Chapter Thirteen

“Lila, can you either sit down and stop pacing, or go upstairs to your room to pace?” sighed Lila’s Mum later that night in the living room. Another Filipino drama was showing on the TV, this one subtitled, and actually quite interesting. Lila looked up from her phone as she slowed her steps to a standstill.

“Sorry Mum,” she said, quickly sitting down on the couch. Lila refreshed her group chat every few seconds, waiting to hear from Grace regarding her date. Eventually, Daniel sauntered into the living room, cup of juice in his hand and headphones covering one ear. He raised an eyebrow at Lila.

“I see you’re unloved this Valentine’s Day,” he snorted, sipping from his cup.

“Same to you, Daniel,” Lila replied, anger flickering in her voice.

“Same to you, Daniel,” said Daniel, poorly mimicking Lila in a high-pitched voice and exaggerating his facial expressions with each word.

“Daniel, either sit down and stop talking, or go upstairs to your room and talk,” their Mum said, clearly frustrated as she turned the volume up on the TV. Daniel rolled his eyes and covered his other ear with the headphones, stomping his way up the stairs and to his room in response.

Suddenly, Lila’s phone vibrated in her hands. She quickly unlocked it. It was a message from Elise.

I’m on my short break, it read. I’ve been pissed off all shift still. Who the fuck does Harrison think he is?????

It’s fine. He didn’t really end up doing anything, Lila replied, disappointed it wasn’t a message from Grace.

It’s not fine. He totally would’ve, given the chance, came Elise’s rapid reply.

We were surrounded by people, Lila sent.

But what if you weren’t? Elise followed this up with a few angry emojis.

We don’t know what would have happened because we weren’t alone. He might’ve behaved

Lila, that’s what scares me. We don’t know. Like Grace said, you should report it to a teacher

I’m not going to get Harrison in trouble over that

Maybe he shouldn’t have sexually harassed you then

That wasn’t sexual harassment. Just a misunderstanding. It’s all cleared up now

I’ve gotta go back to work, but I’m being serious Lila. You should report it

Lila sighed and locked her phone. It didn’t seem like Grace would be finishing up anytime soon. Maybe Lila should go to bed. It would at least make the time go by quickly.

“Isn’t it a school night?” Lila’s Mum asked absently, snacking on sunflower seeds. She offered Lila the bowl, but Lila declined, stretching.

“Yeah… I think I’ll go to bed now.”

Lila rubbed her nose against her Mum’s cheek and made her way up to her room. She sat on her bed for a while, absorbed in a phone game, before a notification from Snapchat interrupted her. It was from Isaac.

‘He hasn’t sent me a Snap me for a long time,’ Lila thought, curiously opening it up. Isaac had taken a picture of his TV, showing a program Lila wasn’t familiar with.

I heard what happened with Harrison, the text overlaying the picture read.

Great, Lila messaged back. She wasn’t about to go ahead and take pictures of herself or her room.

I can’t tell if that’s sarcastic, came Isaac’s reply. It appeared he didn’t bother taking another picture either.

U tell me, Lila replied.

The guys have sorted him out, Isaac replied. He’s our striker for soccer.

‘Is that where the confidence came from?’ Lila briefly asked herself before replying with a thanks.

I think Asher is still on his date, messaged Isaac.

I see. I don’t care, btw

I’m sure you don’t. But in case you do a lil, he hasn’t messaged me saying he’s home or anything

Lila momentarily wondered if Marlene was at Asher’s house, waiting for him.

I heard something interesting today btw, Isaac continued.

Interesting how

Well, I heard that you’ve slept with so many guys from a couple people in 11B

I still haven’t kissed anyone else but you, Lila replied, rolling her eyes, let alone slept with anyone.

Lila could see Isaac start and stop typing a message several times.

I see. That wasn’t the interesting bit, Isaac finally replied after a couple of minutes. It seems like that rumour could be originating in 11B

Why’s that

Blake Carruthers and Tyler Jameson were talking about it in PC today. They were making bets on how they could get you to sleep with them

Rage filled Lila’s veins as she struggled to think of a response.

When I asked them why they thought you’d be into it, they said they’d heard some stuff from some girls in 11B. Apparently someone who knows you super well, that’s why she knows everything. Does that ring a bell?

Unclenching her jaw, Lila paused to think, her breathing steadying. There wasn’t anyone in particular that stood out to her from 11B, especially anyone who knew Lila super well, but perhaps she’d be able to look into it tomorrow…

Something about tomorrow bothered her. Lila opened her school-issued laptop and logged in to her Student Hub. A sinking feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as she opened up her timetable. English was tomorrow morning.

U good? Isaac had messaged Lila on Snapchat again.

Yeah, just realised I have English tomorrow morning

Is that a problem?

Lila tapped her fingers on the edge of her phone absently. It wasn’t necessarily a problem, but she’d need to be even more careful around Asher now than she already was.

I’ll figure it out. Anyway, thanks for the tip. I’ll see you around school, Lila finally sent.

No worries, replied Isaac, have a good one.

Grace hadn’t ended up sending anything to Elise or Lila that night regarding her date night for Valentine’s Day, much to Lila’s dismay. She would have to wait for PC or lunch to get all the details, particularly as they didn’t have Modern History today. With nothing else she could do, and as though hurrying through her usual routine would make time go faster, Lila arrived at school far earlier than she had intended that morning. Now she sat in her empty English classroom in the red-brick Language Block that had once served as the sole basis of the College, already set up for the lesson.

Lila turned the pages of her notebook through her hands without much thought, the sound of crinkling paper keeping her company. Usually, the school echoed with the sounds of shrill laughter and raucous discussions from students. However, at this time, there was only the distant sounds of a leaf blower, wielded by the school landscaper. As Lila continued to sit in silence, the lights overhead dimmed. Sighing, Lila waved her arms above her head, and they brightened again. Sometimes sustainability could be a pain.

Lila flicked through her notebook some more until she reached the pages filled with Asher’s handwriting. She idly traced his notes with her index finger. It was funny, really, how she could tell when certain points engaged Asher’s mind the most due to the depth of the indentations left on the page. He seemed to be particularly focused on Marlene, who had been out of town the week of the disappearance. He had also circled the entry on the timeline where Gabriel had been told to leave several times.

‘They certainly are pretty suspicious…’ Lila thought. It was frustrating that Asher was avoiding her. But… maybe it was her turn to reach out to him? Lila bit her lip as she contemplated this. Maybe it would be okay. It’s not like people would necessarily know that they were texting each other… Though, if someone did find out, people would probably think there was some credence to the rumours…

The door to the classroom swung open behind her and she jerked out of her chair, spinning around to see who entered. Her stomach lurched as she laid eyes on Asher, who traipsed into the room. She slammed her notebook shut and turned so she was facing the back wall. He looked far more dishevelled than he had the last time she saw him. For a moment, Lila wondered why Asher was in class so early before remembering that Asher was always at school early. She’d seen him several times over the years, pouring over his notebooks and textbooks in empty classrooms, with no friend or distraction in sight.

He said nothing to her as he put his backpack down on the table with a thud. Lila didn’t know whether she should sit back down or run out of the room like a bat out of hell, but regardless she no longer had any air in her lungs.

“… Sorry,” Asher muttered. Lila looked down at him in surprise. He was still pulling out his materials for the lesson without glancing at Lila.

“For what?” Lila asked, still between escaping and staying.

“For yesterday. And last week. And… just in general.”

Lila slowly lowered herself into her chair, unable to take her eyes off Asher. “Asher, it’s really not your fault. It’s just… how high school is.”

Asher clenched his fists, slowly looking up at Lila. His eyes looked tired but glinted with a furious intensity all the same.

“I heard about Harrison,” he spat, aggression rising in his tone. “And it’s my fault.”

“Asher, seriously. I’m fine. It’s fine. He just believed the rumours and thought he could try something, and he now knows that’s never going to happen.”

“Lila, it’s not fucking fine,” Asher snapped, standing up now, breathing heavily. “Who else is going to believe the rumours and try something? What if it’s worse next time? Stop saying it’s fine. Nothing about this is fine.”

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Lila remained silent for a moment. “… Asher I’m trying to fix this.”

“You can’t fix it. I can’t fix it. And that pisses me off. Even trying to avoid you doesn’t work ‘cause something always fucking happens and then it starts up again. I feel like I’ve told everyone I see to back off with the bullshit rumours, but every lesson it gets worse.”

“Asher, it’s fine. I can handle myself.”

Asher shot her a sharp look. “I’m barely handling myself, Lila.”

Lila gave Asher a soft smile, trying to bury her sadness and guilt at dragging Asher into this mess deep within her heart, where he couldn’t see. “Don’t worry about me. Just focus on you and Holly. I’m sure the rumours have gotten to her as well.”

Asher’s face drained of all colour as he threw himself into his chair. His reaction and lack of response confirmed it to Lila – Holly knew. Lila decided to change the topic.

“… How did Valentine’s Day go yesterday?” Lila asked, looking down at her worn notebook. She wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to know, but it was too late to take the question back.

“H-Huh? O-Oh,” Asher looked down at his hands before answering, his voice strangely high-pitched. “Yeah, it was good. I went to dinner with Holly last night and it went well.”

Lila nodded, looking down at her own hands, which were trembling slightly. “Sounds like fun,” she said lamely before abruptly getting up. “I’m just going to go drink some water…”

“Lila-” Asher began before his voice caught in his throat.

“Class is going to start soon,” Lila said, already halfway out the door. “We have to ignore each other, remember?”

Lila looked behind her shoulder to see Asher staring at his desk. “… Yeah,” he said with a hint of forlornness.

Lila quickly left the classroom to the nearest bubblers outside and splashed her face with water. Feelings she couldn’t identify were floating up to the surface of her mind, and she struggled to keep them at bay. Was it the fact that Asher was concerned about her? Was it the fact that he was suffering because of the rumours? Was it the fact that his Valentine’s Day date with Holly went well?

Shaking her head, Lila clapped the sides of her face, trying to snap herself out of her thinking. Wallowing would not help her. If she wanted to help Asher, she needed to figure out where the rumours were coming from and stop them at the source. ‘He’s tried so much already – it’s my turn to do something,’ Lila thought, taking a drink. The coolness of the water sharpened Lila’s determination. She couldn’t place all the responsibility at Asher and Isaac’s feet, after all their campaigning.

Nodding to herself, Lila made her way back to the classroom. A couple of classmates had filed in, setting up their desks with their materials. As soon as Lila entered, all conversation suddenly stopped. Asher’s face was stony, his right hand clamped around a pen, but he didn’t so much as give Lila a sideways glance as she settled back in. Lila turned slightly away from Asher, looking off into the distance at the whiteboard, head in her hands, trying to not show any emotion.

‘It’s better this way…’ she thought as her stomach twisted and turned. ‘I’ve got to protect them.’

The rest of the morning’s lessons raced by. Now that the term was fast approaching the mid-point, classes were becoming more involved and complex. She had hardly said a word to Cecelia and Lucas in Bio, though both had reported back that they hadn’t learned much regarding the rumours in hushed tones whilst Mr Johnson meandered over to other tables.

Finally, with no messages still from Grace, Lila trudged her way to PC class. Hopefully, Grace was just wanting to talk in person about what happened, but there was a chance that she wouldn’t want to around their classmates. Although, if Asher’s date with Holly had gone as well as he had said, perhaps there really wasn’t anything for Grace to say.

Grace and Elise were already sitting in their usual seats in PC and flagged Lila over when she entered.

“Hi,” Lila said simply as she collapsed into her seat.

“Hey,” Grace and Elise said in unison. They exchanged a glance before Grace leaned in towards Lila.

“Last night was so… odd,” she whispered. “I’ve already given Elise a quick run-down of what happened.”

“I see,” Lila replied, unable to disguise the hurt in her voice.

“Actually, I needed her advice,” Grace quickly explained. “I… honestly wasn’t sure if I should tell you about what happened.”

“Why not?” Lila asked, straightening up.

Grace fell silent, clearly struggling to find the words. “Well… it’s just… um…”

“Apparently… Asher’s date didn’t end so great,” Elise interjected.

“What do you mean?” Lila asked, confused. “Asher told me this morning that it went well…”

Elise narrowed her eyes as Grace shot Lila a fierce look.

“Why are you talking to him? That’s just adding fuel to the fire,” Elise said, crossing her arms.

“It… just happened. No one else was in class and he apologised. And I asked him how Valentine’s Day went with Holly and he said it went well,” replied Lila, attempting a nonchalant shrug.

“Well, I can tell you that was a lie,” Grace said matter-of-factly. “Like, a major one too.”

“Like I said, what do you mean?” Lila asked, impatience now biting her tone.

“Lila,” Ms Wang’s voice cut through the girls’ conversation like a knife, shattering it completely. “Are you here?”

Lila raised her hand reflexively, confirming her presence. She hadn’t even noticed Ms Wang come in, let alone make her way down the roll to ‘Moloney’. The girls remained silent as Ms Wang finished marking the roll. There were no announcements today, and it seemed like their time today was designated as free time. Conversations began to fill the classroom, though Ms Wang’s usual threat of maths hung in the air. It was a particularly effective threat for Lila, given that Ms Wang was her Maths teacher.

Lila eagerly turned to Grace and gestured for Grace to speak.

“Well… my… partner and I came into the restaurant,” Grace whispered again, flicking a nervous look around the room. “And it was pretty easy to spot Asher and Holly. They were both dressed really nicely, actually. And there was a huge bouquet and box of chocolates on the table. Not that that matters to the story, heh-”

“Grace, you’re babbling,” Elise sighed.

“S-Sorry,” Grace grinned sheepishly before resuming. “And the waiter put us a couple tables away from them. I don’t think they actually looked at me at all. I kinda wish they put us further apart… they already had their food, but neither of them looked happy.”

Grace gave Elise another meaningful look. Elise nodded for Grace to continue.

“As my partner and I waited for our dinner, we could hear Asher and Holly fighting.”

Lila leaned in even further, her eyes fixed on Grace’s face. Grace grimaced, took a deep breath, and said, “Uh… they were fighting about you.”

“Oh,” replied Lila, sitting back. “What about me?”

“Well… it seemed like Holly was pretty convinced that Asher was cheating.”

Lila’s face turned red as she made to argue, but Elise raised a hand to stop her.

“We know you’re not hooking up with Asher,” Elise said softly. Grace nodded in agreement.

“A-Anyway,” Grace said, “Holly said something about how he’d been spending so much time with you. And that she’d heard so many things, like that you were a slut, trying to get it on with Asher between classes, and he kept denying everything. But it didn’t seem that Holly was convinced at all. She… she walked out.”

Lila gave a low whistle.

“To be fair,” Elise said quietly. “I think I’d have the same reaction.”

“Yeah,” agreed Lila. “I would too.”

“After that, Asher sat alone for a while before getting the bill. He grabbed the flowers and chocolates and hurried off. I didn’t see where he went as my food arrived, but they didn’t come back.”

Lila rested her chin in her right hand as she contemplated what Grace had said. The way Asher’s face turned pale after Lila asked about their date made a lot of sense now.

“Why do you reckon he lied to me about it?” Lila asked slowly.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Elise asked, looking at Lila bewilderedly. “He didn’t want you to feel bad about it. It’s not like you can do anything to change it.”

“That’s what I think, too,” Grace said.

“Hmm…” Lila muttered. It made sense, but it wasn’t necessary on Asher’s part. The girls sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Elise smiled.

“I had Maths with Brittany this morning,” she said, “and I got some names.”

“Ooh,” replied Grace, clapping her hands together. “That sounds intriguing.”

“So, Brittany herself swore black and blue that she, like Ayla, dropped it all after Asher cornered her and said to back off. He also showed her pictures of him with Holly and told her it was starting to hurt his relationship with her, and he was actually a bit aggressive about it, apparently. Said he was fed up with it all. So, Brittany’s felt pretty bad about it ever since, according to her.”

“I don’t know if I can trust it,” Grace said frankly. “We’re talking about Brittany and Ayla here. They’re, like, the grade’s most renowned gossips.”

“True,” Elise said, “but at the same time, gossip spreads like wildfire. Some pockets of fire burn hotter than others, despite whatever the temp is for the origin point.”

“I guess,” Grace conceded, sitting back in her chair.

“Anyway, Brittany swears she only talked about it with Ayla, Marcus Furlow, Heather Burroughs, Piper Baker, Charlotte Choi, and Mia Turner.”

“Are any of them in 11B?” asked Lila. Elise looked at her in surprise.

“Why do you ask?”

“Isaac seems to think that the rumours are starting in 11B,” Lila shrugged. “He said someone who apparently really knows me is in 11B but I seriously don’t know who it could be.”

“That is weird,” Grace mused. “It sounds like maybe they’re pretending you’re close so whatever they’re saying sounds like the truth.”

“Probably,” sighed Lila. “Are any of them in 11B?”

“Well, I’m pretty sure Piper, Mia, and Marcus are. Brittany is in 11A. I don’t know what class Heather and Charlotte are in, but I’d guess 11A as well,” replied Elise thoughtfully.

“Did you get any names from Ayla?” Grace asked Lila.

“No,” Lila said in dismay. “We… didn’t have a particularly long conversation about it. It was more about Harrison, to be honest.”

“Even hearing his name pisses me off,” Elise said venomously. Lila chose not to respond – she knew if she said it was fine, Elise would insist that it wasn’t, and they wouldn’t get any closer to the perpetrator of the rumours.

“It’s odd,” Grace said slowly. “I never really see Ayla and Brittany hanging out that much.”

“They have their own friendship circles,” Lila said with a shrug. “They’re definitely only friends during class. I mean, Ayla is in 11D. It’s kinda to be expected that friends would mainly be in your PC class, especially in grade eleven. We have PC every day after all.”

“Do you want me to get names from Ayla?” Grace asked.

“I think I can get them,” Lila said slowly. “She seemed really genuine during our talk yesterday. I’m sure I can guilt her into telling me who she’s been talking to. Plus, we have Study together as our last class for today.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, thanks for the offer though. I should be right.”

Grace gave Elise another glance before smiling at Lila. “I’m sure you will be.”

Despite Lila’s confidence in PC, as the rest of her classes and even lunch dragged on, Lila couldn’t reconcile a plan of attack. Should she just ask Ayla in person? Would Ayla even talk to her? They didn’t normally talk, and even with their conversation yesterday, Lila wasn’t sure that it wouldn’t be weird to talk to Ayla today. Lila did see that they had each other on Facebook but couldn’t bring herself to even type ‘Hi’ in Messenger.

After signing in with her Study teacher, Lila wandered off to a secluded corner booth in the library, contemplating her next moves. She could see a little ways away Ayla and a female student sitting together, talking. At the very least, Lila knew she needed to talk to Ayla alone.

Sighing, Lila opened her laptop and tried to work on her Bio assignment, glancing up every so often to see if Ayla and her friend were still sitting in the same place. Lila tried to recall the name of the student sitting next to Ayla as she read through her draft assignment – was it Penny? Or Poppy? Lila knew she had seen this student in the halls for a while but had never spoken to her.

It wasn’t until halfway through the lesson when Ayla’s friend got up and walked off towards the printing room that she remembered – it was Piper. Piper herself was a rather short, freckled, and incredibly thin girl with straggly, wispy brown hair tied in a limp ponytail. To Lila, Piper was not unattractive but rather plain – seemingly able to blend into her surroundings and whoever she was with. To this end, Lila could see why she would be included with the popular crowd – slotting in effortlessly with her looks, but also not having an overpowering personality vying for dominance.

Slamming her laptop lid closed, Lila hurriedly made her way to Ayla, who was looking through a textbook. Now that Piper had left, it was Lila’s chance to talk to Ayla in private.

“H-Hi,” Lila said tentatively, clearing her throat. Ayla looked up in surprise before smiling at Lila.

“Hey.”

“S-So I’ve been thinking,” Lila said, her words carrying odd inflections, “about yesterday.”

Ayla nodded, placing a bookmark in her textbook and closing it.

“Um… I just wanted to check… w-who did you say you spoke to about Asher and me?” Lila’s voice dropped to a whisper as she began picking at her nails.

“Oh, is that all?” Ayla asked, her smile brightening. “I’m sure they’ll tell you what I said yesterday – that I haven’t said anything else for ages.”

Lila waited with bated breath as Ayla brought a finger to her chin in apparent contemplation.

“So… it was… Piper, of course,” Ayla waved a hand in the direction of Piper’s belongings. “And Belle, Mia, oh and Scarlett. I also spoke to Jackson, since he does soccer with Asher, but he was useless. And Brittany and I talked, of course.”

Lila nodded slowly, trying to picture who Ayla was talking about. Belle and Mia were in Lila’s Japanese class, but they sat on the other side of the classroom with the popular students. There was no way in hell that Lila would be able to talk to them without it being super awkward.

“Ayla, the printer is absolutely fu-” a voice from the left of Lila called, before stopping short. Lila turned and saw Piper holding a crumpled piece of paper in her hand, her head tilted in curiosity.

“Thanks,” Lila said quickly to Ayla before scuttling off to her laptop again. She quickly typed the names down in her phone’s Notes app before flipping her phone face-down on the desk. ‘Elise said that Mia and Piper are in 11B…’ Lila mused to herself as she began to settle back into her schoolwork. Lila could sense someone was looking at her but every time she looked up, she didn’t meet anyone’s eyes. Everyone else seemed entirely absorbed in their schoolwork. Perhaps she was just paranoid now.

Shaking her head, she moved on to her English script. Asher had given her until Saturday to finalise her portion, but there was no sense holding onto it now that she had some time. The rest of her Study period passed by productively and eventually ended without Lila noticing. She continued to make finishing touches on the script until she was satisfied, taking stretching breaks every so often.

Slowly, the library began to fill with more students – some seemed to want to get work done, at least, while others were just being rowdy amongst themselves. A group of boys set themselves up along the biggest table on this side of the library and Lila could see from their laptop screens that they were jumping into a Minecraft server.

Knowing that the library would get even more unruly within a few minutes, Lila sent off her finished script to Asher via email before packing up and heading home.