Kenzo sighs, playing around with the food on his plate. Today’s menu is a steak, with a sauce that I’ve never grown to like, some salad, and a piece of strawberry cake.
“Did you do anything in your drunken state last Friday?”
“No,” I roll my eyes, leaning back in the chair, staring down at some freshmen who dared to look at me with disgust on their faces. It’s all it takes for them to look away in embarrassment. “I went to the damned party, had a few, then went straight to—”
“Where?” He interrupts. “You weren’t in your dorm, Soren.”
“You know where I was.”
“Do you think she said something?”
I shake my head. “She has a lot more to lose than me.”
“Yeah, but you ended things in a not-so-nice way. Maybe she’s pissed.”
“Pissed? Perhaps. Definitely not stupid enough to tell anyone that she’s been sleeping with her student when it’s one of the forbidden things around here. She’d lose her job before she could blink.”
“Then that just leaves Sophia.”
“Perhaps,” I clench my jaw, my irritation with the girl rising. “But she’d be stupid to spread a rumor.”
“You mean, as you did with her exam scores?”
“Oh, that was harmless,” I scoff. “Besides, it’s not like anyone believed that. She’s always been a little Miss Smarty Pants.”
“Yes, but she’s known to get herrevenge—”
He’s interrupted by Aiden. He sits next to Kenzo, across from me, with his face as pale as a sheet. He’s looking directly at me, unblinking, and barely moving.
“What’s up with you?”
“Uh, Soren,” he clears his throat, then pulls out his phone. I can all but feel the stares on the back of my head, whispers following suit. “There’s something you should see.”
I snatch the phone out of his hands. It’s already on the school’s gossiping website. It’s an exclusive website, where people can submit all the gossip, all the newest things to talk about, mainly involving students. You have to enter your student ID in order to be approved for the website. It’s been running since our first year, and it’s still unknown who set the whole thing up. There’s an email where you can submit the stories to, and they don’t care if it’s the truth.
The worst part about this is that even Saint Valley High School, which is miles away from here, has access. It’s one website for all the institutions, and although I don’t pay attention to people I don’t know, there are always interesting things to see.
“Uh-oh, seems like our lover boy caught himself in a compromising position,” I read the title of the article aloud, rolling my eyes at the absurdity.
“Open it, and you won’t find it as amusing,” Aiden says, and I see Kenzo taking out his phone, looking for the website.
I look down at my phone and open the video.
All blood drains from my face, and my body freezes for a moment. I stare at the scene that shows me fucking Ellie in the classroom last Friday, and I can’t form a single coherent thought.
My hand tightens around the device, and I can’t tear my eyes off the video. Her face is blurry, as well as the rest of her body, but there I am, and you can tell it’s me. Anyone who’s ever seen me canclearly be able to tell it’s my body, my tattoos, and the way she’s moaning my name loudly doesn’t help.
I swallow a knot that forms in my throat, my entire body is overwhelmed by a sudden fit of rage. The video is a minute long, just long enough to tarnish my reputation, to make my name the headlines again. Despite the website being exclusive, some of the students who see it will undoubtedly spread it around.
“Who. The. Fuck?”
My words are a dark hiss, my body shaking with rage. I look at Aiden who shakes his head furiously, and Kenzo glances up at me from the phone, his jaw clenching when he sees the expression on my face.
“We’ll find whoever was bold enough to send this.”
FIVE
The door of the Dean’s office swings open, and he’s looking at me with an expression I can’t quite pinpoint. He steps aside, allowing me access, and I’m immediately hit with Ellie’s overly sweet perfume. She’s sitting in one of his chairs, fiddling with her fingers on her lap, looking down. She doesn’t acknowledge me as I approach the empty chair, sinking into it.
