The next morning the academy felt different.
It wasn't louder or more chaotic. In fact, it was the opposite. The halls were quieter than usual, conversations softer, laughter more restrained. But the silence wasn't peaceful. It carried something heavier beneath it—something tense that seemed to follow me wherever I walked.
The moment I stepped through the front gates, I felt the eyes.
Students standing in small groups paused their conversations as I passed. Some glanced at me openly, others looked away quickly as if they didn't want to be caught staring. A few whispered behind their hands. I couldn't hear the words clearly, but I didn't need to.
The rumor had grown overnight.
By the time I reached the main building, the weight of it was already exhausting. Every step felt like I was walking deeper into a place where I no longer belonged. Normally the academy felt lively in the mornings—students rushing through doors, calling out to friends, laughing loudly without caring who heard them. Today that energy felt distorted.
It was still there.
Just… directed somewhere else.
Toward me.
I tried to ignore it and focus on normal things. The sound of lockers opening. The shuffle of notebooks. The familiar routine of students rushing to their morning classes. But even the usual chaos of the academy felt slightly distant now, like everything was happening around me but not with me.
When I entered my classroom, several heads turned immediately.
The reaction was subtle but noticeable. Conversations stopped for a moment before starting again in quieter voices. A few people looked down at their desks, pretending they hadn't been staring. Others didn't bother hiding it at all.
I walked to my seat near the window without looking at anyone, placing my bag on the desk and sitting down as if nothing had changed.
But everything had.
Even the air in the room felt tense.
My chair scraped softly against the
floor as I pulled it closer to the desk. Outside the window, the academy courtyard looked the same as always. Trees swayed gently in the morning breeze, and a few late students hurried across the walkway.
It looked peaceful.
Which made the atmosphere inside the classroom feel even more suffocating.
Class started soon after, and the teacher began explaining the day's lesson like normal. Numbers filled the board, pages turned, pens scratched against paper. Everything followed the usual routine.
Yet my focus drifted constantly.
Fragments of yesterday kept replaying in my mind.
The boy's frustrated expression.
The anger in his voice.
His words echoing through the hallway.
You should leave.
I pressed my pen harder against the paper than necessary, trying to force my attention back to the lesson. The tip of the pen dug slightly into the page as I wrote down equations I barely processed.
Across the room, someone laughed quietly.
I didn't look up.
But I noticed something else.
Ava was sitting with her group near the back row like she always did. She wasn't looking at me directly, but every now and then her friends leaned closer to her desk, whispering something before glancing in my direction.
Each time that happened, Ava would just give a small smile.
Not a big one.
Just enough to make it seem like she already knew something everyone else was only starting to hear.
One girl leaned closer to her, whispering quickly while covering her mouth. Another turned halfway around in her seat to look at me before whispering something else.
Then Ava laughed softly.
It wasn't loud.
But the timing of it made my chest tighten slightly.
I looked away quickly and focused on my notebook again.
Maybe I was overthinking it.
Maybe the rumors had simply reached her group faster than the others.
Still, something about the way those whispers kept returning to her desk made it feel like the center of something.
Like the starting point of a circle that was slowly spreading outward through the room.
When the teacher asked a question, a few students raised their hands as usual. The lesson continued. The board filled with more numbers and explanations.
But the whispers never fully stopped.
They only paused when the teacher turned around.
Then they resumed again.
By the time the bell finally rang for the break between classes, the room filled with noise again. Chairs scraped against the floor and students began gathering their things. Some left immediately while others stayed behind to talk.
I stood up slowly, planning to head toward the library where it would at least be quieter.
But before I could leave, two girls standing near the door began speaking loudly enough that I could hear every word.
"She's still here," one of them said.
"Well obviously," the other replied. "Why would she leave?"
"After everything?"
A small pause followed.
Then the first girl shrugged.
"Maybe she just doesn't care."
My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag.
I forced myself to walk past them without reacting. If I stopped now, it would only give them exactly what they wanted—a reaction.
Still, the words followed me out into the hallway.
The corridor outside was crowded with students moving between classes. Lockers slammed shut, laughter echoed against the walls, and the usual chaos of passing period filled the space.
But the pattern was becoming obvious now.
Conversations lowered when I approached.
Groups shifted slightly to make space—not out of politeness but distance.
A few students openly stared as I walked past, curiosity written across their faces.
Some of them looked almost disappointed that nothing dramatic was happening.
As I continued down the hallway, I caught another fragment of conversation from a nearby group.
"I heard it from Ava's table," someone whispered.
"I don't know if it's true, but they sounded pretty sure."
"Yeah, they were talking about it during class too."
I slowed for half a second.
Then I kept walking.
The rumor wasn't just spreading.
It was being fed.
And somehow the center of it kept circling back to the same place.
I had almost reached the staircase when another familiar presence appeared at the end of the corridor.
Liam.
He was leaning casually against the wall with his arms crossed, looking like someone who had been waiting there for a while. A few students walking nearby slowed slightly, clearly curious about what would happen next.
Of course he had already heard about yesterday.
News traveled fast in a place like this.
I kept walking, hoping to pass him without stopping.
But as soon as I reached the staircase, his voice stopped me.
"You're popular today."
I turned around slowly.
"If that's supposed to be funny," I said, "it's not."
Liam shrugged slightly, pushing himself off the wall.
"I wasn't joking."
He stepped closer, his gaze scanning the hallway briefly before returning to me.
"You handled yesterday better than most people would have."
"Is that your way of saying you expected me to run away?"
"It's my way of saying most people would have."
His tone was calm, almost observational, which somehow made it more irritating.
I folded my arms.
"Did you start it?"
"Start what?"
"The rumor."
For a moment Liam simply watched me.
Then he gave a small, almost amused breath.
"If I wanted you gone," he said, "I wouldn't need a rumor."
The confidence in his voice wasn't arrogant.
It was matter-of-fact.
And that made it worse.
"So you're just letting it happen," I replied.
"Rumors move on their own."
"Not this one."
Liam raised an eyebrow slightly.
"What makes you say that?"
I hesitated.
Images from the classroom flashed in my mind—whispers leaning toward Ava, quiet smiles, people repeating things they "heard."
But I wasn't completely sure yet.
And accusing someone without proof would only make things worse.
"Nothing," I said finally.
Liam studied my expression like he knew I wasn't telling the full truth.
"People are getting angry," I added quietly.
"You heard what that guy said yesterday."
Liam didn't look surprised.
"Pressure makes people look for someone to blame," he said.
"And you're fine with that?"
"I'm observing it."
"That's the same thing as allowing it."
Liam tilted his head slightly.
"Are you planning to leave?"
The question caught me off guard.
"No."
"Then the rumor doesn't matter."
"It matters when someone decides to shove me into lockers because of it."
For the first time, Liam's expression shifted slightly.
Not into anger.
Just… consideration.
He glanced briefly down the hallway where students were still pretending not to watch us.
"They won't try that again," he said.
"How do you know?"
"Because they saw what happened yesterday."
"You telling someone 'that's enough' isn't exactly terrifying."
Liam's lips curved faintly.
"You'd be surprised."
Before I could respond, the bell rang again, signaling the start of the next class.
Students around us immediately began moving toward their classrooms.
Liam stepped aside from the staircase.
"You should go," he said.
I hesitated for a moment.
Then I walked past him.
As I climbed the stairs, I glanced down the hallway one last time.
Near the classroom door, Ava was standing with her friends again.
One of them whispered something in her ear, and Ava looked directly at me across the corridor.
For a brief moment, our eyes met.
Then she smiled.
It was a small smile.
But something about it made my stomach tighten.
Because it didn't look like someone who was just hearing rumors.
It looked like someone who was enjoying them.