The Day the Room Watched Me

I should’ve known something was off the moment I stepped into the class.

It was the silence that hit first. It was not the usual restless hush of students pretending to read notes before a teacher arrived. But a different kind of silence that was loaded and sharp with eyes watching.

Then the stares came.

Dozens of eyes were on me. No one said a word, but I felt it like heat crawling up my neck, stiffening my spine, making my steps slower than normal.

I paused at the entrance, pretending to scan the room like I was looking for something. But really, I was just trying not to break.

Why are they looking at me like that? Did something happen? Or am I just… imagining things?

Maybe it was all in my head. Maybe guilt was rewriting my reality.

I took a breath and began to walk to my seat like I hadn’t noticed anything.

Except that someone was already sitting there.

It was Nora.

Her legs were crossed, one ankle bouncing as she flipped through a novel like it was a sunny afternoon in her own living room. My bag strap tightened in my hand.

That was my seat.

I cleared my throat gently. “Hey… um, you’re in my seat.”

She didn’t blink. Instead ,she just turned a page, like I was a fly buzzing in the background.

I tried again, a little firmer this time. “Nora, can you please stand up? That’s my seat.”

She shut the book with a snap, looked up, and smiled.But not the good kind of smile.

“Well, well,” she said sweetly, her voice slicing through the air, “Here comes our little Miss Perfect. Holier than thou, back-from-the-dead queen of drama herself.”

A few gasps filled the room. My lips parted, but I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t expecting that kind of venom.

“I’ve heard all the stories,” Nora continued, standing now and facing me fully. Her eyes glinted. “All your little secrets. You suck harder than the devil in church.”

A few laughs broke out. Those low, awkward types of laughter.

Still, I held my ground. I didn’t flinch. “Nora, just move from my desk please.”

“Oh, look at her,” Nora mocked. “Still trying to sound calm. Still doing that fake patient act. Ugh. You’re not better than the rest of us. You just pretend harder.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but a voice cut in first.

“Get up,” Andrew said firmly.

I turned slightly—he was standing behind me now, jaw clenched.Even though he's calm in nature, he was always protective.

Nora raised a brow. “Well I know it was going to be no other person than the defender of holy Olivia,a.k.a Olivia’s personal watchman.”

A few students laughed louder this time. My stomach tightened.

“Olivia said you should move from her desk,” Andrew repeated calmly but firm.

Before Nora could say anything, Mike,a boy who had never minded his business once in his life, decided to add his wisdom.

“Excuse me” he said, waving his hand. “All desks are the same. What’s even the problem?”

Lola spun around so fast from her seat you’d think someone slapped her.

“Shut up there,mike”.“Your stinky mouth is the problem,” she snapped. Do you talk when the fan is on? So don’t talk when intelligent people are breathing.”

The class burst into laughter. Mike shrank back, mumbling.

Then Lola stood, rolled up her sleeves like she was heading into battle, and marched toward Nora.

“ As for me, I don’t have energy to beg,” she muttered, grabbing Nora’s arm. “Come down from that seat, you spirit of bitterness. You’ve overstayed your welcome.”

“What the hell—let go of me!” Nora struggled, trying to yank her arm away.

“Then get off the seat!” Lola said, tugging harder. “I don’t like stress. Shift!”

Nora shoved back, and for a second, I thought it would turn into a full-blown fight..

Then the door creaked open.

Mr. Ben, our form teacher, walked in, paused, and took in the scene like someone had just dumped cold coffee on his shoes.

“What’s going on here?”

Everyone froze.

Except Nora, who immediately tried to explain and compose herself at the same time,tossing her hair like nothing happened.

But Mr. Ben wasn’t buying it.

“You,” he pointed at her. “Go find another empty desk now.”

Nora scoffed, grabbed her bag, and strutted away without another word.

I caught her eye for a moment and in it, I saw that flicker,that tiny crack of someone who'd lost out on a football game.

“She hadn’t won”,I said within my mind.

Later, Mr. Ben excused himself to answer an emergency call.

I had barely pulled my chair to sit when a voice from the back shouted, “Guys, guess what?”

A few people chorused, “What?”

I didn’t bother to look. Whatever they were gossiping about didn’t concern me until I heard my name.

“Olivia.”

I turned back slowly.

And just like that , all eyes were on me again. It felt like I’d stolen something from each of them.

That was when I saw Nora.

She was sitting with her arms folded, a weird smile playing on her lips like she had just won a prize.

Something twisted in my chest.

Why was everyone staring at me?

What had she done this time?