FOURTEEN
Aliya
PRESENT
I know the feeling of being ostracized and discriminated all too well.
Back then, when I hit Mr. Jameson with a chair because he was sexually harassing me, everyone avoided me as soon as I got back to school.
I can’t blame them. No one knew about the sexual harassment until the same thing happened to Raelyn. They shouted insults after me, pushed me, flushed my notes down the toilet and literally stabbed me with their stares.
Now, as I enter the SVH, it feels exactly the same.
All eyes are glued to me and burn like a blazing flame on my skin. I don’t let it affect me and make my way to my locker.
I can imagine exactly why everyone is staring at me. This time I haven’t beaten up a teacher with a chair. I’ve done something much worse. And now I have to pay for it.
Confused, I stare at the four girls who have gathered in front of my locker. I recognize a redhead playing with the lock while her friends stand around her.
I clear my throat so that all four of them glance at me. “What are you doing at my locker?”
Lidia Vance gives me a snooty look.
“Oh, nothing.” Her blonde friend, whose name I don’t know, smiles smugly.
By now I realize that they’ve definitely cooked up something.
I push past them and check my lock, which has a few scratches on it. They must have cracked it.
“Aren’t you a bit too old to play pranks like that?”
Lidia clicks her tongue. “A slut deserves nothing else. You should be glad we’re leaving it at that.”
Excuse me?
Before I can say anything in reply, she and her friends walk past me, giggling. I stare after them for a few more seconds before turning to my locker. The sight inside will surely not please me.
I carefully turn the dials until the shackle and bolt are released, allowing the lock to be opened. Slowly, I open it a small crack and peer inside.
I draw in a harsh breath as the pungent smell of formaldehyde hits my nose. The lifeless innards of a pig are scattered across my documents and books, which are now unusable.
With a loud bang, I slam my locker shut and exhale the pent-up air.
These bitches.
Adena comes to stand next to me. “What did Vance want with you?”
She looks confused at my hands, which are still resting on the closed locker door.
“They put pig organs in my locker.”
“Oh,” she replies bleakly.
In consternation, I look at her. Oh?
I was already expecting everyone at school to stare at me stupidly today because the Legions sat at the same table as me at lunch yesterday. But I didn’t expect them to go so far as to steal the offal from the biology room and put it in my locker.
That’s fucking ridiculous and absurd.
“Can you blame them?”
“What?”
I always knew Adena and I weren’t friends, but her defending Lidia and her devotees is upsetting. Adena was sitting at a table with the trio just like me. Why am I the only one being belittled?
“I’m just saying.” She shrugs her shoulders and looks away.
I squint my eyes into slits. “What are you trying to tell me? Just spit it out.”
She sighs and leans her back against a locker, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “You made Milan Shane touch you during lunch.” She brushes a strand of hair behind her ear. “You know I don’t think much of the exchange student, but even she holds back in public.”
I stare at her horrified. I don’t know what shocks me more. The fact that the whole SVH knows that his hand was up my skirt or rather the claim that I made him touch me.
“Who tells such things?”
“Does anyone have to tell when the whole school has witnessed it?” she snarls contemptuously.
She pushes herself away from the locker and stands right in front of me. “It’s none of my business if you spread your legs for them, but at least do it in private.”
With these words, she turns her back on me and leaves me dumbfounded.
I’m aware that it was a mistake to let it get this far, but no one else has the right to lecture me about it. While more than half the girls at school have already been to bed with one of the three, it’s suddenly become a problem because I’m the one he touched?
Nothing even happened.
Even though Adena claims that everyone witnessed it, I know that’s not true. The only ones who could have actually seen it are Damian, Shin and Adena. And I don’t assume that Damian, Shin or even Milan himself would start a rumor like that. So the probability of Adena spreading it is the highest.
She’s always been a gossip. I wouldn’t be surprised if she used this incident to her own advantage.
It’s not the first time I’ve been confronted with bullying, so I know exactly what to do to avoid unnecessary drama.
Accordingly, I spend my lunch break alone on the steps of the back emergency staircase instead of the workroom.
It’s a good thing that Adena is mad at me. Finally, I can enjoy my break alone.
I bite into my PB&J sandwich and scroll through my social media, which is, obviously, dead. I don’t have any friends, so having an active account is useless to me.
The only one I text with from time to time is my childhood friend Tristan.
Before my father passed away, we lived in a different part of Belmont. Tristan’s family lived next door, so we spent most of our free time together in his tree house. But it’s been seven years since I last saw him.
The SVH has an account that uploads the school’s latest gossip. I’ve often witnessed crying girls whose nudes or sex tapes have been leaked on the site. The owner of the account is anonymous and no one at SVH knows who is actually behind it, revealing all the students’ dirty secrets.
Since I haven’t done anything wrong yet, I’ve never been part of a rumor. However, I have now managed to attract all the school’s attention. I’m sure the anonymous person behind the account has also put their two cents in.
I go to the public account stoneviewgossips and open the latest post. Instead of a text saying that Milan Shane pleasured me during lunch break, a picture pops out of my screen.
A gasp escapes my lips as I recognize the two figures in the picture.
Milan presses me against the edge of the table. My upper body is exposed, showing off my white bra, while his hand has disappeared under my skirt.
His face is blurred and unrecognizable, while my aroused expression is unmistakable.
It’s obvious that he’s standing between my legs, but from this perspective it almost looks like we’re having sex.
My gaze wanders over the lines below the picture.
“Always the quiet ones – Aliya Sierra has shown us that appearances can be deceiving.”
“Slut. Whore. Bitch,” I read the comments from my classmates out loud.
Not only is there a rumor going around about me, but there’s a damn picture indicating that I had sex with Milan fucking Shane in the workroom.
My place at SVH is sponsored by Evan Shane, but if he saw those pictures, not only would he stop covering my tuition, he’d also suspend me from school. And this would make a poor impression on my future career just before I graduate.
I need to do something about this.
Simpler said than done.
I don’t even know who’s behind this damn account. Maybe I’m right in my suspicions and Adena is actually the one spreading all these rumors. But if she had secretly photographed us, she wouldn’t just be upset about me today. The incident in the workroom happened almost a week ago.
I know that my only way out of this is Milan, but I resist talking to him.
Every time he’s near me, I turn into a stupid, brainless person who can’t stand up to him. I used to make fun of all the girls who fell for his charms. Now I behave exactly like them.
I hate him just as much as I did on the first day.
Maybe my hatred for him has multiplied in the few weeks I’ve been dealing with him. I long to go back to the days when he used to walk past me in the school hallway without even knowing I existed.
“Look who we have here.” John McKinney opens the door and steps onto the emergency stairs. “Stoneview’s number one topic here alone on the stairs. How come?”
Just what I needed.
I put my phone away and get up from my seat. “Can I help you with something?”
The buttons of his white shirt are crooked and wildly buttoned, while his blond hair falls in messy strands. It’s obvious that he had sex just a moment ago. His pants aren’t even pulled up properly.
“Since you ask so nicely. Will you give me a blow job?”
I stare at him blankly. “Fuck off, McKinney. I’m not in the mood to listen to your bullshit right now.”
I walk past him to enter the school building, but he grabs my arm and turns me violently in his direction. “Bullshit? Come on. You didn’t turn down Shane’s dick either, did you?”
I pull my arm out of his grip. He’s a grade below me, but with his height he’s giving Milan competition. It’s probably because he’s a successful basketball player.
“I said fuck off.”
“No need to be so bitchy, babe. Do you seriously think Shane is serious about you? Once he’s fucked you enough, he won’t even remember your name.” He leans down to be eye level with me. “And who knows, maybe he’ll let his friends fuck you before he passes you on to the next guy. But you probably like that, don’t you? Sluts like you can never get enough cocks.”
I keep a straight face because what he says bounces off me.
“At the end of the day, you’ll ride my cock too. Why drag it out any longer when I can make you feel good here and now? Then you’ll realize who can fuck you better.”
The more he opens his mouth, the more shit comes out of him.
“Are you going to let me have you now, or do I have to force you?” He pushes me back with his broad stature.
The small bulge in his pants catches my eye as he wraps his hands around his belt to free himself from his pants.
There are two types of male individuals in this world.
Milan represents the category that intimidates and humiliates others by his mere presence. He is the type that makes you feel the burning and trembling deep in your bones.
But John McKinney …
Well, he tries to frighten others with his imposing height, the serious expression on his face and threatening words, but he only makes a fool of himself.
He exposes the swelling in his boxers. I let my eyes rest on it for a few seconds before I scoff.
I point my finger at it. “You call this little winner a cock? You want to fuck me with that?”
His expression darkens. The corner of my mouth twitches up slightly as I realize my words are having an effect on him.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Shane is way bigger than you.”
Even though I do everything but dismiss the rumors, I can’t let McKinney’s words sit on me like that.
He furrows his eyebrows. “You think you’re fucking funny, don’t you?”
“Just wanted to confront you with the truth, since you seem to be living under an illusion. You were so confident you could fuck me better than Shane.” I glance down. “It’s going to be a bit hard with a tiny thing like that.”
He shoves me against the wall, sending a sharp pain through my back. “You little bitch, how dare you-”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Shin comes casually up the emergency stairs, a silver flask in his hand.
“Stay out of this, Masuda. It’s none of your business.”
“Right.” Shin walks to the front door to enter the school building. I look after him in dismay as he appears to leave me and that bastard here alone.
He opens the door but pauses before turning back to us. His eyes move to McKinney’s open pants, where a noticeable bulge stands out.
“Just for your information,” he says. “She’s right. Milan really is way bigger.”
His words draw a soft chuckle from me as McKinney turns dark red. He zippers up his pants and glares angrily at Shin. “If you’ve got nothing more to say, get the fuck off. She and I have some things to work out.”
“Come to think of it, it’s none of my business, but I don’t think Shane will be pleased if I tell him all the things you’ve said about him? Don’t you agree with me?”
My gaze goes back to McKinney, who freezes instantly. His eyes widen before he takes a few steps back and curses quietly to himself.
For someone who was just so sure of himself, the name Shane seems to scare him.
Scaredy cat.
“You and I aren’t done yet,” he holds up his index finger at me in warning before walking through the door that Shin is still holding open.
He looks after him while I stretch my back to reduce the pain.
“You know, this time I wouldn’t blame you if you hit him.” He leans against the handrail with his arms crossed.
I know exactly what he’s implying.
I slapped him back then when he tried to help me, but I didn’t raise my hand to McKinney, even though he certainly deserved it.
“I wasn’t in the mood,” I reply sarcastically.
He makes a little snorting sound before opening the lid of his flask and taking a big swig.
I watch him, confused. “You drink … at school?”
His eyes turn to me before he holds it out to me. “You want too?”
I shake my head and watch him take another sip before twisting the lid back on and dropping the flask into his pocket.
He seems different than usual. More relaxed.
Maybe he’s a little drunk.
How long has he been here on the stairs?
Since he overheard McKinney’s and my argument, he’s probably been here for a while.
I know he loathes me because I hit him for no reason back then. But still, he just helped me get rid of McKinney.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” He looks to me as he opens the door again. “I didn’t do anything. The fucker just backed off because he’s scared of Shane.”
Shin enters the building and I follow him. “But you were the one who chased him away, so I owe you my thanks.”
He eyes me blankly. “You’re welcome.”
Either it’s just me, or the thick block of ice that’s been between us since the incident in middle school is slowly starting to melt.
I still don’t think much of him, but he’s far better than his two friends.
“I’m sure you had everything under control even without my help.”
The thought that he heard everything I said to McKinney to provoke him makes the heat rise in my cheeks. But Shin probably knows I didn’t mean it like that. At least Milan didn’t overhear. That would be my death.
As Shin and I walk side by side through the corridors of the SVH, I can feel poisonous stares reflecting off my body. Then I remember that I’ve recently been embroiled in a sex scandal and being seen with Shin Masuda isn’t really helping.
“Do you know where Shane is?”
Shin gives me a confused sideways glance. “Probably in the club room.”
“I need to … talk to him.”
He lets his eyes rest on me for a moment before nodding. “Come with me.”
Although everything in me fights against facing Milan, I know there’s no escape.
The last time I saw him, his hand was between my legs. That won’t happen again, even though I secretly enjoyed it.