The Youngest Hawthorne

11. True Rumors

Literacy was uneventful for me, but painful for Percy, since he’s dyslexic, and literacy is just another class about reading and interpreting books. Kinda like a second language arts class. But before social studies, I had major issues. The first alarm bell rang when Elaina smiled at me. At first I thought that it was because Olivia had found something. Then the ringing intensified when she started acting nice to me.

“Hey, y/n. I was just thinking that we should be friends.”

“If this is about Percy, then the answer is no.”

“I pinky promise that it’s not about him. It’s about your boyfriend.”

“Wait, what?” How does she know about Xander? I didn’t tell anyone! Play dumb! “Who are you talking about?”

“Silly. I’m talking about Alexander Hawthorne.” Just then, my only friend here, Millie, runs in. This is the only class I have with her.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were freaking dating Xander?” She asks. “I knew you two were friends, but-” she notices Elaina, who might as well be taking notes about every secret that was just let out of the bag. Girls who I’ve never talked to before start asking to be my friend, asking me about Xander. I grab Millie’s arm, and get out of the classroom, down the hall, and into the bathroom. I’m going as fast as I can on crutches. Stupid ankle.

“What’s going on? I’ve never told anyone but you that I even knew the Hawthornes, and now they all suddenly know that I’m dating Xander?”

“So you are? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it happened at like 2 A.M. last night! I was going to pass you a note during this class!”

“Apparently, somebody got a picture of you hugging him while he dropped you off here, and now they’re all saying that you’re dating.”

“What? This can’t be happening! I already had enough to deal with, with Percy and all…”

“Who’s Percy, and why is he your problem?”

“He’s another family friend, and now he comes here. He’s the new kid who was in there before,” I say. It would be too much to explain that Percy was actually a demigod, here to protect me. But it still feels weird to lie to her. “And Elaina kept trying to flirt with him, even though he has a girlfriend, and since he knows me, she’s trying to get me to make him date her. Which I’ll never do. And now she has the audacity to try and act nice to get into the family?”

“For someone who hates being in the spotlight, you one: chose possibly the third most famous boyfriend you could, right after Jameson or Grayson, two: made enemies with the most popular girl in school, who, when she realizes that you hate being the center of attention will do everything in her power to spread the news even more, and three: are the most stubborn person on planet earth.”

“I can’t stay here all day. I just can’t deal with people asking if they can be my friend or whatever so they can meet the Hawthornes. I don’t even know if I’m supposed to confirm or deny that me and Xander are dating.”

“Come on. We only have like a minute left till social studies starts, and I don’t want to be late. Just try to make it through this hour.”

“Fine.” I don’t know why I agreed. Because the second I step back into the door, everyone is back around me. Pressing in. Asking questions. To her credit, Millie tries to make people back off, but there’s just too many of them, and not enough of her. I back against a wall, and try to breathe as people come closer and closer. I have to get out of here.

“Everybody, go back to your seats!” The teacher, Mr. Smith, practically hollers. “Y/n, go to the office and explain the situation.” I don’t wait for more. I get out of there as fast as my crutches will let me.

“What’re you in here for honey?” One of the receptionists asks.

“I… people found out about something that I was supposed to keep a secret, and they made me feel uncomfortable. They were pressing in on me, asking questions, so my teacher, Mr. Smith, couldn’t teach.”
“And what would this mysterious secret be? There aren’t very many things we can do anything about.”
“I have a connection with the Hawthornes. Like a direct connection.”
“Alright, you can take out your phone and call someone to pick you up, but they will have to prove that you have a connection with the Hawthornes.” I take out my phone. Who should I call? I decided on Alisa.

“Y/n? Do you need anything?” She asks, picking up.

“Yes, I need you to come pick me up from school. My connection to the Hawthornes is out.”

“I’ll be there in five minutes,” she sighs. Alisa knows the drill. She was the one who convinced the school board to let ‘has a direct, public connection to the Hawthornes’ be a valid reason to miss school. If your connection is public, since even association can lead to disasters, you are allowed to leave, provided that the person you call can provide proof that this connection is real. I sit in one of the chairs, and wait for Alisa.