TWELVE: Rumor Has It

A WEEK HAD passed since the ball; one that wasn't all that eventful for the small town of Formid Root. However, it was rather long for Cornelia. Other than Lucien and school work, she found herself entangled with Joshua's lingering looks.

Lately, he was everywhere she went. No matter where she headed, somehow he was there. He didn't try to confront her at school, nor when he saw her out in the town. He didn't approach her, and they never talked about what happened in the ball.

"Is it me, or is Joshua Stanford stalking you with his eyes?" Abigail asked while they were sitting in the cafeteria during their lunch break.

She heard a scoff coming from Jessica Crawford, "I'm sure he isn't. He can literally get any girl in town." She then smirked at Cornelia, a sly look in her eyes, "Plus, everyone knows that you're more into older men."

Cornelia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, and her heart skipped a beat. She didn't think anyone knew about her crush on Lucien Amarok. She hadn't told anyone, Abigail included. It was only her diary that was told all about the feelings and fantasies she had for the man.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked her with a tone that sounded more offended than anything.

Abigail let out a sigh, which Jessica only scoffed at once more. "Seriously? How long do you want to keep it from her?" She directed the question towards Abigail. "Everyone in town is talking about what happened at the ball."

Cornelia was genuinely confused at that point. As far as she knew, nothing scandalous happened at the ball, unlike the way Jessica made it sound.

"Okay, what are you even talking about?" She then turned to Abigail, "Are you going to tell me?"

A look of guilt passed Abigail's face, but before she could say anything Jessica started, "Everyone knows how you went into some room with Lucien Amarok." Her smile widened, "It really suits you though, the whole good girl gone bad thing." She gave a loud laugh and shook her head.

Cornelia wasn't sure who spread the rumors. Although she was shocked at the insinuation behind Jessica's words, she wasn't all that surprised that the people of the town chose her to be the new rat in the rumor mill.

Formid Root was a town of gossips. Everyone talked about everyone behind their backs. Cornelia wasn't sure if that was how all small towns worked, but hers was exactly like that.

Coming to think of it, she noticed how some people would regard her with different looks. How some of the teachers threw her some disapproving glances. She remembered how Jackson Morbis approached her the other day with the offer of a night out and spending the night at his lake house.

Jackson Morbis was the worst if the worst. The word player was invented in the dictionary for the sole purpose of describing him. When she turned him down, she remembered how he rolled his eyes and mumbled something about money-hungry whores.

A gasp left Cornelia's mouth as she came back to the present situation. "You mean that people actually think that I slept with him?!" She asked in a horrified tone.

"Don't play innocent now, we all know it happened." Jessica retorted in a bored tone. "He's an older hot guy, add to that him being rich. I mean... come on."

Cornelia looked at Jessica with wide eyes, "Seriously, nothing happened between us. I mean we literally just talked."

She didn't think it would be wise to share with them her feelings and how she confessed being interested in him. She knew it would only fuel the rumors.

"Yeah, right." Jessica shook her head, "You needn't lie to us, Lia. We're friends after all, and friends share the smut."

Cornelia turned to Abigail with hurt eyes, "How come you didn't tell me any of that? How come you never asked me about it?"

Abigail let out a sigh, "Lia, I didn't believe it. Why should I ask about something that I know didn't happen?"

Cornelia jolted up, feeling more hurt and embarrassed than she had ever felt. She had always maintained a good image, her reputation was very important to her, and even more important to her father.

However, she didn't think he had heard about that. Otherwise, he would have talked to her about it. Or perhaps he heard but knew it wasn't true? She wondered to herself.

She left the cafeteria and walked out of the school with Abigail hot on her tail. "Can you just calm down, Lia. It's really not a big deal."

They were already outside the school building when Cornelia turned sharply towards her, "What do you mean not a big deal? The entire town think I'm some common whore who slept with a guy for his good looks and money."

The realization then dawned on her and she audibly gasped, "He could get in trouble for this. I'm a minor, they can take him to jail!"

"Are you really worrying about him now?" Abigail asked softly.

Cornelia swallowed, "I'm more worried about my friend who didn't think to tell me such a thing was being said about me."

"Not many people know about this." Abigail sighed, "It's just that Jessica heard about it from Lana who heard it from some guy called Luke."

"Lana Swanson?" Cornelia couldn't remember seeing Lana to begin with.

Abigail nodded, "Yeah, she hooked up with Luke that night and I think they talked."

Cornelia gritted her teeth. She never had any problem with Lana Swanson. In fact, their families were friends. The Swanson family owned the building of her father's office, and the relationship between the two girls was always good. They were not friends, not were they enemies.

And Luke Johnson, she remembered him from the ball, and he didn't seem like much of a gossiper either.

She wasn't sure what she had to do, but if that rumor went on life wouldn't be easy for her. People of Formid Root were extremely judgemental and Cornelia could still remember what happened with Angie Todd.

Angie was a couple of years older than her, and a rumor started that she was sleeping with men for money. Cornelia wasn't sure whether that was true or not, but life got so hard for Angie and her family that they all moved out.

Fear clutched at Cornelia's heart, Formid Root was a cruel town, and she only worried about what would happen next.