My clothes were scattered across the ground like trash. My schoolmates laughed, all too happy to see someone else torn apart.
For a second, my chest squeezed so tight I could barely breathe.
But then… I smiled.
The kind of smile that made people second-guess whether they should still be laughing.
As I walked closer, my feet crushing my sock beneath my shoe, one by one, the students around the circle stopped chuckling.
It paved way for the whispers to creep in, spreading fast. A hush here, a mutter there, like no one could believe what I was about to do.
"You're really something, Sofia," I said, my tone cutting through the noise. "Can't beat me face-to-face, so you dig through my suitcase like a thief? Read my journal because you don't have anything worth saying yourself?"
Her smirk flickered, just barely.
I bent down, picked up a shirt, shook the dirt off, and folded it over my arm as if this was nothing. "Humiliating me doesn't make you strong. It just shows how scared you are. Because you know I'll never see worth in you like these fools."
I knew I offended some people cause I heard their murmurs.
"Scared? Don't make me laugh. You really think this is about you?" She flipped open my journal again. "You're pathetic, Stephanie. Writing love notes about Hayden like you ever had a chance. You don't belong anywhere near him."
I forced my eyes to stay on hers. "Whatever's in that journal is none of your business."
"None of my business?" She let out a high-pitched laugh. Then her eyes lifted upward with a slow smile.
I followed her gaze.
And my stomach dropped.
Hayden was leaning against the balcony railing of his dorm, Kai and a few others beside him. His brows were furrowed and his lips pressed together. He was not laughing—but the eyes on me, and the murmurs around him made my heart drop like stone.
Sofia giggled again. "Jesus, Steph, you should be ashamed of yourself. It's embarrassing you didn't learn from Josephine's mistake. Stop chasing after men that don't want you."
I swallowed hard, then lifted my chin. "It's not a crime to want someone. And I'm not ashamed of wanting Hayden."
Gasps blew up in my face, from the students and they had their eyes darting up toward the balcony.
"I think you're attractive," I said, locking onto Hayden. "And I want you. I'm not apologizing for that."
The crowd fell into stunned silence.
On the balcony, Hayden's brows drew together. For a second, he just looked at me then he turned away.
Without a word, he disappeared inside.
Kai shot me a cold glance before following, and the others trailed behind.
And when I looked back, Sofia was smiling.