His World, not Mine

Chapter 2

The silence was instant. Like someone had pulled the plug on a loud stereo. The kind of silence that felt heavy, like the air itself had thickened.

No one moved, no one spoke. I could feel the weight of fifty iPhones pointing at my face, and Adrian just stared.

That somehow made it ten times more terrifying. My throat tightened. “I…I’m sorry…” the words slipped out before I could stop them. My voice sounded small, shaky. “I didn’t mean to…”

“You’re apologizing?” Adrian finally spoke. His voice was quiet but it cut through everything.

A few students lowered their phones instantly. Not out of respect but out of fear, he took one step closer.

“You hit me,” he said, almost thoughtfully. “And your first instinct is to apologize?”

My breath caught in my throat.

“Keep recording,” Adrian said without looking away from me.

The student froze, then slowly they obeyed.

“Don’t delete it,” he added calmly. “I want everyone to remember her face.”

A faint murmur rippled through the crowd. Then came the sound I wasn’t ready for. Clicks.

Phones.

People were recording.

My stomach felt like it had been hollowed out with an ice cream scoop as I caught sight of a girl raising her phone, whispering excitedly to her friend. Another student leaned in for a better angle.

“Oh my God, she slapped him…”

“Who is she?”

“Isn’t that the scholarship girl?”

The whispers came faster now, louder, feeding off each other.

I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole. I opened my mouth to speak then stopped, what was I even supposed to say? My palm tingled with a heat that felt dangerously like victory.

Adrian didn't say anything else, he didn’t need to, the damage was already done.

“Emma!” MJ’s voice cut through the tension, her hand grabbed my wrist before I could react. “What are you doing?” She hissed under her breath, her grip tight. “Do you have any idea what you just did?”

“I…” I couldn’t even form a sentence. 

“Move,” she muttered quickly, already pulling me away.

“Run,” Adrian said quietly behind me. “Let’s see how far you get.” He didn’t look angry. He looked like a hunter who had just found a new kind of prey. He wasn’t even rubbing his cheeks anymore, he was just watching me with a terrifying, quiet curiosity.

No one stopped us.

They didn’t move to block us, but they didn’t look away either. It was like walking through a gauntlet of glowing screens, every lens tracking my retreat. I could hear the whispers trailing behind us. The sound of shoes on marble echoed too loudly now, as if every step announced my humiliation.

MJ didn’t stop until we turned down another hallway, then another, and finally slipped into an empty classroom.

The door shut behind us, but this time it wasn’t heavy. It was suffocating.

MJ turned to me immediately. “What was that?” She burst out, her voice no longer hushed. “Why would you do that? Do you know what you’ve done?”

I flinched, “I didn’t…”

“You didn’t what?” She cut in, pacing now as she accidentally kicked a chair. “You didn’t think? Because that’s exactly what it looks like. Emma, that’s Adrian. You don’t just slap someone like him and walk away like it’s nothing!”

“I know…” my voice cracked. “I know, I just…”

She ran a hand through her hair, clearly frustrated. “You’re lucky. Seriously, you are so lucky he was alone.”

I blinked. “What do you mean?”

MJ stopped pacing and looked at me like I’d just asked the most ridiculous question.

“If he had been with his group?” She said slowly. “It would’ve been ten times worse. They don’t play nice. Especially not when it comes to him. People who cross him don’t just get embarrassed… they don’t recover.”

My cheap blazer suddenly felt like it was made of wool and needles, the sweat making the polyester stick to my back in the most humiliating way, I hadn’t just slapped a random rich boy. I dropped into a plastic chair, my knees turning into actual water. My hands trembled as I stared at the floor.

“I don’t know what happened…” I whispered. “He just… said something, and I…” my voice faded.

I didn’t even understand it myself. One second I was trying to survive my first day… the next, I had just made myself the center of attention in the worst way possible.

“I’m sorry,” I said again, looking up at her. “I didn’t mean to cause all this.”

MJ exhaled slowly, the frustration still there but softer now. She studied my face for a moment, and I guess she saw it, the fear, the confusion, the regret.

Because her expression changed, her shoulders relaxed just a little. “Hey…” her voice dropped, calmer now. “It’s okay. Well… not okay, but…” she sighed. “We’ll figure something out.”

“Something?” I repeated weakly. “Is this… is this how my first day is going to be?”

The question hung in the air, and for the first time since everything happened, the fear hit me fully. My chest tightened, what if this ruined everything?

What if this was it for me?

I had barely stepped into this school, and I had already made the worst possible impression.

MJ seemed to notice the shift immediately. “Hey, hey… don’t panic,” she said quickly, moving closer. “Look at me.”

I lifted my head slowly.

“I’ll talk to him,” she said. “Okay? I’ll try. I know people who know people. I’ll figure something out.” She looked scared.

“You would do that?” I asked, surprised.

She shrugged lightly. “I’m supposed to be your tour guide, Emma, not your defense attorney. If you get expelled, it’s going to look terrible on my record, too.“

Despite everything, a small, nervous laugh escaped me.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen…” I said again.

“I know,” she replied. “Just… next time, maybe don’t slap the most powerful guy in school?”

“Noted,” I muttered.

She shook her head, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “Come on,” she said after a moment. “Let’s get you settled before anything else happens.”

I nodded, standing up slowly. My legs still felt unsteady, but at least I could move.

We stepped out of the classroom, the hallway quieter now, but not empty. A few students glanced our way, whispers already starting again.

Word travels fast here. Too fast.

MJ led the way, her pace steady as we moved through another set of corridors.

“This way,” she said, glancing back at me. “Female wing.”

The building shifted as we walked, less crowded, quieter, more private. The noise of the main halls faded behind us, replaced with something calmer.

I tightened my grip on my bag, my thoughts still spinning. First day, new school and somehow I had already become the new girl everyone was watching. The girl Adrian has marked and something told me this wasn’t over.