a second chance | gwen stacy (wlw!)

10: Lies Never Told

I close my physics textbook, fidgeting with my pen as I glanced at Gwen's empty seat. I bite my lip, shaking my leg nervously. As the bell rings, I quickly stuff my textbook into my bag, throwing it over my shoulder. Without a second thought, I tried to rush out of the classroom, but not before I heard a voice calling my name. 

I turn around, clearly anxious and not that interested in talking. "Y/N, could you hang back for a second?" My teacher raises her voice as it booms across the room. I turn my head back, hiding my disappointed expression. "Yeah.. no, I'd love to." I say with a smile before heading back into the classroom. 

I approach her desk as she organizes some papers on her desk. She takes off her glasses, folding and placing them on the table with a gentle thud. "Do you know why I called you here?" She asks with a hint of worry, a concerned expression is drawn on her face. I rub the back of my neck, fidgeting with the handles of my backpack. "Um.. because you wanna get to know me better?" I say with a slightly sarcastic tone before coughing, immediately regretting what I had just said. 

She gives no reaction to my sarcastic comment as she begins to sort through some files in her cabinet. "A close guess as always, Y/N, but I actually.. want to ask you about Gwen Stacy." I curiosly observe her, holding and fidgeting with my hands in front of my chest. She then throws a paper on her desk as my eyes widen slightly. My teacher places her hands together, interlocking them.

"W-What is this?" I say with furrow eyebrows, feeling confused. "That is.. one of Gwen's many absent reports." She crosses her arms, lowering her eyebrows. "I'm sure you've realized Miss Stacy's attendance has become almost astonoshingly poor as of late." 

My mouth gapes open slightly as my face saddens. I examine the absent report, picking it up as my teacher leans forward. "Now, are you aware of any particular problem that's causing this?" She raises an eyebrow as I shake my head a little. "N-No.. I don't." I throw the paper down, slightly defensive. She cringes, almost as if she's inspecting me. 

"Miss Stacy used to be our top student. Until this year, something.. changed. Her grades began dropping, and she went from being Visions Academy's best female student to barely showing up to any of her classes." She exclaims as she sighs. "You do realize that.. if Miss Stacy doesn't show up for one more day, she will be expelled."

She gives me a worried look as if telling me she's also concerned about Gwen. I furrow my eyebrows, letting out a quiet sigh. I take a deep breathe out. "You can't do that!" I say in a pleading voice. "Look, just.. let me talk to her and I'll get this sorted out." I put my hand on the absent report, leaning forward. 

My teacher crosses her arms, clearly skeptical. "Y/N, don't get me wrong, you both are hard-working young women. I've.. been with you for this whole year." She chuckles a little as I keep a blank stare, not knowing how to react. Her smile fades as she glances at the absent report again. "Clearly you two are close. I can at least notice that much, but.. one of you is dragging the other down with them." 

My eyes widen as my heart drops a little, my shoulders relax. "I think.. you know what I'm trying to say." She grabs another paper, sliding it in front of me. My attention is drawn to my name on he paper as I realize it's my physics test. My mark is lower than normal. She tilts her head, noticing my slightly surprised expression. "You're an excellent student, Y/N. And you're lucky I caught this before it happened." 

"This mark may have just been caused by you being clumsy of whatever sort, but I can tell you're slipping by the way you.. almost fell asleep in class this entire week." She sighs, looking down.  "I know how much you want to go abroad and work in the quantum physics department. I don't.. want you to be held back by someone that isn't able to carry out your ambitions with you."