Know your place

Amelia's POV

The moment I stepped through Blackthorne's gates, something felt... off. I could feel it. Eyes followed me across the courtyard, a dozen of them.

A girl walking past glanced at me, then leaned toward her friend, whispering into her ears. They both looked back, laughing.

I frowned but kept walking.

A group of freshmen stood outside the Arts building, crowded around someone's phone. One of them looked up as I passed. He nudged the boy beside him, both of them turned to look at me then they looked back at the screen.

I tightened my grip on my backpack strap. What was going on?

More students drifted past me, they were all staring openly and laughing.

My steps slowed. Has something happened?

"Amelia!" I turned just as Lena hurried toward me, her bag bouncing against her shoulder.

"There you are." She smiled, then stopped when she saw my face. "What's wrong?"

I looked around. "I... don't know." I lowered my voice. "Everyone keeps looking at me."

Lena followed my gaze, her smile slowly fading. Before either of us could say another word, a boy brushed past us, his shoulder almost clipping mine.

He turned back. "Morning, Laundry Girl." He said with a grin.

I froze in shock. 

Lena frowned. "What did he just call you?"

I couldn't answer. The whispers around me didn't sound like whispers anymore.

"That's her…the laundry girl."

"The one who stood up to Calloway.”

Lena grabbed my wrist before I could make sense of what was going on. "Come on," she said. "We'll be late."

I let her pull me across the courtyard. The voices followed us, my new nickname echoing every now and then. “Laundry Girl.”

By the time we reached our lecture hall, students were already filling the rows. Lena pointed toward two empty seats halfway down. "There." I nodded, walking toward them. Before we got there, two students slipped into the seats at the same time.

Lena scoffed. "They weren't even coming this way."

"It's okay," I said quietly.

We kept walking till we found another pair of empty seats, a few rows behind.

I had only taken two steps toward them when a boy looked up from his phone, caught my eye, and dropped into one of them. His friend sat beside him with a grin. They didn't even bother pretending it wasn't on purpose. 

Lena turned to them. "Seriously?"

The boy shrugged. "First come, first served."

His friend chuckled. "Try the back." 

The room filled with a few quiet laughs.

I touched Lena's arm before she could say anything. "Leave it."

There were still two empty seats in the last row. We sat down without a word. 

I had just taken out my notebook when my phone buzzed.

Unknown Number…..

“Know your place.” My stomach tightened as I read the text.

Another notification appeared before I could make sense of the first.

An image loaded onto the screen…It was me, standing outside Serena's house yesterday, mom was beside me with the laundry basket. I was holding one of the delivery bags. The picture had been taken from across the street, I didn't even remember anyone being there.

Below it was a single caption. “Laundry Girl.”

My fingers tightened around my phone…Serena.

She hadn't laughed enough yesterday, she wanted the whole school laughing too.

I locked my phone without replying, I just wanted this day to be over.

-----

I sat at the far end of the cafeteria with my drink beside me and pushed food around my plate without really eating. Lena had left ten minutes ago after getting a call from her chemistry partner about their group project.

The stares never stopped. I just wanted five quiet minutes, that was clearly too much to ask.

I picked up my tray, ready to leave, I had one foot out from under the table when half the cafeteria looked past me.

A girl beside the window smiled, fixing her hair. 

"Calloway." The name moved through the cafeteria.

My hand tightened around my tray…Of course.

I looked up. He stood near the entrance with Jackson and Mason beside him.

A slow smirk pulled at his mouth the moment his eyes found mine.

I looked back down, pretending I hadn't seen him. No, absolutely not….

If I ignored him, he would get bored.

A few seconds later, the sound of footsteps stopped in front of my table.

I paused, no, please don't be him.

"Afternoon, birdie." His hand landed on the table.

My fingers curled around my fork. That was definitely his voice.

I hated that my body reacted before my brain did. I slowly looked up.

“Hiii,” He waved, his head tilting to his side.

His eyes dropped to my tray. "Eating alone?” He glances around the cafeteria. "Didn't think you'd become this popular overnight.”

I remained quiet, I understood what he's trying to do.

He reached toward my tray, picking up my apple. "You know," he said casually, turning it in his hand, "I thought you'd avoid me….Smart choice, honestly but that's boring." He rolled the apple in his palm.

"You got my attention yesterday, Birdie." His smirk deepened. "Now you're trying to disappear?" He gave a small shake of his head. "It doesn't work like that.”

He set the apple back on my tray. "You don't get to start something..." He leaned in closer, our faces only an inch apart. "…and decide when it's over.”

I was about to say something when a voice cut through the cafeteria. "Zane?"

He turned towards the voice, I followed his gaze. Serena stood near the entrance, still wearing her cheer uniform, her jacket hanging over one shoulder.

Her eyes weren't on him, they were on me. More specifically...on his hand resting on my table.

Her jaw tightened. Without another word, she turned and walked away, her teammates hurrying after her.

The second Zane looked back...my chair was already empty.

I slipped through the tables before anyone could stop me, keeping my head down until the cafeteria doors swung shut behind me. 

-----

I kept walking, my heartbeat refusing to slow. I wanted to get as far away from Zane Calloway as possible. I turned the corner…and walked straight into someone.

The paper cup slipped from my hand, the juice splashing across a white cheer jacket. “

Serena stared at the stain spreading across the front of her jacket. For a moment, she didn't say anything. Then she let out a small laugh. "Well..." She brushed a finger over the wet fabric before looking back at me. "Isn't this convenient?"

The girls behind her burst into laughter. "The laundry girl ruined Serena's jacket." 

"I guess she'll wash it, that's literally what she does."

Heat rushed into my face. "I'm sorry," I said quickly. "It was an accident."

Serena took one slow step toward me, her smile disappearing. She glanced down at the stain again before lifting her gaze back to mine. "Do you have any idea how much this jacket costs?"

I swallowed. "I'm really sorry."

"I didn't ask for an apology." She folded the jacket over her arm as if it disgusted her. "I asked for it to be cleaned."

My brows pulled together. "...What?"

"You heard me." She took another step closer. "Wash it."

"I can't just…"

"You can." She tilted her head, studying me. "Or have you forgotten whose name is on half the buildings around this campus?" She paused.

"My father doesn't like problems, Amelia."

She smiled again. "You worked so hard to get into Blackthorne.” Her eyes flicked to the Blackthorne crest on my blazer. “It would be a shame if someone important decided you weren't... the right fit anymore.”