Liar's Desire ✔️

21| An Oakberry past

Past Tristan's POV

1:47 pm, Oakberry High School

It was only the middle of the school day and I was already exhausted. I was in English class and I was just staring at myself using a pocket mirror, damn I was handsome.

The teacher slammed her hand on my desk, "Tristan! Pay attention, you won't make it anywhere in life by staring at your reflection."

"Actually, yes I will," I said, "I'll become a model and make more than you ever will in a lifetime." 

Ring! Class was over and I had lunch break. I went to the school rooftop and saw Tiffany and Brooke already sitting there. 

"Where's Hinata?" I asked, "Usually he's the first person here."

"He's buying me strawberry milk," Tiffany said, "Sit next to me!" 

I sat down on the bench. Hinata sat down in front of me and handed the strawberry milk to Tiffany, "For the lady." 

"Why thank you!" she said, faking a British accent, "Such an exquisite drink." 

I laughed and Tiffany bumped my shoulder. I heard footsteps and noticed that Carlos was also on the rooftop. 

"Brooke, Mrs. Anderson needs you," he said nervously. 

"Why so nervous?" Tiffany exclaimed. 

"People are going to think that I'm a weirdo if they see me talking to a raccoon," he said, "Well, maybe that's offensive to raccoons."

Tiffany looked taken aback, "Repeat that, I dare you!"

Carlos just walked off and Tiffany was fuming. She squeezed the empty strawberry milk bottle and sat down, shaking the bench. 

"I'll be right back," Brooke said, taking the empty bottle from Tiffany's hand.

"I want him gone!" Tiffany yelled, "Carlos is so annoying!"

"The fact that he bought his way into our school and has the audacity to talk to us like that is actually crazy," Hinata commented. 

Tiffany pursed her lips and crossed her arms, "He infuriates me!" 

I was staring at myself using my pocket mirror. I didn't want to share my opinion on Carlos to them, it was complicated. 

"Doesn't he infuriate you too, Tristan?" Tiffany asked.

"He's whatever," I said, "I wouldn't mind if he left the school." 

"Gotta use the restroom, I'll be right back," Hinata said, getting up and leaving. 

"I know your secret, Tristan," Tiffany said, looking to her left and right. 

"What secret?" I laughed, "I've told you everything about me, I don't think there's a thing you don't know!"

"It's not what I've been told, Tristan," she said, "It's what I just know."

"Well then, what do you know?" I asked. 

"You're failing science class," she said, "And if you don't keep on doing what I ask of you, a lot more people other than me are going to know." 

"Is that a threat?" I asked Tiffany, "I thought we were friends, Tiffany!"

"Kidding!" she exclaimed, "You better hope that I'm actually kidding." Since grades meant a lot in Oakberry High, I couldn't let anyone find out that I was failing science. The majority of students were super smart and if anyones grades were not good enough for the school, they risked expulsion and would be humiliated by their peers. 

She laughed and I wiped my pocket mirror with my sleeve. The mirror had some finger prints on it and it was really annoying me. 

In the mirror, I could see myself, obviously. But every time I looked at myself in that same pocket mirror, I felt my reflection fade into someone I didn't want to look at. 

I felt like I was loosing myself. These were my friends. I had no other friends so I was going to stick with them. 

I couldn't risk being alone again, even if it meant loosing myself in the process.