MONEY TREES, gossip girl [DISCONTINUED]

09

tw! drug use, manic episode, vomiting

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CHAPTER NINE
LAPSE IN JUDGMENT
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THE easiest part of the day is taking the first step. CJ comes to that realization as he stands before the front steps of his school, his peers passing by in blues of whispers and prolonged staring. Monday's are usually torturous, but this is a whole other level of cruel and unusual.

The Lord's day was spent in misery for Cristian. He walk convinced his phone was going to blow up with all the DM's, tweets, and texts directed at him. He just couldn't seem to escape his drunken mistakes. He hardly got three hours of sleep, yet he feels more awake than he's ever been.

At one point, in the midst of a black hole of overflowing ideas to keep himself occupied, a dark thought slipped through: Maybe I deserve this. All the shit he pulled last year, putting his family through hell— this is his retribution. He tried to shake off the self-loathing, but he still isn't entirely convinced that he's innocent.

So, when CJ finally builds the courage to walk into school, he grits his teeth and bears it when a suggestive whistle is thrown his way. After all, it's his fuck-up. The aftermath is his responsibility to shoulder.

He trudges to his locker, only rolling his eyes a few times at the not-so-subtle mockeries and eyes checking him out. Cristian opens the locker and busies himself the best he can.

"Hey," Cristian jumps at the voice, "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine, Zoya. I'm just a little on edge." Cristian reassures her, grabbing his textbooks. He would give her a smile if he didn't feel like a black hole of gloom.

"Right," Zoya begins warily, "I saw Gossip Girl."

"You and everyone else on the planet, it seems," He quips in a deadened tone, "This thing isn't going away."

"What Gossip Girl posted?"

"Gossip Girl itself. Or herself, I guess," CJ corrects, "I really wanted it be a little blimp on my radar, but I was wrong, obviously."

"If it's here to stay, then maybe all this stuff about you will blow over, right? Gossip Girl will have no problem finding other victims." Zoya tells him.

He snickers, "If I'm lucky, maybe a fight will break out or someone gets cheated on."

"Exactly," Zoya smiles, "Not that I was free from any injury, but the posts about me are already in the past. It will go back to normal soon."