Chapter Twelve

After morning tea was over, Lila dejectedly made her way to her daily PC class. While she wasn’t sure what her homeroom teacher, Ms Wang (who also happened to be her Maths teacher), had in store for them besides marking the roll and announcements, she was hopeful that today was light on any particular content. Most days it was designated to be free time where students could get together to discuss assignments or exams, play card games, or otherwise bond with their classmates. Some days, Ms Wang attempted to discuss the importance of safe sex, taxes, religion, career aspirations, and the like over the uncontrollable chatter of 11E. Today seemed like the former as Lila settled into her usual seat and waited for the arrival of Elise and Grace. Predictably, they wandered in a minute before class was due to start and hurried to their usual table, unable to say anything of substance to Lila before Ms Wang marked the roll.

Upon finalising the roll with all 26 students present, Ms Wang began to explain the details of the upcoming semi-formal.

“It’ll begin at 7.30pm sharp in the gymnasium on the 21st of April,” she said, peering closely at her work-issued Surface Pro. “Girls, your dresses may not be shorter than the knee, and as it’s semi-formal, it isn’t expected that you wear full gowns. You may not wear dresses that show a lot of cleavage. Boys, the general expectation is to wear suits, but as it’s semi-formal, you can dress it down a bit. A full list of clothing expectations will be sent around later this afternoon. Partners are not required, however, there will be dances where having a partner organised in advance is highly suggested. There will be finger food available – it’s not a sit-down dinner.”

Ms Wang gave the class a hard look before reading further. “You’ll be required to attend school as per usual that day.”

At this, Lila’s classmates began to groan.

“Really?”

“But I’m going to need a full day to get ready!”

“How is anyone supposed to concentrate?”

“Ma’am! Can’t we just have this day off? This is, like, one of the most important days of the year!”

“I mean, I don’t mind coming in… I’ll just change after school and be all set.”

“Oh, sod off, Liam.”

“Guys,” Ms Wang warned over the noise. “I know you’re not happy about it, but I can’t change the rules. Besides, school ends at 3.20 anyway. You have four whole hours.”

The class fell silent, though most had their arms crossed, insolently looking up at Ms Wang, waiting for her to continue.

“Looks like that’s all I have to share today. You have about 40 minutes of free time before your next class,” Ms Wang said, pulling out a planner and flicking through the pages. “You can let me know if you need a hand with something, otherwise I’ll just be lesson planning. Keep the noise to an acceptable level, though. Otherwise, I’ll have you do some algebraic equations.”

“Yes, ma’am,” replied the class in unison before they began to talk amongst themselves, heeding her warning to keep the noise to a minimum. They'd had Ms Wang as their PC teacher for the past three years – they knew she could get scarily strict in a matter of seconds. And her equations were no joke.

“Lila,” Elise whispered urgently, ducking her head low to the table and gesturing for Lila to come closer.

“What?” Lila whispered back, following Elise’s direction. Grace also lowered her head and leaned closer to the other two.

“Just on the way here, I’ve heard that PE was filled with sexual tension between you and Asher? And now everyone is absolutely convinced that you guys have banged, not just made out. And that you had Asher and Connor fighting over you and it was a whole brawl. So people are speculating that you’re sleeping with Connor, too.”

Elise’s words tumbled out of her mouth as though she couldn’t get them out fast enough. She then stared at Lila almost apprehensively, fumbling with her hands. Lila rolled her eyes and explained what actually happened to Elise and Grace. Both looked troubled by the end of Lila’s story.

“Today’s Valentine’s Day,” Grace said slowly. “And yet I’ve only heard about you and Asher all day, besides actually seeing people receive gifts in the locker room or in the hallways between classes.”

Elise tapped her chin as if thinking hard. “It doesn’t seem like the rumours are going to die down. Especially not after PE today. Did you get a chance to talk to Ayla?”

“Not at all,” bemoaned Lila, flopping onto the desk in a defeated manner. “So much was happening all at once and I was nowhere near her. By the time class ended, I just wanted to get out of there ASAP.”

“I don’t blame you at all,” Grace said softly, patting Lila’s head. “Sounds like it was intense.”

“And so counterproductive. I’m so far from the bottom of this that it feels like I’ll never get any answers. Especially now that more’s piling on.”

“Don’t be so down about it,” said Elise gently. “It’s only day one of putting serious work into it. I still haven’t had Maths yet.”

Grace paused, looking between Lila and Elise for a moment before leaning in and whispering. “I’ll keep an eye on Holly and Asher during my date tonight.”

Lila sat bolt upright, staring at Grace in concern. “Oh, please don’t worry about that at all,” Lila said, grabbing Grace by the shoulders. “Enjoy your date. Besides, I don’t need to know what they’re up to.”

Grace raised an eyebrow. “But you want to know.”

“I…” Lila faltered, letting go of Grace. Grace gave her a smug smile.

“I’m sure I won’t be able to take my eyes off them anyway,” she said with a shrug. “I’ve been feeling a bit anxious about people at school knowing that I’m gay. So, I want to keep an eye on them so I can see if they notice me. Especially since Holly knows me too. She’d probably want to say hi.”

“Are you sure you want to go through with the booking, then?” asked Elise. Grace nodded.

“I’ve already cleared it with my parents and my partner. No backing down now. Plus… it’s a bit exciting, having our first fancy outing like this.”

“Now it sounds like you want to get caught,” Lila said with a smirk.

“After telling Elise, I do feel like this secret is less important to keep in, though I am still anxious,” conceded Grace.

“Is that meant to be an insult?” Elise pouted.

“Not at all,” Grace said, shaking her head earnestly. “It just means I feel much more comfortable talking about it in general, thanks to you guys.”

Lila squeezed Grace’s hand in response, which Grace reciprocated, her eyes shining. Then, Lila’s phone buzzed in her pocket. Lila checked it and saw a notification regarding a message from Cecelia on Instagram.

Girl what happened?? My class can’t stop talking about PE!!! The message read.

“What does Cecelia want?” Elise asked, reading over Lila’s shoulder with a deep frown, crossing her arms. It was clear that Elise was still displeased with Cecelia after what Lila relayed to her yesterday at lunch. As she waited for Lila to explain, a scowl began to etch itself onto her otherwise stony face. Lila quickly detailed the events of Bio to Elise and Grace, who exchanged miffed glances every so often.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Once Lila finished, Elise unfolded her arms, worry now replacing the anger in her eyes.

“Lila, you don’t have to force yourself to get over it for the sake of Bio,” Elise said quietly. Grace nodded in agreement. Lila shrugged nonchalantly.

“I’ve basically forgotten about it anyway. It’s fine,” she said dismissively.

“You always hide your feelings behind your assertions that you’re fine,” Grace said sharply, a tinge of exasperation in her voice. Lila simply shrugged again, the corners of her mouth lifting in a slight smile.

“I’m fine, truly.”

Both Elise and Grace shot her disbelieving looks before sighing deeply in unison. Lila looked down at her phone again to see more messages from Cecelia.

No but like wtf happened with connor

They’re going mental

U wouldn’t even know its valentines day

Lila closed her eyes, trying to envision a life where she wasn’t the center of rumours. Her time out of the collective consciousness of her cohort had been so short-lived and she was severely regretting her lack of appreciation of her previous, carefree lifestyle.

“Maybe you should tell her what actually happened,” suggested Grace, bringing Lila out of her reprieve.

“Yeah…”

Lila texted Cecelia the whole story in various bits, with Cecelia reacting appropriately to her messages via emojis. When she was done, Cecelia replied.

It’s gotten wild then

Idk what to do

How do I help

Lila screwed up her face as she struggled to think. Lila didn’t even know what she should be doing in this scenario, let alone what Cecelia should do to help.

Can u find out who told people about this morning, Lila replied.

I’ll try, Cecelia responded. Lila locked her phone’s screen and put it back in her pocket, zipping it up forcefully. She held her head in her hands, grinding her teeth as she tried to steady her breathing. Tears began to well behind her eyelids as she replayed the comments Elise had reported back in her head, with each one progressively threatening to break the floodgates.

“Do you want me to talk to Ayla?” Grace asked. Lila lifted her head from her hands slowly to look at her.

“I don’t know,” she whispered, her vision shaky.

“Maybe you should just take it easy for now,” Elise suggested. “Now that this has blown up, I don’t think you’ll get anything out of anyone, Lila.”

Lila looked back down at the desk, unable to formulate anything in response. She supposed it was true, at least. But sitting still, while being attacked by the outrageous gossip that had no sign of stopping, wasn’t ideal either.

“We should have lunch in the library today,” Elise stated firmly. “Find a quiet corner and get away.”

“That might be for the best, Lila,” Grace said encouragingly.

“Yeah… sounds good.”

Once Maths was over, Lila tried her best to speedwalk to the tuckshop, hoping to avoid snippets of conversation regarding herself. It didn’t work as well as she had hoped, but what she did hear seemed to be centered around the imaginary love triangle between herself, Connor, and Asher. Every so often, she also heard whispered theories of a love square with Isaac added in, given his attempt to cheer her up last Thursday during lunch. Adding Holly made it a love pentagon, and, as Lila was not interested in any one of them, she was internally banning herself from interacting with any other male until the rumours ended. She was not eager to have a love hexagon over her head, though the logistics of avoiding all males in this climate seemed iffy at best.

'Lila, you’ve got this,' she thought to herself, determined now to make a beeline straight to the tuckshop, 'just grab some lunch and go to the library. You don’t need to make any stops or detours.'

Owing entirely to the fact she had been nearly jogging on her way to the tuckshop, Lila was delighted to see there was no line to get in. Grabbing a fruit salad and some hot food, Lila left the tuckshop in such a rush that she didn’t notice a lanky, dirty-blond male student standing outside the exit until she ran into his back.

“Whoa,” he said, turning around to look at Lila. As soon as he saw her, however, a grin crept across his face. There was something about it that was significantly unsettling. Lila tried to side-step around the boy to continue her journey to the library where Elise and Grace were waiting. Instead of moving out of Lila’s way, he followed her movements so that they were still facing each other.

“I have somewhere to be,” Lila said frustratedly. “Can you please move?”

He inched his way forward, his grin slightly too wide now. “I’ve heard that you’re easy,” he said in a low whisper. His eyes flickered down to Lila’s chest before adding, “And it looks like it’s true, too.”

“I’m not,” Lila said, stepping back, pulling her blouse in front of her chest in an attempt to give the buttons more room. Why today, of all days, were her better-fitting uniforms in the wash? This did not deter him as he continued to get closer to Lila.

“Who even are you?” she asked.

“Don’t play hard to get,” he murmured, reaching out to touch her shoulder, which she batted away.

“I’m not,” Lila repeated, her voice growing louder. “Like I said, who are you?”

“You wound me, Lila. I’m Harrison, from 11A.”

Lila blinked slowly, not recognising him in the slightest. He stepped closer yet again. He was now so close that Lila could smell his acrid breath, and she instinctually backed away.

“Lunchtime’s just started,” Harrison whispered, his ebony eyes devoid of any warmth. He still edged closer to Lila. “We can hide away in a bathroom…”

“Like hell I’d want to do that,” Lila attempted to sound firm, but her voice cracked as a sense of foreboding began to wash over her.

“If Connor, Asher, and Isaac can all get in there, surely there’s room for me,” Harrison said, his eyes roving past her chest now and towards her legs. Lila desperately looked around to see if there was someone – anyone – around.

Lila’s eyes landed on Ayla, who was strutting towards the now-present line to the tuckshop, looking pleased with herself, her shoulder-length, glossy, black curls bouncing as she walked. Lila cringed at the sight of Ayla, her failure to talk to her still present in her mind, but she had no other choice. Escaping Harrison in favour of seeking out Ayla would be the lesser of two evils in this scenario.

Lila made to start walking towards Ayla, but Harrison grabbed a hold of the corner of her school blazer.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he said, his eyes ice cold in contrast to the smirk plastered across his face. He gripped her blazer with more force as she attempted to slip out of his grasp.

There was nothing else for it. Lila kneed Harrison square in the stomach and ran towards Ayla, who was staring at the pair, hand to her mouth in apparent horror.

“YOU BITCH!” Harrison coughed, clutching his stomach and wheezing. He began to stumble towards Lila and Ayla until someone in the distance called his name. Lila couldn’t see who had spoken from where she stood, huddled next to Ayla. Harrison abruptly turned around and walked off in the direction of the voice, grumbling and rubbing his stomach.

“What happened?” Ayla gasped once Harrison was out of earshot, moving around Lila so that she was on the other side of the line and out of view from Harrison. Lila buttoned up her blazer with trembling hands, despite the heat. While Lila didn’t know Ayla very well, she was immediately far more relaxed in her presence as Ayla turned her body to shield Lila even further.

“H-Harrison said I was easy,” Lila said quietly, her voice wavering. “B-But I still haven’t done anything besides kissing…”

Ayla’s fawn-coloured eyes appeared to be searching Lila’s, as though assessing the truthfulness of her statement. Lila quickly looked away, uncomfortable with the eye contact, and twirled the ends of her ponytail. The fact that Lila and Ayla hadn’t ever really spoken before was incredibly apparent as the silence between them grew. Ayla opened her mouth as if to speak a few times before shaking her head.

“Lila… I… I know you probably think I had something to do with these rumours going around,” Ayla said slowly, shifting her weight between her feet and biting her lip.

“I might,” Lila whispered, unable to find much strength in her voice anymore. Ayla nodded a couple of times, looking at the tuckshop as they shuffled forward in the line.

“I don’t know how these rumours have gotten as twisted as they have,” Ayla said finally, still averting her gaze from Lila’s face. Lila looked down at her shoes now. Could she trust that Ayla was telling the truth? Did Ayla really not know how they had gotten so warped? Or was she trying to disguise her involvement in adding to the rumours and knotting them with her own hands?

“… Look, Brittany and I did see you and Asher talking behind Bio and wondered whether you guys were dating. I… may have talked to a couple of my friends, but I swear that’s it. I haven’t even said anything more to anyone else since Isaac told me that Asher has a girlfriend. Plus, Asher himself showed me pictures of them together.”

A stinging sensation shot through Lila as Ayla’s words sunk in. Lila reasoned that it was likely due to the shock from Harrison’s behaviour. She placed a hand on her chest to confirm that she didn’t have a hole running through it before finally looking up at Ayla.

“Well, if you guys aren’t saying more things, then who is?” Lila asked. Ayla’s expression appeared to be open and honest, her shoulders relaxed and hands by her side as she answered.

“I honestly have no idea. Lila, what Harrison just tried was… awful. From girl to girl, I promise you that if I had known it would get like this, I would’ve kept my mouth shut. This whole thing about you being a homewrecker or making out with Asher and all the rest of it – I swear, that’s not coming from me. Plus, it seemed like Asher was getting touchy with you, rather than you being touchy with him that day. I would’ve said he was a cheater way before calling you a homewrecker. You’re so absolutely average, I doubt you’d go against any kind of code, let alone girl code.”

“Uh… thanks, I guess?”

“No worries,” smiled Ayla. Lila wasn’t entirely sure whether Ayla had realised that Lila’s 'thanks' wasn’t necessarily genuine.

Lila’s phone vibrated in her pocket and, upon pulling it out, saw Elise was calling her. Scrolling through her notifications, Lila also saw she had missed about twenty messages from both Elise and Grace and a couple of Snapchats.

“Crap, I’ve got to run,” Lila said, swiftly declining Elise’s call. “I have to go to the library.”

Ayla simply waved goodbye as Lila dashed off to the library, clutching her blazer to close it even further than her buttons allowed.