Whispers in the Shadows

The first break of the day was always the loudest. Children crowded the schoolyard, laughing, shouting, and swapping the latest stories. In a small corner near the gym, a group of students huddled together, their whispered words cutting through the chaos.

"Did you hear what happened at the end of last year?" asked a boy with a cap pulled low over his face.

A girl in the group raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"There was this guy who... well, he pushed someone. Really hard."

"Pushed? That's nothing special," another boy scoffed.

"No, seriously. The kid went flying into a bush."

"Who was it?" the girl asked, her curiosity piqued.

"I'm not sure," the boy muttered, glancing around as if to make sure no one was listening. "But I heard he gets into trouble a lot."

The girl laughed. "Sounds like just another dumb story."

Another boy nodded in agreement. "Probably made up. Stuff like that doesn't really happen."

But the rumors were not so easily squashed. By the next break, they had already taken on a new twist. Now, the story was that the mysterious student hadn't just pushed someone but had also yelled at them. Apparently, the incident had been so loud that a teacher had to step in.

"I heard he totally lost it," said a small blond boy to his friends. "And all because someone called him stupid."

"Why would anyone react like that?" a girl asked skeptically. "That's weird."

"No idea. Maybe he was just having a bad day."

By the following day, the story had grown even more dramatic. The push and the yelling had evolved into a full-blown altercation. It was now said that the student had shoved someone so hard that they fell and hurt their arm.

"Apparently, he just walked away afterward," a girl whispered gleefully as she shared the tale. "Didn't even apologize."

"What if he was just scared?" someone else asked.

"Scared?" The girl shook her head. "No, I think he did it on purpose. That guy's dangerous."

A boy holding a soccer ball overheard the conversation and chimed in. "That can't be true. No one here would do something like that. You're just making stuff up."

"Then why is everyone talking about it?" the girl shot back. "Are you saying we're all lying?"

"I don't know. But I've never heard of anyone like that."

It was enough to plant seeds of doubt, but not enough to stop the rumors. On the contrary, they continued to grow. By the start of the next week, the story had become something entirely different.

"I heard he shoved someone. Really hard," whispered a boy in a blue cap as he leaned toward a group.

"Who?" asked a girl with wide, curious eyes.

"I don't know exactly. Someone from the other class. But apparently, it was really brutal. They went flying into a bush."

"And why did he do that?" another boy asked skeptically.

"No idea. Maybe because the kid insulted him? But still, you don't do that!"

The group shook their heads in unison, but the words lingered. They spread further, weaving an invisible web of whispers that stretched across the schoolyard with each break.

The next day, the conversations grew quieter but more intense.

"He completely lost it," a boy murmured as he leaned over his schoolbag. "Just because someone looked at him funny. He screamed so loud it sounded like his throat would burst."

"Who does that?" a girl asked in shock. "Does he have anger issues or something?"

"Obviously! Everyone says so. The guy can't control himself," confirmed another boy with crossed arms.

It wasn't long before the story had ballooned even further. Now, the mysterious student hadn't just pushed and screamed—he'd allegedly grabbed someone by the collar.

In another corner of the schoolyard, a girl leaned toward her friends. "Do you know what I heard? He shoved a girl. Just because she said he was overreacting."

"What? A girl?" one of her friends asked incredulously.

"Yeah, and she supposedly cried. But he just laughed."

"That's messed up," another girl murmured. "What's wrong with him?"

By the end of the week, the rumors had taken on a life of their own. Now it was said that the mysterious student wasn't just dangerous but downright terrifying.

"I heard he's got serious anger problems," a boy near the gym said. "He can snap at anyone."

"Yeah, and if someone says something, it just makes him angrier," added a girl, eager to join the conversation. "He even shoves girls if they talk about him."

"I don't believe it," another boy muttered. "No one would do that."

"But why would so many people say it if it wasn't true?" the girl insisted. "My sister knows someone who saw it happen."

The story spread like wildfire, until no one knew where it had started. But the details grew darker, and the accusations became more extreme with each retelling.