It's Only Gossip

16

Honestly, I don't know what I'm doing in life especially that I'm in school on a Sunday. I will repeat that, voluntarily at school on a Sunday. It's been two minutes yet I see no food yet alone people. Please tell me this isn't a prank.

"Aura?" I arch an eyebrow at her, trying to examine her mood.

She completely ignores me but to be fair, I don't think she heard me. Ever since we came to school, she hasn't said at word at my continuous rants. She's just sitting on a chair with her phone in her lap. She's biting her lips, I hope it doesn't get swollen. She carries on looking at the table. I can't believe it took me two minutes to realize this. I am so self centred. I need to make amends.

Suddenly, a teacher (well so I thought) walks into the classroom and gives me a sympathetic nod so I shoot her a confused smile. She sits on the table Aura & I are sitting on and turns to face Aura.

"Hello Aura." Then she faces me, "Hello Aura's friend." She formally smiles.

"Levi." I introduce myself and she nods.

Then her attention is back on Aura and so is mine.

"Aura?" Gently, she captures her attention.

"Oh- um, h-helloo..." Aura hesitates.

For the couple years I've known her, I've only seen her hesitate once or twice. Shit, I should've known. She never told me but I should've known. Gosh, I can't... Damn. Why did it take me this long to realize? Two minutes too late.

The first time I saw her hesitate was two years ago. It felt like she was a completely different person. We didn't know what to do and by we I mean Meredith & I. Only we realised her complete change in behaviour. Sure the others noticed but they didn't realize the significance of it. A few weeks later, we find out that Daphne, her little sister, got kidnapped when she was supposed to be looking after her. We thought that Aura left the house to hang out with people but that wasn't the case. She was in the house with Daphne when the unknown kidnapper threatened to shoot her if she interfered. So she didn't. She was too scared. She felt helpless. There, right in front of her eyes, her little sister was kidnapped. Nobody has seen her since.

Well, I'm guessing that's no longer the case. The real question is, was she found alive?

"Don't blame yourself, it's not your fault." I lower my head to try make eye contact with her.

A silent tear drops from her face and then another but she doesn't make a sound. All she does is shake her head in disapproval.

"She's a-alive." She blurts out but her facial expression doesn't seem very happy.

"Oh my God! That's amazing!" I cheer in attempt to make her smile.

She forcefully nods her head as I try to get my head around this. Daphne is alive. After two years, they found her. I guess there's hope for everyone. Aura's still looking at the table so as gently as I can, I tap her. Continuously, she shakes her head and I raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"What's the matter Aura?" The teacher speaks up. Then I finally realize that she's not a teacher, she's the school's therapist.

"I can't do this any more. She looks at me, her eyes holding nothing else but hate." She finally looks up to quickly wipe a tear.

"Give her time to adjust, she's been away for two years. She probably feels lonely." The therapist advises.

Aura nods her head and then turns to me, I give her a reassuring smile and she smiles back. Quickly she gets up from her seat and gratefully thanks the therapist with a glow of happiness in her eyes. Aura & I walk out of the room which appears to be the therapist's office. Why didn't I realize earlier on? Oh yeah, I practically ran here to catch up with Aura's pace.

She shoots me a wide grin.

"What?" I step back with a concerned and scared look in my eyes.

"We're going to socialise, woo!" She drags me to a room filled with people and food.

She wasn't kidding.

There's free pizza.

With no regrets, I run to the free pizza not really caring about the glances being shot at me as I take a huge slice. A huge grin is stuck on my face while I gladly eat the pizza.

"Levi, Aura, you both made it!" Courtney skips towards us, I didn't realize that Aura was next to me.

I wave, not taking my eyes of the pizza and then I realize that Courtney and Aura already know each other.

They hug each other and Courtney quickly whispers something to Aura but I don't quite catch what she's saying.

"So, what is this place or gathering?" I ask soon after I swallow my pizza.

"It's a place where we anonymously give advice to people." She explains and I nod in approval for her to carry on. "Anonymously, people emails us their problems and we respond back."

"Oh, it's like that... Um I forgot, but in the first episode of Drake & Josh, Josh did that." I confirm.

"Exactly!" Courtney beams at me and Aura.

Aura nudges me, "So do you want to start?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Me giving advice? I don't think I'm the right person, I'm sorry." I deny their request apolitically.

They both exchange looks with each other, silently communicating with each other through their eyes or maybe they're telepathic.

"Oh don't worry about it." Courtney shrugs. "If you change your mind, you know where we are."

I smile at her and apologise once again.

"Make sure you don't tell anybody. Nobody can know it's any of us." Aura gestures to the entire room and I nod.

I scurry out of school and contemplate where I should go. I'm full so I don't really need food but that's never stopped me before. So why not?

I enter Subway and that's when I see them. I see Madison and my maths teacher holding hands. I repeat, holding hands, all couple like. Gross and so inappropriate. I don't want to create a scene so I quickly exit the shop and head to my dorm, contemplating what on earth just happened.