Mirror Girl (Editing!)

Chapter 10: The rumour

As the afternoon slowly came to an end, I was getting more and more anxious about whether Sammie had actually started to tell people about Lucy and Richard. I had really been hoping that she would have forgotten about the whole thing and just left it, how wrong I was.

When I reached the outside of the history block, where I usually meet Lucy after school, I was greeted to a very angry Lucy. At first I had no idea what I had done, but I soon had a very good idea.

“Hey!” I said casually, trying to lighten her mood. But her face said that nothing I could do could help. As I stood in front of her I could see that look in her eyes. The look that tells you that someone has upset her, very badly. “Hi!” I said again, forcing a small smile. No answer. We just stood there staring at each other, waiting for the other one to say something. She then looked me straight in the eyes. “So, what up?” I tried for the third time, hoping I will get a reply this time.

“I’ll tell you what’s up!” She finally said, nearly shouting at me. It was clear as crystal now that it was me that has upset her. But how? I haven’t done anything, I hope.

“Hey calm down! What’s happened?”

“Don’t act so innocent, you know what’s happened!”

“What, what are you talking about?” I asked, very confused.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what’s going on!” She said, her whole face going red with frustration and anger.

“What, I really don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“What have you been saying about me and Richard?”

“Nothing, why would I? And why would you even think that?”

“Well it’s kind of a giveaway since all afternoon we’ve had loads of people asking if we’re going out! And when we asked who told them they all said they heard it from one of our friends!”

“But why would you think me? What have I done to make you think that I would ever do something like that?” I shouted back, losing my temper. Still trying to get my head around what’s exactly going on.

“One word, Richard!” She replied, looking me straight in the eyes again, as if she was looking straight through me.

“What, what about him?”

“Oh, like you don’t know what I mean!”

“I don’t!” She then looked round to make sure no one was listening. Like that was possible as everyone around us was listening in. Then she dragged me round the corner out of sight.

“You like him! And that’s fine, I don’t care that you do! But I do care that you spreading rumors about us just to make him like you more!” She shouted, but lowered but voice a bit.

“What, why would I do that! I know you do care if anyone but you likes him, you can see it in your looks to people who do like him. And anyway it’s so obvious that he likes you way more than anyone else! You can see it in his eyes. And anyway so what if I like him and want him to like me, it’s never going to happen. Because he likes you and no one else!” After I said this, I could feel tears welling in my eyes. At a glance, you could see that Lucy felt the same way. I could clearly see the tears in her eyes, but she’s holding them back. Then for a minute, her face softened. It looked like she had forgiven me for what she thought I had done, but when ours eyes met, that look in her eyes was still raging. I could see the anger return to her face and something else. But what I couldn’t tell.

“If you do like him, then why haven’t you said before?” She asked her face and tone softening a bit.

“Because I didn’t want to hurt you!” Then we stood in silence. I was tempted just to walk away, but somehow I knew there was still more to come.

“Well if don’t want to hurt me, then why spread the rumour? I mean if you hide the fact that you like him so you won’t hurt me, then how am I meant to feel about you spreading the rumour and everyone knowing even though I told you that we don’t want anyone to know just yet!”

“Because I didn’t start or spread the rumor. It wasn’t me!”

“Then who was it?” She asked uncertainly, still not fully convinced that I didn’t do it.

“I don’t know?” I stopped to think back for a moment to earlier this afternoon. I suddenly remembered that Sammie had a really awful plan to tell everyone about them. But could it really be her? Would she ever really do a thing like that? “Sammie!” I mumbled to myself.

“What?” She said, the anger still rising in her voice.

“It was Sammie!” I shouted at her with excitement and relief.

“What? Why would she do that? She doesn’t have anything against us and doesn’t fancy Richard!”

“I don’t have anything against you either!” Then there was silence between us.

“So, if it what her, then why?” She asked me, as if I had all the answers, which somehow I did.

“Well earlier she told me that she had a plan to…..” I suddenly stopped, not wanting to continue. If I carried on with my story, then I know she’ll just stop me half way through before I would finish. How right I was.

“Go on!” She said, her voice calming.

“Um, she said she had a plan to make Richard like me more!” As I said this I could clearly see the horror on her face. “But, but I told her not to do it and if she did I wouldn’t be friends with her anymore!” I added quickly, before she had a chance to argue that I did it and not Sammie. I thought that that would persuade her that I’m innocent and that Sammie did and not me. But I could still see the hurt and anger raging in her eyes all over again. Something clearly told me that nothing I could say now would change her mind.

“I don’t believe you!” She said, a tear slowly trickling down her cheek.

“Fine! Don’t believe your oldest and most trusted friend!” I shouted at her, finding the tears in my eyes suddenly hard to hold back.

“Well that’s what I thought you were too! Until you did this just to steal Richard! Why?” She shouted back.

“For the hundredth time, I didn’t do it! And anyway I wasn’t trying to steal Richard, why would I do that? I mean yes at first I did fancy him a bit but, I‘m over him now!”

“Yeah, like that’s true! I can tell you still like him even if you won’t admit it! It was so obvious that you liked him even when you found out he already had a girlfriend! But even though you knew that you still want him to be your boyfriend and not mine!”

“No! I never….” I trailed off. “You know what; I’m not even going to bother trying to convince you that one I don’t like him anymore!” I said this bit with my fingers crossed. I don’t like him that much anymore, but I still do a little tiny bit. And even though Lucy won’t believe anything I say, I’m not going to break my life’s promise and start lying to her. “Two I didn’t start the rumor and have nothing to do with it or how it started, and three I know for a fact that Sammie did it. Not because she wanted something, but because she thought it would make me happy! But right now, I feel the exact opposite of what she had planned!” When I’d finished, I took one look at her face and then turned to walk away round the corner. It’s not my way home, but right now I can’t bear to be with anyone at all.

“Oh, and one more thing……” I said as my voice slowly started fading away, turning round for one last time. “You know I said that Sammie started the rumor to make me happy?”

“Yeah!” I heard her reply, sounding eager to hear what I had to say.

“Well, I stopped liking Richard to make you happy!”

And with that, I turned away from her and ran round the corner and burst into silent tears.