The bell hadn't rung yet when Merlee stepped into the classroom. He
noticed a few students crowded near the back, their phones glowing in
their hands, voices low but eager.
"Did you see it?" one of the boys asked, eyes wide. "They say it's confirmed
now. He admitted it himself before deleting his account."
Another scoffed. "Admitted or not, he ruined himself. All that fame gone,
just like that." Merlee walked past them and took his usual seat near the window. He
dropped his backpack on the floor and tried not to listen, but the
conversation spread like smoke.
"I still can't believe it," a girl said from the next row. "He didn't even look the
type. My sister had posters of him everywhere."
"Yeah," another girl replied, lowering her voice as if gossiping about a
scandal. "My brother said people are burning his merch already. Sponsors
pulled out overnight. Everyone's saying he..." she hesitated, glancing
around before continuing, "he committed suicide...couldn't take the
pressure. They found him this morning."
The room went quiet for a second. Then someone laughed awkwardly,
trying to shake it off. "Well, what did he expect? You can't just live like that
and think people won't find out." Merlee's eyes stayed fixed on the desk. He felt something twist in his
chest, a strange mixture of pity and anger that he couldn't quite name. Around him, the talk resumed...voices judging, laughing, speculating...but
all he could think about was how fast people could turn cruel.
"He was one of the biggest pop stars in the country," a boy said from the
front. "Now he's gone just like that. My dad says he brought it on himself." Merlee leaned back, watching the morning light fall across the floor. He
wasn't close to the guy, didn't even follow his music, but he couldn't stop
thinking about the way everyone spoke...like the man's life had been entertainment, another scandal to fill the time before class started.
If someone had asked him what he thought, he knew what he would say:
that it wasn't right. That no one deserved to be hated for something they
couldn't change. But he also knew better than to say it out loud. People
didn't like opinions that didn't match theirs.
The teacher hadn't come in yet, and the murmurs of conversation swelled
again. Someone showed a meme, another made a joke, and the sadness
of a life lost was already dissolving into noise. Merlee turned his gaze toward the window, his reflection faint in the glass. Outside, students crossed the courtyard, laughing, shouting, living easily in
a world that punished difference.
The world isn't fair to anyone who stands out, he thought. The world isn't fair to gays.
He sat there quietly, resting his chin on his hand, the voices around him
fading into the background.
The teacher came in a few minutes late, apologizing half-heartedly before
beginning the lesson. Merlee kept his head down, half listening, half lost in
thought. The hours drifted by like a slow current, the chalk scraping on the
board, the occasional laughter, the shuffle of papers. When the final bell
rang, it felt more like relief than dismissal.
Outside, the afternoon sun had turned soft and orange. Students poured
into the courtyard, their voices bright after the long day. Merlee walked
toward where his bike was parked. Yet his mind kept circling back to that
morning's story...the gay pop star, the headlines, the way people's
sympathy could turn into mockery overnight.
He ran a hand along the handlebar, lost in thought. He didn't know why it
bothered him so much; he didn't even know the man. But the idea of
someone being crushed by what the world demanded of them...that felt
familiar somehow.
He was about to put on his helmet when he heard a voice behind him.
"Merlee!"
He turned to see Jenny walking toward him. She had that effortless
confidence that made people stare; even when she was just crossing the
courtyard, she carried herself like someone who knew every pair of eyes
was on her... infact every pair of eyes were on her
"Heading home already?" she asked, a teasing smile on her lips.
"Yeah," he said, adjusting the strap on his backpack.
Jenny tilted her head, pretending to pout. "You could at least offer a ride. I
live just a few streets from you."
He gave a quiet laugh. "You've got plenty of people who'd offer."
"I don't want plenty of people," she said, stepping a little closer. "I asked
you."
He hesitated, then shrugged. "All right. Hop on before you change your
mind."
Jenny grinned in triumph and slid onto the seat behind him. The bike
shifted slightly under their combined weight, and she rested her hands
lightly on his shoulders. "See? Not so hard to be nice once in a while."
"Don't get used to it," he said, though his tone carried no bite.
They pulled out of the school compound, the low rumble of the engine
filling the air. Students nearby turned to look, some with smiles, others with
the tight expressions of envy. Jenny's laughter rose above the noise, light
and unbothered, while Merlee kept his eyes on the road ahead.
She leaned closer so he could hear her over the wind. "You're too serious
sometimes. Don't you ever just… enjoy things?"
"Maybe," he said after a moment, "I just don't find the same things fun."
She smiled again but didn't answer. The breeze carried her perfume toward
him, faint and sweet, but it stirred nothing inside. He wondered about that
sometimes...about how he could notice beauty, admire it even, yet feel
distant from it, as if he were watching someone else's life unfold. Maybe
he just wasn't built like other people. Maybe he wasn't meant to be.
They turned down the main road, the city lights flickering to life around
them, the sound of the bike blending with the heartbeat of evening traffic. Students still at the gate watched them ride away, their laughter and
whispers fading behind.