Rumor Has It...

So much for having a good day. Between Angel and Lucas, I had no idea how I would survive the next few months of school. What started off as an amazing day of hopeful job opportunities and a full belly of delectable muffins, turned into a nightmare.

Lucas didn’t like me because I was one of the only girls to deny him. I didn’t let him kiss me and turned down his offer of a date. Since then, I became enemy number one. He made the guys think I was a prune and refused to put out. Deemed unapproachable by the end of my sophomore year.

Lucas was one of the only people still talking to me by the tenth grade. He was the guy with the cool dad who thought it was okay to buy him a motorcycle. He was the guy who gave me that ten-minute ride. But everything changed after that day between us and now he was the one constantly leading the attacks against me. 

Angel, on the other hand, hated me, and I could never understand that. She and Lucas dated on and off for the past year, so it’s not like I kept her from getting what she wanted.

Nothing and no one kept her from getting what she wanted in life. Angel wanted to be homecoming queen out sophomore year and she got it. And with it, she got a little animosity from the seniors who only had that last year accomplish that. But she didn’t care.

Angel wanted to be class president our junior year because it came with certain benefits. She got to weigh in on certain decisions that didn’t affect school policy. Such as what was served in the lunchroom, locations of class trips, and a small but generous fund to decorate the school the way she saw fit.

Then, let’s not forget the design of our gym uniforms. A too-tight white tee accompanied by almost too short red shorts.

The only thing that didn’t bother me about her being class president was she kept the lunch meals interesting. The pizza actually tasted like pizza and the burgers came with all the fixings. Including bacon and a choice between cheddar, swiss, and provolone cheese.

But her reign didn’t stop there. Angel wanted to be cheer co-captain when she was a freshman and she got it. Then every year after that she was captain.

When Angel found out I turned Lucas down, she spread the rumor that I thought I was too good for anyone in this town. And without having a boyfriend to say otherwise, I was now deemed a stuck-up bitch who wouldn’t put out. I didn’t mind the ‘put-out’ rumors. I wasn’t ready for anything serious. But her I was nowhere near stuck-up or unapproachable. But Angel always got what she wanted.

Back in middle school, we’d spoken to each other with nice words in passing. We didn’t hang with the same crowd, but some of her friends were my friends. Often, we found ourselves in the same places, and speaking to each other was just the nice thing to do.

When freshmen year came along and I lost my grandfather, I didn’t go out because I was mourning the loss of the only person to truly love me. That was the first time I distanced myself from my friends.

After the mourning period was over, and I noticed Rick’s anger toward me became worse than before, I couldn’t bring myself to go to parties and hangouts. The grief and sadness were too much for me to bear and hold a smile on my face.

But what started as a want, became a need. At first, I wanted to be alone to deal with it. But then I needed to be alone. There was no way I could explain the bruises that dawned on my body occasionally.

There was no excuse why I couldn’t wear a swimsuit to a pool party. Or why I would need a long sleeve shirt during a hot day.

Sometimes I would get looks at school while I wearing a jacket to class on a hot day. But as soon as the air kicked on and forced its way through the wide vents, the person looking would turn away.

It became easier for me to hide as the days went by and I lost one friend after another. I mourned them too until I realized that no friends meant no questions.