Page 101 of Losing the Rhythm

I wished I could skip school for another day. Something felt different when I went back to school the next day. I had been more relaxed, my guard dropping down a little bit too much. So it took me longer to realize how many extra stares and whispers were being aimed at me.

What really clued me in was when India walked by me and ‘accidentally’ smashed her shoulder into mine, almost making me drop my books. Luckily, I was a sturdy person. She snickered as she walked away. I frowned at her, trying to figure out the reason for the blatant hostility.

“Something isn’t right,” Bryan said. We were on our way to lunch to meet up with the others after going to the nurse’s office.

Lillian stepped in front of us. “Nope!”

“What’s going on?” Bryan demanded in a harsh voice. He wasn’t a fan of the Wright twins since an incident that had happened in the past. He’d been tolerant of seeing them around me, but he was currently already on edge, also picking up on the change with the students.

“You can’t go in there,” Lillian said, unfazed as she focused on me.

“Why? What happened? Are the others okay?”

“Everyone’s fine, but you might not be if you go in there.”

“Is that a threat?” Bryan shoved himself in front of me, his reaction strong enough to make Lillian take a step back.

Lillian finally glanced at him. “I’d never do anything that would cause pain to Cadence. Not in a million years.” She dug through her pocket and pulled out her phone. “But others, not so much. Things have only ever been just a rumor. But now proof is going around.”

She touched the screen a few times before turning her phone around for me to see. “You were spotted with Justin yesterday.” The photo was of Justin and me at the beginning of the self-defense class.

Lillian changed the screen and I gasped. The next photo was of the two of us kissing after the class was over. I was practically in his lap, one of his hands lifting my shirt up as it rested on my lower back, against my skin. But we had been the only two left. How had this happened?

“One of the girls taking this class has a sister in our school. She heard enough about Justin to know it was him. I guess her little sister is a big fan, so she knew when she saw him during class. She took a picture and asked if Justin was dating anyone. It’s blown up since then.”

“This has to be photoshopped,” Bryan snapped out, reaching for the phone. Lillian knew better though and put more distance between them, tucking her phone away.

“The girls are out for blood and the boys are probably wondering how to, uh…” She seemed a bit confused on what to say exactly.

“Get in my pants?” I said for her.

Lillian looked away. “It’s getting pretty bad. If you go in there now, no doubt something will happen.”

“But the guys are in there.”

“Hazel should already be grabbing them for you.”

“Has everyone seen the picture?” Everything was beginning to feel distant, blood rushing through my head way too loudly. I felt like throwing up, but my stomach was too empty and too tense to allow it.

“It’s beginning to feel like you guys were the only ones who didn’t.” Lillian looked toward the door briefly. “Come on, I’ll show you a good spot. Hazel and I use it a lot when we want time to ourselves. Hazel will make sure the others come too.”

“Isn’t this too much like running away?” I asked.

Lillian frowned. “What’s wrong with running away when you need to? Many of those students have bad intentions against you. You think you can face hundreds of students and come out unscathed? Teachers can only do so much too. Let’s give this time to settle and blow over. And I think you’ll like this spot. We’ve been using it since the end of last year and haven’t seen anyone else there, so they won’t find you there.”

Lillian led the way and eventually we ended up on a part of the roof. It was mostly blocked off, except for a set of stairs.

“The maintenance crew come up here once in a while, that’s why the stairs exist, but other than that, no one comes here. And no one can see us up here. It’s nice and hidden.” Lillian seemed excited about the spot.

“Why do you need a spot like this?” I asked curiously. Hazel and Lillian were the top girls of the school. Extremely popular. No one would have batted an eye if they had befriended the guys instead of me.

“Everyone needs a spot where they can be alone,” she said simply as she pulled out a duffle bag that was tucked away. She pulled out a blanket and some soft square pillows. She gave one to me and she used the other. “We don’t have enough pillows for everyone, sorry.”

She didn’t really sound sorry though.

Bryan didn’t say anything as he sat down.

We didn’t have to wait long until everyone else came, Hazel leading the way.

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