Chapter 17: Rumor

Sapphire narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips. “You’re still flirting with Dan? Haven’t I warned you already?”

I crossed my arms and replied, “He is just a tutee assigned to. There's nothing between me and Dan?”

She took a step closer and scoffed, “Well, should I remind you about that rumor between you and Sir Mateo from elementary?”

"The rumor between me and Sir Mateo is just nonsense. Besides, that was three years ago and you don't have any proof."

"What if I do? What will you do about it?"

My entire body froze on the spot. How much information did she get from Andrew?

She half-smiled and whispered, "He may like you now, but he'll eventually leave you after finding out another hideous side of you. This is my last warning."

I held in these mixed emotions as she left with disgust. It wasn’t my fault that Sir Mateo had to resign from his position. It was Andrew’s fault.

***

I woke up from the buzzing sound of my phone’s alarm. I’ve tried to avoid Dan but he just always sticks himself near me. As long as Sapphire doesn’t mind for now, I’ll just let this slide. He didn’t do anything wrong in the first place.

I quickly took a shower, wore my usual school uniform with a pair of black school shoes, quickly checked my school bag filled with notebooks and a pencil case, and went out of my room. I glanced at the large digital clock while filling out the logbook. As I turned around and walked towards the transparent glass door, I spotted a familiar figure near it.

I left the lobby and opened my bag to the guard beside the doorway for inspection. Dan was leaning his back on the light blue wall with his arms crossed. “I’m just right on time.” he commented with a smile plastered on his face.

“Why are you here?” I asked.

“Because I want to. I saw you in my dream again, yet you looked so lonely while eating breakfast. Let me accompany you to school for today.”

“Isn’t this a bit too far? Look, we’re friends but I like my personal space and I’m used to being alone. So, you can scurry away now.” I insisted.

“Yep, but –”

I raised a palm in front of his face. "No buts. Go hang out with your other friends, I'll be alright by myself."

His spare hand interlocked with mine. "Why does your hand feel cold? Are you okay?"

No, I'm not okay. I took my hand away from his touch and kept both of my hands in my pockets. "Hey, don’t just hold my hand as if we’re close. I’m okay."

"Pfft, liar."

I glared back at him. "Liar?"

"Yes. I just found out that most females who say that they are okay are actually not. So, what's troubling you?"

It's you. Why are you even giving me this much attention? Sapphire knows my secret but I can’t tell you. "Mind your own business.”

He turned as his black school shoes went against the rough path’s friction and blocked my way while stretching out his arms. “We’re interconnected so I have to know. Yet, can you be less awkward with me when we’re alone?”

“Look, I truly appreciate that you’ve saved my life. I am. However, please stop acting like this. Stop acting as if everything that happened before vanished. Sapphire, your ex, made almost everyone believe that I took you from her. And we both know that’s not true. So -”

“So, can you please just trust me this time?”

I bit my lip in frustration with myself. I missed those times with him.

He continued, “Sapphire, this girl I didn’t know had a dark side in her. And I know that I can’t go back to the past and fix it, but can you give me the chance to fix the friendship that we had?”

The light green leaves of the trees continued to rustle as the wind blew some away. The sun began to shine much brighter as I walked around him. “I want to, but please this time we’ll have boundaries. I can’t let this rumor worsen.”

I didn’t look back and walked past him. I don’t want that rumor to spread like wildfire again. I knew that I made a mistake before and I shouldn’t have acted on it.

I quickly headed straight to our school’s canteen instead of the store near my dorm. I bought fried noodles with dumplings on it. I spotted Brianne eating alone on one corner so I decided to sit next to her.

“Good morning, let’s eat breakfast together”, I greeted while taking my seat.

“Yeah yeah sure. I’m also waiting for the others to come.”

“Others?” I asked out of confusion.

“Oh right, I haven’t introduced you to them yet. But, you’re classmates with them? Haven’t you talked to them yet? It’s already been a week since classes have started. ”

“Uhmmm, no?”

“Alright. I’ll introduce them to you. They’re a shy type too. Sometimes I wonder why I’m always the talkative one in our group. I think that they’ll gladly accept you into our group.”

We ate our breakfast and waited for them to come. Brianne is rushing her requirements while I organize my notes for my next tutorial session with Dan. After a few more minutes, three girls approached our table. Two of them sat beside Brianne while one of them sat beside me.

"Hey besties, have you met Vi? We've been close since last year but I haven't really introduced her yet in our friend circle."

One of them with bangs replied, “Well yes, but I think she’s a bit shy to approach us. Or she doesn’t notice us that much —”

“Oh sorry, there’s been personal stuff that I had to handle these past few weeks. It’s great to meet you all honestly. And I hope that we will get to meet each other well,” I butted in with a wide grin.

“Me too. I’m Stacy, your reliable friend who has all of the notes in class.”

Another girl with curly long hair smiled and waved. “Hi! I’m Caryll, a current member of the theater club. I’m also the kindest friend in our group.”

“Weh? You sure about that?” Brianne joked.

Stacy and the girl with short hair laughed along with Brianne's joke.

“We’ll get to know each other better soon,” Caryll emphasized with a vibrant smile.

“Okay, I’m next,” the girl with short hair chattered, “I’m Alicia, the K-Pop enthusiast and K-Drama fanatic. I’m glad to finally speak with you, Vi.”

“Me too. Let’s eat lunch together from now on so that Dan won’t approach me,” I added.

“Speaking of Dan, I’ve noticed that you’ve been getting close to him. Come on, spill. What’s up with you and Dan?” Caryll asked.

“Vi, why didn’t you tell me that Dan is bothering you? Or is he like, you know, trying to get your attention?” Brianne added.

I answered back, “Long story short, Dan is my tutee for this year. And yes, he wants to befriend me, yet I don’t trust him yet. The impact of last year’s rumor about us changed the way I see him now.”

“Wait a minute, what rumor?” Alicia asked with confusion

In an instance, memories of last year flooded back in my mind. That day when Sapphire confronted me after class.

***

“Violet, we need to talk!” Sapphire shouted and barged inside our classroom as the teacher left the classroom.

“Not now please, maybe tomorrow?”

She suddenly lifted her hand and slapped my face with tremendous force. I touched my right cheek as it begins to swell. I hurts a lot but I tried to hold back my anger and frustration.

“What’s your problem?!” I asked as I tried to remain calm. Honestly though, I want to rip her hair apart.

“How dare you steal my boyfriend! You pretend to be best friends with him, but you want Dan all for yourself.”

“Excuse me? Are you even listening to yourself? We occasionally talk now and we haven’t even interacted for a while. How can you say that —”

“If that’s the reason behind it, explain this!” She shoved the screen of her cellphone in front of my face.

Messages:

Vi: I don’t know why but I have this weird feeling that Sapphire isn’t entirely interested in you. Like she isn’t serious with the relationship that you have with her.

Dan: So, do you think that I should… you know, break up with her?

Vi: It’s your choice anyway. However, if you feel that the relationship feels toxic to you, just cut it off already.

Dan: I know that I’ve been distant from you recently, but can you promise that we’ll still remain as best friends?

Vi: Yeah, of course. If you want, let’s hang out some other time.

Dan: Like a date?

Vi: Of course not. Date as best friends, maybe lol.

Dan. Okay okay. Just text me whenever you can. Love you always!

Vi: Alright. Love you less than you do!

“That’s just our private conversation, Sapphire! Okay, maybe I was wrong that I’ve mentioned those mean words, but I didn’t force him to break up with you.”

“I! Don’t! Care! Stay away from Dan starting now. You don’t know the nasty ways I can do to make your life miserable.”

She went close and whispered this in my ear, “If you don’t want our batch to know your tarnished past, about you and Sir Mateo, stay away from Dan. Unless you want to ruin your public image, don’t you?”

How does she know?

***

[A/N]: Hello fellow readers! For starters, I would like to apologize for not updating for approximately 5 months now. You may be wondering why I've been inactive for such a long period of time. Honestly, I've been busy with finishing my research, accomplishing college applications, and participating in math competitions that's why I didn't have much time to edit. However, I'll try my very best to update this story often by June and I'll be updating this story once or twice a month. Again, I know that this may be a short chapter, but I do hope that you'll still stay tune for more exciting chapters and the upcoming new twists soon.