Chapter 4: The Quiet Doesn't Hurt Less

Khloe finally got her registration done after literally going into every building in the school. She clutched the map in her hand and headed to her class, using it as a guide.

As soon as she walked in, the whispers began again, though she couldn't hear them properly, since her AirPods were still in her ears.

She made to sit in an empty seat beside a student, but the moment she got there, the girl placed her bag on it and smirked. "Sorry, this seat has been taken."

Khloe calmly moved to the next seat, but the student sitting beside it did the same thing, propping her feet on the desk. "Taken," she giggled.

Khloe scoffed silently. She walked straight to the last seat in the back row, but instead of sitting in it, she dragged it to the far end of the class, making sure to leave a huge space between her and the other students.

She dropped her backpack on the desk and sat down, leaning back in the chair completely and throwing her head back, closing her eyes. Her phone dinged immediately, pausing the song she was listening to for a second.

Khloe pulled out her phone, and her jaw clenched when she saw who the text was from. Her mum. Her grip on the phone tightened as she read.

Make sure to make a lot of rich friends. Do not embarrass me.

Khloe stayed on the text longer than necessary, until the words ran together and blurred completely.

She was the one who got drenched. She was the one who got humiliated. She was the one who got abandoned. Yet she was the embarrassing one.

As soon as the teacher walked in, she dropped the phone, trying to steady her shaky hands.

"The new student, can you please introduce yourself?" the teacher called out.

Khloe stood up slowly. Different pairs of eyes followed her movement, some snickering, some giggling, but she didn't let them get to her. She answered with a lot of effort put into steadying her voice. "I'm Khloe."

The teacher frowned a little. "Khloe, what?"

"Just Khloe," Khloe replied.

"Not her acting like she doesn't want the Wes name," a student hissed from the front row.

Khloe's eyes flickered to the student for exactly a second before she looked away and took her seat as calmly as ever, her mother's text lodged like a lump in her throat.

The teacher didn't push any further. He just began the class.

After three classes, the students got up and began packing their things as they all headed to the cafeteria, since they had an hour before their next class.

Khloe waited for everyone to walk out before she did, to avoid their bickering.

She shoved her hands in her pockets as she walked towards the cafeteria, her AirPods back in her ears. She was walking down the hallway when a student bumped into her deliberately. The girl giggled and murmured, "Careful, charity case. That's an expensive floor."

Khloe didn't react. It wasn't that none of it was getting to her. She had just learned that staying silent and keeping away from everyone was the safest route she could take.

After taking her food in the cafeteria, she didn't bother trying to sit with anyone. Instead, she went straight to an isolated table, put down her tray and began to eat.

The food had no taste in her mouth. It had always been like this. Nothing felt exciting anymore. Food had long stopped being delicious to her, clothes had long stopped being beautiful, and anything aesthetic was just boring. Everything except music.

It got to a point where she began playing with the meal, constantly stabbing and twirling her fork into her pasta, following the beat of the song in her ears.

Everything was fine and silent until Indigo walked up to her table with some girls behind her.

"Awwww, she looks abandoned, as she should be," Indigo smirked while the girls behind her laughed. Khloe didn't raise her head, and this seemed to piss Indigo off. She picked up Khloe's barely touched juice box and emptied its contents right into the pasta.

A loud "Ohhh!" rippled through the cafeteria.

Khloe stared at the ruined pasta, then at Indigo. Slowly, she stood up and walked away calmly, leaving Indigo standing there, furious.

— 2:00 PM —

Khloe had two more classes after lunch, and now her timetable said she was done. She packed her bags hurriedly, trying not to miss the boys again.

"I hope she hasn't stolen anything, with how fast she's packing," a boy chuckled from a corner. The other students laughed as usual, but Khloe didn't even spare them a glance. She hung her backpack over her shoulder and walked out.

When she got to the SUV, the boys weren't there. They were probably still in class. Khloe looked for somewhere to sit, somewhere close to the parking lot where she could easily see them coming, but she couldn't find anywhere, so she had no choice but to stand and lean on the vehicle.

Students kept pointing and laughing at her as they passed, some heading to their cars, some walking out of the building.

"Acting like she doesn't want the last name, but leaning on the guys' car trying to get attention. Cheap."

Khloe already had her music at a high volume, so she barely heard that.

After about twenty more minutes, the guys finally began approaching. As they got closer to the car, she stepped away from it before they could say anything.

Desmond frowned. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but closed it at the last minute. The other brothers ignored her completely.

They opened the car doors immediately. Khloe squeezed past the middle seat and sat in the last row, scooting close to the door even though she was alone at the back.

This time it was Eric driving.

As the car moved onto the road, she rested her head against the window and watched the city blur past her.

Everything that had happened that day kept replaying in her memory, including her mother's text.

So much for a first day.

She opened her backpack and pulled out the only thing that felt permanent to her: her lyric book. She opened to a new page and began scribbling down words as they came to her.

*Every seat is taken when I walk in,

So I drag my chair to where the quiet begins. They want me to break,

They want me to scream, but I learned long ago how to disappear in a scene.

I closed my eyes so they wouldn't get the show.

They thought my silence was strength.

They thought I was playing the saint,

But I just fucking forgot how to react.*