CHAPTER 5 — Rumors
1289 Words
By the time I reached school the next morning, I knew something was wrong. People smiled at me. Not kind smiles. The sharp kind.
The kind people wear when they know something you don’t. I slowed near the front steps.
Two girls standing by the railings looked straight at me, then immediately leaned into each other. One of them giggled. My stomach sank. No. No, no, no. I walked past them faster. Inside the hallway, it got worse. Whispers moved around me like wind. One said “That’s her.” Another said “Luca’s girl.”
“I heard they were together after lunch.”
“No way.”
“Yes way.”
I nearly tripped over my own feet. Together? After lunch? We sat under a tree for twenty minutes and shared exactly zero romantic actions. Amazing how efficient people were at inventing nonsense.
I kept my head down and moved toward class, but every few steps I caught someone glancing over.
Some curious. Some amused. Some annoyed for reasons I could not possibly understand.
When I entered the classroom, conversations dipped. Then resumed louder.
I hated that more than silence. I slid into my seat and opened my notebook like I had come here for education and not public humiliation.
“You look tense.” I jumped.
Luca dropped into the chair beside me like he paid rent there.
“This seat is not yours,” I hissed.
“It is now.”
“You did this.”
He looked offended. “I would never create low quality rumors.”
I stared at him. “You’re joking.”
“I’m coping.” He glanced around the room, then back at me.
“They’re bored. You’re interesting. It happens.”
“It should stop happening.”
“Probably won’t.”
I closed my notebook. “I cannot survive this level of attention.”
“You’re surviving right now.”
“Badly.”
He smiled. Infuriatingly calm.
“Good morning, class.” Mr. Frank entered, saving me from further emotional damage.
Luca stood and returned to his actual seat two rows away. Traitor.
***
Class should have distracted me. Instead, every time someone whispered, I assumed it was about me. Every laugh sounded personal. Every glance felt suspicious.
I missed half the lesson because I was busy dying internally.
Then Mr. Frank wrote a problem on the board and turned. “Who can solve this?” Silence.
I knew the answer immediately. So naturally, I stared at my notebook.
“Aurora.”
My soul left my body. “Yes, sir?”
“Come solve it.” The room shifted toward me. I wanted to fake illness. Instead, I stood slowly and walked to the board.
My hand shook once when I took the marker. Then numbers happened. Clean, quick, certain.
When I stepped back, the solution was complete.
Mr. Frank blinked. Then smiled. “Exactly right.”
A few students murmured. Someone in the back said, “Since when?”
I returned to my seat without looking at anyone. As I passed Luca, he tapped the desk lightly. A silent applause.
I hated that it made me want to smile.
***
At break, I hid in the girls’ restroom. Not because I needed it. Because stalls don’t ask questions.
I stayed there until I heard voices enter. “…I don’t get what he sees in her.”
“It’s probably pity.”
“Or a joke or maybe a silly bet .”
“Wait still Heather finds out, she is in for it now”
I froze. “Bet? And Who is Heather?” I whispered in panic.
Their laughter bounced against the tiles. I waited until they left before coming out.
My reflection in the mirror looked smaller than I felt this morning. I almost turned away. Then stopped.
No. I straightened my shoulders. Just a little. Small rebellions count too.
***
Lunch was worse. The courtyard had become a live audience. I considered skipping food entirely.
Then Luca appeared beside me carrying two trays.
“No.”
He handed me one anyway.
“Yes.”
“I am not sitting with you today.”
“Already happening.”
“It’s fueling rumors.”
“It’s feeding you.”
He pointed at the tray. I looked down. Chicken pie. Juice. Fruit cup. My favorites. I narrowed my eyes.
“How do you know what I like?”
“You bought the same thing yesterday.”
I hated that he noticed things. Students nearby were openly watching now.
A girl at the next table whispered my name like it tasted bitter. I pushed the tray back toward him.
“I can’t do this.”
His joking expression faded. “Do what?”
“Be watched. Be discussed. Be turned into entertainment.”
He was quiet for a second. Then sat down across from me.
“They were already watching you.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“Before, they were judging me quietly.”
“And now?”
“Now they’re doing it loudly.” That made him laugh once.
I glared. “It’s not funny.”
“No,” he said, softer now. “You are.”
I blinked. “What?” That affected me deeply than it should have.
“You think everyone else decides what your life means.”
I stared at him.
“That is an insane thing to say to someone having a crisis.”
“It’s a mild crisis.”
“It is not mild.”
He leaned forward.
“Aurora.”
The way he said my name should be illegal. “You keep acting like attention is ownership.” he added.
I frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“People talking about you doesn’t mean they know you.”
The courtyard noise seemed farther away.
He continued. “They can stare. Whisper. Invent stories. None of that becomes truth unless you hand it to them.”
I looked down. No one had ever spoken to me like I was stronger than I felt. “What if I’m tired?” I asked quietly.
“Then rest,” he said. “But don’t shrink.”
My throat tightened unexpectedly. He noticed that too, because apparently noticing was his full time job.
“So,” he said lightly, pushing the tray back to me. “Eat before I become inspirational again.”
I laughed. Real laugh. Too loud. Half the nearby tables looked over.
I immediately covered my mouth. Luca grinned. “There she is.”
***
After lunch, rumors got worse. Because now people had seen me laugh with him. Fantastic. As I walked to class, someone called out:
“Mrs. Luca!” The hallway erupted. Heat rushed through me so fast I nearly combusted. I spun around.
“Who said that?” No one answered. Cowards. Then another voice from somewhere behind:
“She’s blushing!” More laughter. I wanted the floor to open. Instead, I did something unexpected. I turned slowly, lifted my chin, and said:
“At least be original if you’re going to be annoying.”
Silence. Then shocked laughter. Not at me.Around me. The crowd parted. And for the first time they looked surprised.
I walked away before my knees could betray me. When I entered class, Luca was already there.
He looked up once. Smiled slowly. “Dangerous,” he said.
“I hate you.”
“No, you don’t.”
I sat down. Still burning. Still shaking. But somewhere underneath all that something else had started growing. Not confidence. Not yet. But maybe…
the first root of it.
“Who is Heather?”, The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
- Writer
