More Than What They See

CHAPTER 10: Just Pretending

Rhian’s POV

When I came to school on Monday, my heart beat fast with a tiny flicker of hope. I kept remembering what Francis said at the eatery, and I wondered if things would be different now. But the moment I stepped inside the room, it felt like nothing had happened that Saturday at all. They were already sitting up front, talking loudly and laughing, and when they saw me walk in, they exchanged looks and started whispering and snickering again just like before. Before I could even reach my seat, Gio reached out and purposely pulled my chair away so fast that I stumbled back, almost falling to the floor and dropping all the books I was holding.

“Watch where you are going!” Gio teased, laughing loudly while the whole class turned to look. “You might get the floor dirty or tear your precious books.”

I stood up slowly, brushed my uniform, and looked straight at Francis. My eyes asked him silently to say something, to stop them like he did before. But he only glanced at me quickly, his gaze softening for just a split second before he turned his eyes away. He even let out a soft laugh with them, a forced, hollow sound, acting like he had to join in so his friends would not notice that he felt different.

“Just let her be,” Francis said, but his voice was cold and distant, and it did not sound like he was defending me at all. “We might get in trouble if the teacher sees us. She is not worth our time anyway.”

Every word felt like a small stone hitting my chest. I stood there for a moment feeling stupid for hoping. I thought maybe he was different, that maybe there was something good hidden behind all his harsh words, but it turned out that moment at the eatery was nothing more than him pretending to care for a little while.

When lunch break came, I sat in the farthest corner of the garden, eating my simple meal of bread and water, feeling heavier than I had in a long time. I saw Francis stand up from their table and start walking slowly toward me, his hands in his pockets like he wanted to say something. But before he could get even a few steps closer, Jace called out to him and pulled him back by the shoulder. From far away, I caught him looking at me for a moment—there was sadness and regret in his eyes that he hid right away the second Gio turned his head to look at him.

After class, as I walked down the quiet street heading home, I heard their footsteps following close behind me. They threw small pebbles my way, hitting my bag and my shoulders, and shouted mean words one after another.

“Your hair is so messy!” Jace shouted loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. “And look at all those pimples. You will probably never look pretty at all, no matter what you do.”

I kept my head down, bit my lip, and walked faster, trying my best not to let them see how much it hurt. But then I heard Francis speak very softly behind them, so quiet that I almost missed it.

“That is enough,” he said. “Let us just go home.”

It was barely a whisper, almost impossible to hear over their laughter, but I felt it. Before they turned the corner and disappeared from my sight, Francis looked back at me for a second—quickly, like he was afraid someone would catch him, but long enough for me to know that he was not truly bad. He was just trapped, and afraid to show who he really was in front of the people he thought he had to impress.

That evening as I swept the floor of our small home and got ready to go to work later, I sat down for a moment and thought about everything that happened. Why did he act like this? Why did he seem like he cared sometimes, but most of the time he acted like he wanted me to feel small and worthless? I still did not understand everything, and I did not know when or how I would find out. But I knew this was far from over. And as days and weeks passed, maybe one day I would finally learn the real reason behind all his actions.