Sep. 9, Goldhelm Secondary School, Vancouver; Shortly Before School
Heather was with the crowd she had been with since the first day of school a couple days ago. There were six girls present around the table where they were seated. There was Heather, Samantha, Margaret, Leone, and two new girls; a small, skinny girl named Rosanna and a tall, well-endowed girl named Celeste.
They chatted, ignoring everything outside their circle. However, they did notice the familiar scar-faced boy as he walked past their table on his way to his classroom. Leone chuckled under her breath. "Look, it's The Beast."
All of the other girls also chuckled. Heather was late, but she forced a chuckle out of her throat as well.
Samantha chimed in, "What's his deal, even? He's just some trouble-maker with no life goals."
"That's not already his deal?" Maggie sneered. "I thought causing trouble was his life goal!"
"I bet he thinks we're afraid of him," Leone scoffed.
Celeste moved some of her wavy Mitsuru-red hair out of her violet-coloured eye, and spoke. "I dare you to say that to his face." She smirked through her glossed lips.
"What?" Leone gasped. "Do you want me to die!?"
Celeste shrugged her shoulders smugly. "You said you weren't afraid of him."
"Moving on…" Rosanna chimed in. "Heather, what's up with you?"
Heather hardly heard herself being acknowledged through the conflicting messages in her brain.
"Heather?" Rosanna asked again.
"Huh? Oh sorry, did you say something to me?" Heather asked, shaking her head.
"Yeah, I did," Rosanna sighed. "Have you been getting enough sleep?" Rosanna sounded genuinely concerned.
"Mmh… well, no," answered Heather.
"Is something wrong?" asked Rosanna.
"Yeah, everything's fine," Heather lied. "No one gets enough sleep these days anyway, right?" she joked.
Thorne walked by and happened to spot his friend in the distance. He could see how uncomfortable she was… did she really think she would be happy if she kept that up?
"Don't get too attached," someone said to him. "She's totally gone."
"Huh?" Thorne turned around.
There was a girl standing there, though she wasn't very feminine at all. She had short, ruffly hair and a square jaw, and defined shoulders. "I see you looked at Heather," the girl clarified. "Don't get your hopes up."
"What do you mean?" asked Thorne.
"I used to be her friend, before she killed her reputation" the girl explained. "Now, she's somehow weaseled her way into… that crowd. Trust me, and don't try to be her friend. She'll just let you down."
"Um… okay…" Thorne said blankly. "What's your name?"
"Chara," replied the girl. "And you?"
"Thorne."
"Well, see you 'round," Chara waved, then left.
Thorne watched Chara leave with a confused expression. He turned back to Heather, and sighed. "Killed her reputation…?" Thorne mumbled to himself. "How did that happen?" He shook his head. "I'll have to ask her later."
Sep. 9, Room 102 (Miss Berot's Room), Goldhelm Secondary School, Vancouver; Second Block
Thorne's feature class of the day was his second block Social Psychology class: the class he shared with the quiet, beastly Luke Daniels. He sat down in the same seat. He set up his books. Luke was already sitting there. His eyebrow looked like it must have hurt from being constantly furrowed so harshly.
"Look," Thorne sighed. "I don't know what your reputation is, but… if there's something bothering you… I can give you… my contact info or something?"
Luke ignored him.
Thorne sighed. He turned his attention to the lesson, which was about to begin.
"As we discussed yesterday, this particular Social Psychology class has a focus on the Internet and its effects on people's interactions in the real world," Ms. Berot lectured. "Today, we'll discuss the effects of media consumption on individuals."
"Ooh," Thorne sounded. This information could help him understand Heather's situation.
"As I'm sure it's easy to observe," began Ms. Berot, "the media that people consume leaves a lasting effect on them. For example, when you see a horror movie, and you leave the theatre still feeling uneasy, that piece of media has left a lasting effect on you. Similarly, the much smaller bite-size chunks of media that we consume through social media platforms on the Internet leave a similar subconscious effect on us."
Thorne listened intently to the lecture, hoping to use the information to benefit his understanding of Heather's situation. It was only until after Ms. Berot stopped talking that Thorne even realized how invested he was. He smiled proudly, feeling quite intelligent thanks to his strong focus.
Sep. 8, Goldhelm Secondary School, Vancouver; Lunch Break
Thorne sat down at a table in the cafeteria. He was surprised he was able to even get a free table in the crowded cafeteria. He hadn't brought anything to eat, but thankfully he wasn't hungry. He could see Heather and her group of 'friends' sitting at the same table as always. He glanced over occasionally to see how Heather was holding up, but otherwise he tried not to look like a stalker. People already expected him to be crazy, he didn't have to perpetuate that reputation.
He looked down at his phone. There was a new message waiting to be read. He opened his messaging app, and read the new message. It was from someone who hadn't messaged him before.
"If you try to talk to me again, I'll beat the shit out of you. And don't test me, because I'm not joking," the message read. The sender, Luke.
Thorne gulped. He thought about sending a response, but he was struck with a sudden fear. Luke may have been troubled, but he was muscular and rough-looking. If he said he could beat you up, he probably could. Thorne shook his head and closed his messaging app.
A familiar face sat across from him at his table. "How's it going, new kid?" the girl asked. It was Sara.
"Um…" Thorne's expression spoke for itself.
"I see…" Sara sighed. "Yeah, it can be tough. And you're in Grade 12, too. Must be rough having to adapt to a new school when you're pretty much already graduated, huh?"
He nodded.
"It doesn't look like you have anything for lunch," noticed Sara. She offered, "Do you want a granola bar or something?"
"No, I'm good," Thorne said, shaking his head. "Really."
"All right, if you insist," Sara responded. "So, how are your classes going? Are they posing a challenge?"
Thorne shrugged. "Not really. Yet, at least."
"Well, if you keep up with your studying, you should have an easy time," Sara smiled. "I guess that goes without saying, but it's especially true here."
Thorne smiled with his eyes.
"Oh, hey, it's kinda early, but, um," Sara began, "here at Goldhelm we're big on Halloween celebrations." She shrugged, "Don't ask me why. I guess it's just a school tradition. But we need all the help we can get in order for it to go smoothly. If you'd like to volunteer, I'd really appreciate it."
"I'm guessing it's managed by the Leadership Committee?" Thorne assumed.
"Correct!" Sara nodded. "And now that I'm the President of the Leadership Committee, I really want to make this year's Halloween celebration something to remember. I'm working on obtaining the permission to host a school dance… during school hours, possibly."
"That's cool," Thorne smirked. "My old school never had dances. I mean literally never. The only dance the entire school got to have was prom."
"Canadian schools be like that sometimes," Sara said in a joking tone. "So, are you down to help?"
"Wait, you're asking for an RSVP now?" Thorne gasped. "Sara, it's the second week of September."
"Well, you can take some time to answer, if you need time to think," she blushed, chuckling awkwardly. "I'll text you about it when you've run out of time to think. Deal?"
"Uh," Thorne sounded. "Deal, I guess."
"Great!" she cheered.
The bell rang, signifying the start of the fourth block.
"Well, gotta go," Sara said as she got up from her seat. "See ya later!"
Thorne waved goodbye, and made his way to his next class.
Sep. 9, Room 050 (Mrs. Weller's Room), Goldhelm Secondary School, Vancouver; Fifth Block
Thorne turned to speak to Heather before the class began. "Hey," he greeted.
"What's up?" she asked.
"Someone spoke to me before first block," Thorne answered. "Said her name was Chara?"
Heather's eyes narrowed at the mention of the name. "Chara? She spoke to you? What about?"
"About, well, you," answered Thorne. "She was telling me she used to be your friend. She tried to convince me not to… go after you, I guess? Not that that's what I would want to do, anyway."
Heather sighed. "Yeah, me and Chara used to be friends…"
"Would you tell me about it?" he asked.
She nodded tiredly, and continued, "Well, before everyone started to hate me… she was my friend. But, she abandoned me just like everyone else."
"What did you do that made everyone dislike you?" Thorne inquired.
"I… I don't know…" she sighed. "I'm… not sure…" She opened up her notebook. "Can we stop talking about it?"
Thorne hung his head, opening his notebook too, and remaining quiet.
