𝐆𝐎-𝐆𝐎 | 𝐬.𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬

𝟎𝟏𝟕. 𝐑𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐬 𝐈𝐭

Chapter 17

Rumour Has It

The following Monday seemed to arrive all too quickly, the golden hue of the sun lacking its usual sympathy as it gazed upon the homes of overworked students and their mentally drained parents.

Mitsy would never admit it out loud, but the disappearance of her brother laid heavily on the esteemed Rhode estate. The absence of the blonde boy caused an unfamiliar feeling to grow in her stomach, whether it was fear, anger or guilt, she couldn't say for certain—but god did it eat away at the fragile pieces of her usually protected heart.

The passenger seat had never felt more quiet in her daily drive to school. An empty space where Cadence had once claimed.

She slowly pressed her foot to the gas, her black Shelby Mustang rolling to a stop with the stagnation of her thought. Her eyes cleared from the frosted haze it once was and glanced at the surroundings she found herself in. She was still a whole block from school, rows and rows of small shops, old and new alike were still lined across the worn tar road. Why had she stopped...weird.

She soon found that the natural ray of the warm sun was quickly replaced with the fluorescent lights overhead, casting a sterile glow over the sea of students that trudged their way to class with tired steps.

Mitsy was no different, on the inside that is. On the outside she had her signature red lined grin and sharp eyes that watched the crowd scurry past to get out of her way.

She returned the pleasantries of tired staff and greeted her peers with a strained smile.

Her hand pushed open the door to her first class, at that moment the space could not have felt more mundane. The walls were adorned with black-and-white educational posters, maps, and the occasional portrait of a historical figure. Large, tall windows allow soft streams of natural light to filter in, casting a warm glow on the well-worn wooden floors.

At the front of the classroom stood a towering chalkboard, flanked by a wooden lectern where Mrs Abbot would drone on about information she would never use with a broken white chalk in hand. A globe sat in the corner, showcasing a world with different borders and countries she would never visit. The choking aroma of aged books and thick chalk dust lingered in the air, constricting her throat as one class blends into another, a blur of words, dates, and equations.

Pens scratched and pages turned as she wrote down perfectly scribed notes, taking every spare moment of time to study the expressions of her peers. Only to find that every single one is a mix of indifference and resignation.

"Hey!" A voice whispered, causing her head to shoot to the direction of the urgent call. A girl with mousy brown hair that curled in under her jaw, eyed her with her freckled face laced with questions.

"Someone told me about your brother, Cadence right?" her eyes went wide, causing Mitsy to sneer at her unpleasantly.

"Y'know, there's this rumour going around that your kid brother had something to do with Bob getting shanked, everyones been shitting on his friends, they wanna kick 'em off the team...y'know..." She shifted, her view anxiously shifting from left to right.

The blonde stared at her curiously. How had she not heard? She had no idea who started it, where it came from. but it had to be someone with social status to be able to convince everyone of something that was entirely false, right? He didn't do it... right?

"You're joking." She quipped, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back in the uncomfortable wooden chair. Only for the brown-haired girl to shake her head.