The Masked Girl

Chapter 7

A humming (Y/n) walked into the school, music blasting from her headphones. Slowing her strides, she analyzed the courtyard and noticed students leering at her while whispering among themselves. She brushed off the stares and headed straight to the locker room. There, more stares welcomed her. Well, glares would be much more accurate. They were mostly coming from her classmates.

She saw how some students encircled Lila, and as she walked past them to go to her locker, their glare hardened much more. Ah, (Y/n) thought, looks like the fun has begun. She collected the things she needed for the first class and exited the locker room, throwing a challenging smirk at the fox hiding behind the flock of sheep. (Y/n) strode up the stairs where Jewel and Rose were waiting.

"(Y/n)," Rose called her. Already guessing what she'd say, (Y/n) hummed absently and lowered the volume on her music. "Is it true that you pushed Lila down the stairs?" She asked, uncertain.

(Y/n) laughed and nudged Rose lightly. "I'm hurt that you think I'd pushed someone off the stairs." No matter how much of a lying witch they are. Rose opened her mouth to respond, panicking, but she interrupted, "I'm kidding. Our classmates claimed they saw it with their own eyes, right?"

Rose nodded as Juleka asked, "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"They were there when Lila fell down the stairs. Lila said that she felt that someone pushed her. And who gets the blame? Me!" (Y/n) answered with flourishing hands and a flashy grin. She shrugged as if it didn't concern her. "I was the closest to her when it happened, so it's no wonder."

"So they blamed you just like that?"

She nodded, not the least bothered. "Just like that."

"Aren't you bothered by who spread the rumors? How could they say those things about you? They don't know that you're the loveliest person here." Rose argued, upset and frustrated.

(Y/n) made a buzzing sound. "Wrong! I'm not the loveliest person here. It's a universal fact that Rose Lavillant is the sweetest and loveliest human on Earth." Rose giggled and blushed while Juleka nodded with a serious expression. They enter the classroom and head straight to the back. (Y/n) waved at them as she took her seat on the other side.

Lila entered the room, smirking. She climbed up the stairs and made to approach (Y/n). But Ms. Bustier clapped her hand and started the class, so she had no choice but to sit.

And that's the end of it. Just kidding. This is Lila we're talking about. When she saw that the rumor of her being pushed down the stairs had no effect on (Y/n), she added more. For the rest of the week, the lies escalated. Ranging from scattering other people's stuff to pushing them into lockers. It doesn't matter what the lie was. It always depicted (Y/n) as the stereotypical bully, like the ones in the movies.

Somehow, in only one week, the gossip mill reached a fever pitch. To the point where everyone knew the name (Y/n) (L/n) and her alleged actions. Unfortunately, no matter how much Lila magnified the lies, (Y/n) didn't acknowledge her or the rumors.

Seeing how this frustrated Lila, she continued on with her school life as she previously did. Even when students were accusing and glaring at her behind her back.

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(Y/n) was packing her bag in the locker room when Lila decided to confront her. She continued packing, pretending not to see Lila in the mirror in her locker. Lila really likes her locker room confrontations, huh? She thought to herself, amused.

Lila huffed to announce her presence. "Have you heard? The student population has labeled you 'The Wretched (L/n)'. That's what you get for ignoring and refusing my offer."

(Y/n) rolled her eyes behind her mirrored shades. "Wow, I'm shaking in my baby-seal leather boots." She faced Lila and placed a hand on her hips, then looked up with a speculative look. "What was it you said again? You'll make sure I lose all my friends?" Lila went to open her mouth but was interrupted. (Y/n) stepped close to her, grinning, "Well, newsflash, the ones who believe the rumors aren't my friends. True friends wouldn't believe such baseless rumors. Oh, but I guess you wouldn't know that since you haven't got any, have you?" She leaned back, enjoying how Lila's mask cracked to show her anger. After slamming her locker shut, she proceeded to leave.

As she left, (Y/n) only noticed that the locker room was empty, save for them. Now, she regretted telling Juleka and Rose to go first. It gave Lila a chance to approach her. She lamented to herself as she entered the awaiting car.

"Good day?" Isaac greeted her when she sat in the passenger seat since she already knew Tom wouldn't be there.

She huffed a laugh as she buckled her seatbelt. "Yeah, except for the part where I had to interact with lying Lila again."

"Lying Lila? Is that the girl who tripped herself and blamed it on you?" She nodded. "Did she do anything today?" Isaac cast her a concerned look.

"Nothing much, really." (Y/n) shrugged, not wanting to worry the man. "Just spreading lies about me to the school population. No big deal." She lurched forward when the car stopped abruptly. "Isaac! Don't just stop out of nowhere! You almost cost me my soul."

"Sorry, miss." Holding the steering wheel in one hand, he used the other to smooth down (Y/n)'s disheveled hair. "But I'm pretty sure spreading lies about someone is a big deal. To me and pretty much everyone else. Is this still about how you 'pushed' her down the stairs?" Isaac asked, making quotation marks with his free hand.

(Y/n) laughed, shaking her head, "Well, it isn't a big deal to me. It was still about the stairs, though she added more. She spread those so I'll 'lose' my friends." She mimicked his quotation marks. "I told her doing that made it obvious that she doesn't have real friends since she thought that would work. The face she made was priceless." She burst out laughing again, remembering Lila's face.

Isaac sighed, shaking his head with an exasperated smile. "Maybe it isn't a big deal to you. But if you provoke her, she might spread lies you won't be able to stifle."

A thoughtful expression passed through her face before (Y/n) said, "You're right, I won't provoke her too much." Isaac raised a brow. She threw her hands up in surrender. "Okay, fine! I won't provoke her at all. Even if she does it first." Crossing her arms, she looked away to hide her defeated smile.

Putting the car in park as they arrived home, Isaac twisted to face her. "I know you're not easily provoked, so I doubt she'll be able to. Even if you don't deny the rumors, don't do anything that makes it seem like you're confirming it."

"It doesn't matter whether I deny it or not. The sheep students already believe it."

"Sheep? Nevermind." He shook his head again. "That's exactly why you should be careful. If you're right about the students being gullible and this Lila being great at lying, then who knows what else she'll do."

"Alright, I'll be careful." She smiled at him and paused before opening the door, "Oh, and please don't tell Tom about this."

"I won't, but you probably should. So he can help you deal with this girl."

"You know how he gets, Isaac. And if he tells my parents, they'll react much worse than Tom. No telling, okay?" With that, she exited the car and jogged up to the entrance.

Author's Note: I decided to only call Juleka 'Jewel' when (Y/n)'s addressing her so it won't cause any confusion.

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