"Do you think this is funny?"
"No, ma'am."
"Then perhaps you should start acting like you actually want an education."
My grip tightened around my backpack.
She didn't know anything.
But assumptions were always easier than questions.
"I'm sorry," I said quietly.
The apology surprised even me.
Mrs. Hernandez sighed.
"Take your seat."
I nodded and walked toward the empty desk at the back of the room.
The whispers started again.
"She's pretending to be nice."
"Just wait."
"She'll cause another scene."
I let out a slow breath.
Relax, Ariana.
Breathe.
My nails dug into my palm until the sting pulled me back to reality.
One wrong word...
One wrong look...
...and everyone would say,
"See? We told you she was trouble."
One...
two...
Three...
Four...
Five...
Don't let their words bother you, Ariana. You know yourself better than they do.
If I let my temper win now, they'd only say they were right about me. I pulled out my notebook and ignored every word. You learn that eventually. Not because it doesn't hurt. Because reacting only gives people another story to tell.
Facts never mattered. Rumors spread faster anyway.
Lunch was always worse. The cafeteria buzzed with conversations that somehow grew quieter whenever I passed by. Girls glanced at me before leaning into each other's ears. Boys looked, smiled, then looked away when their friends noticed. Someone accidentally bumped my shoulder.
"Watch where you're going."
"You bumped into me."
He rolled his eyes.
"Whatever."
Typical.
I grabbed a bottled water and headed toward my usual spot beneath the old acacia tree outside the cafeteria. Alone. Exactly how I preferred it.
The breeze carried the scent of freshly cut grass. For a few peaceful minutes, the rumors couldn't reach me. A burst of laughter drifted from one of the cafeteria tables. I looked up. They seemed comfortable with one another. I wondered if they were really that close... Or if they were simply trying to fit in because no one wanted to eat alone. I never understood why being alone frightened so many people. It had never frightened me. Maybe that was just how people survived high school. Solitude had always made more sense to me than pretending.
I leaned against the trunk and looked back at my book, opening the novel I'd borrowed from the library. Fiction had rules. People didn't. Characters lied. Characters cried. Characters fell in love. But at least the author always told you why. Real people never bothered at all.
The final bell rang. Students flooded the hallways like a river breaking through a dam. I slipped my headphones over my ears, hoping music would drown out the noise. But instead... Someone whispered behind me.
"That's her."
"The bad girl."
I smiled before anyone could notice my hands shaking. Funny, people loved calling me different names. No one ever asked me if I wanted that title.
Across the hallway... A pair of warm brown eyes followed her every step. Ethan Vale stood quietly beside the classroom window, a stack of books tucked neatly against his chest. A worn sling bag hung from one shoulder. To everyone else, he was exactly what every student should be. Perfect grades. Perfect manners. Perfect smile. He watched Ariana disappear around the corner. Then... He smiled. Not because she was in trouble. Not because everyone misunderstood her. But because she had laughed. Even if it had only been for a second. She walked past him without a second glance.
She didn't know his name.
She didn't know he knew hers.
She certainly didn't know she'd become the brightest part of someone else's ordinary school day.
She didn't know he had noticed how she always skipped lunch on Mondays.
Or that she secretly loved reading beneath the old acacia tree.
Ariana Cruz had no idea.
But Ethan Vale had noticed her long before she ever noticed him.
- Writer
