Gut Feeling

12 ~ get mad independent and don't you ever forget it

get mad independent and don't you ever forget it
(got some dirt on your shoulder, then let me brush it off for ya)

~

I turned in my test with only a few minutes to spare and returned back to my seat, stretching out my arms and cracking my neck as I did so.

The test itself wasn't bad because with it being open notes, the answer key was right beside me the entire time. The thing that drained me was how incredibly lengthy it was. With all of the paragraph responses, it was brutal. My hands were limp from handwriting.

After the test we were instructed to be quiet until everyone was done. Some people opted to chat. In low voices.

But with the room more or less silent, their words were distinct.

Which is what made it all the more difficult to finish the test.

So as I mindlessly doodled on a torn sheet of paper from my binder, I couldn't help but eavesdrop.

I recognized the voices immediately. Partially because they were right in front of me, speaking animatedly, but also because their voices came out high pitched and squeaky as they spoke.

Veronica and Savannah.

Veronica had a permanent frown on her face with olive skin and beady coal for eyes. Breaking news somehow always reached her first. She knew all the latest gossip and rumors, and when she wasn't talking about that, she was on social media, stalking profiles and digging up whatever she could.

Savannah was more on the popular end of the spectrum, with her luxurious golden hair and bright blue eyes. She was notoriously well-liked, and all of these things put together created a more or less perfect human being. As a result, people always rooted for her and her-crush-of-the-week to end up together, which they inevitably did, out of peer-pressure or not. Her dating life was always the latest and greatest news, and everyone wanted in on it.

"So. Is it true?" Veronica asked.

Savannah cocked her head to one side. "Is what true?"

Veronica glanced at her nails and picked at them. "That you broke up with Jack."

Holy cow, did she?

Sorry, just minding my own business here.

She looked up as Savannah's face dropped. "Oh yeah. Um, that. Yeah, it's true."

Oh wow, she did.

They were proclaimed the golden couple, which was every duo that Savannah was half of. Ironically, it would never last long, a few months at most. In some cases, a few weeks.

"You guys looked so good together. What happened?" Veronica's voice lost a little of its hard edge, only to be replaced with intrigue.

"He— he left me on read." Savannah managed as she bit her bottom lip.

"He ghosted you? Why though?" she inquired.

"I asked if he wanted to meet up. Multiple times. And he left me on read. Every. Single. Time. So I decided to break it off. And you know what the craziest part is?"

"What?"

Savannah let out a bitter laugh. "He responded immediately after I sent that message. He even tried calling me. I blocked him."

"That asshole." Veronica growled. But the inquisitive sparkle in her eyes demanded more information.

Savannah fed her more. "I can't believe I liked him. At school too, whenever I tried to talk about it he'd change the subject, or shut me up with a kiss."