Labels

2.

Rowan Hawthorn rubbed her eyes and looked up from her desk. Her head was pounding with a headache. God. Rowan didn't normally drink on Sundays, since there was school the next day, but there had been some pretty nasty things about her and what happened on Friday online and she just needed to forget for a little while. And now, on a Monday morning, she was paying the price.

Rowan's headache wasn't strong enough to tune out the gossip that was being exchanged between all the other students in the English classroom, unfortunately.

"...made out with eight different guys and then went home with Jake," a small Asian girl with pigtails and glasses whispered to her neighbour, a blonde girl, who instantly turned around to look at Rowan.

Rowan just rolled her eyes. It was actually seven, but she didn't bother to correct them. They could think whatever they liked. It's not like she would care.

She tossed her dark hair behind her shoulders and started to tap her fingernails on the wooden desk, willing the bell that marked the start of first period to ring so the rumour exchange would finally stop. Maybe then she could have some peace.

She looked up to see a girl enter the classroom. The girl waved to Melody Thompson, who was farther down the hallway, and then walked over to where Rowan was sitting.

"Hi, can I sit here?" She said, smiling shyly and straightening her strawberry blond ponytail. She was small, with square glasses and a blue cable-knit sweater that seemed several sizes too big for her.

"Go ahead," replied Rowan, gesturing to the seat beside her. She wasn't sure why this girl wanted to sit with her, not many people did. She's probably new, Rowan thought.

The girl sat, sliding her dark blue bag under her seat. "I'm Paige," she said.

"Rowan." She held out her hand, and Paige shook it. "You're new, aren't you?"

"Yep," said Paige, shrugging. "I moved here a couple of weeks ago and I'm starting school today."

Rowan nodded, looking upwards. The lights on the ceiling were so bright that Rowan wanted to shoot herself looking at them. She hastily looked down to ease the pain on her eyes.

"So, how's the English teacher? Is he or she any good?"

"Mrs. Patel's okay," Rowan was aware she was being a bit vague, but she wasn't used to having conversations such as this one with people.

Paige's reply was drowned out by the buzzing sound of the bell. Great. Rowan spent all this time wishing the bell would ring, and it does only when she found something to get her mind off all the gossip about her. Just great.

And as Mrs. Patel entered the classroom to start the first period class, Rowan wondered if she would even make it through the day.

***

So far, Rowan had made it through two classes, and it was time for lunch. That was when the worst of the gossiping happens. She usually sat alone outside, since she didn't like to hear what other people had to say about her, so she exited the science classroom and started down the hallway towards the track. She felt people staring as she walked, and one girl tried to trip her, but she just stepped over the girl's extended leg and continued walking. She was so distracted by whoever tried to trip her without any provocation that she didn't look where she was going. Her shoulder hit someone else's, hard, and she whipped around to see who it was.

Toby Goldsmith stood in front of her, a glare on his face. She met his glare with her own. She didn't like him, not for personal reasons but for his status. He was given a label, 'the player', much like she was given her own, 'the slut'. He was basically the male version of her, but instead of being hated for it, he was celebrated for it. He was celebrated for sleeping around, for getting drunk and going to parties, while Rowan was bullied by basically everyone in the school for it. Yeah, she wasn't a huge fan of Toby Goldsmith.