It began with whispers.
Rosie would lean in close to Ashlin during lunch breaks, her voice sweet but laced with quiet venom.
"Don't you think Lilly's been acting fake lately?" she said once, pretending concern. "She laughs at your jokes, but then rolls her eyes when you're gone."
Ashlin frowned. "Lilly? She wouldn't—"
Rosie sighed, smiling sadly. "I didn't want to say anything. I just care about you, Ashlin. You deserve real friends."
A few days later, Chita (Jackie) became her next target.
"She told me she doesn't like how you're always around Emily," Rosie murmured one morning. "I didn't defend her—though I should have."
Ashlin started to drift away from them, confused but quiet. We could see it happening—Rosie's words sinking in like slow poison.
By the end of the month, Ashlin had stopped actively talking to Lilly and Chita altogether. Rosie's circle was closing in, and none of us knew how to stop it but rather saw how Ashlin was always badmouthing Rosie but did nothing when she rolled her eyes at us.