Confessions of A School Slut: A Story about Slut-Shaming ✓

Chapter Six

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Chapter Six

"How dare you!" Piyush exclaimed, getting up from his chair, looking at me with nothing but fire in his eyes. If looks could shoot, I'd be shot a million daggers by now. "How dare you slap my friend!"

"How dare I? You're asking me how dare I? I'll tell you how I dare," I answered hysterically. "Less than three months ago, I was a new girl, someone who just wanted to study, make some friends and make her parents proud. I didn't know anyone here. Not anyone except you.

"I trusted you. Yes, I was uncomfortable in the beginning but I hoped we'd get back to that place we were before I left. I'd wanted to. I thought about changing my section to yours, even though it had that bastard, Sameer in it. I still tried.

"All that I wanted was to make friends. To lead a normal happy high school life like everyone else. Instead, what did I get? Hostile stares, angry looks and dirty words. And for what? For sending a one-word message to your friend. And the next thing I know, I'm a slut. No one believed me when I told them no. No one. And why would they when you weren't r—"

"Are you going to simply stand there or say something?" he asked. I looked around consciously. That's when I realized I hadn't said any of this out loud. I didn't have the strength to. Some things were better left unsaid.

I shook my head. Piyush wasn't worth my time. None of these were, maybe. Turning around, I was about to leave when his voice stopped me once again.

"I've been controlling myself since a long time, Riddhika," Piyush began. "But enough is enough already. First you lie to me. Then you humiliate my best friend by lying to him. Then you blame my other best friend for something that you did in the first place. All of this why? Just to gain popularity. Who the fuck do you think you are?" He almost yelled at me while I merely stood there, not knowing what to say. Is that what he always thought of me? That I would downgrade my own reputation only to gain some popularity? That I would spread such rumors about my own self for the sake of popularity? To hell with popularity, I don't need any of it. I'd give it all in a second if that meant leading a happy life in a corner. I wouldn't hesitate once. Not once.

"I thought you knew me," I finally said, controlling myself so as to not choke on my own words. "I thought you understood me. I thought we were friends."

"Yeah well, you ruined that when you left town," he replied distastefully. His tone indicated his casualness. Maybe all of this meant nothing to him anyway.

I opened my mouth to muster a reply, even though no words were ready to come out.

"Ridhika, we can discuss this quietly," Kush said before any more words were exchanged. "I'm sorry I referred to you as that. I didn't mean it like that at all. I respect you and I know all of that was a lie. Now can we talk p—"

"Save it, Kush," I cut him off, raising my hand to silence him. "Save it for someone who isn't someone else's reject. Save it for someone who you will first listen to before claiming her to be something she is not. Save it for someone you can actually respect."

With that, I marched outside the cafeteria, not stopping for a moment to think how people would behave with me that moment onward.

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The first thing I did after rushing outside was go to the washroom. Luckily for me, no one was present there, as of yet. I rushed inside one cubicle to spend the rest of the lunch hour in solitude. I had no intention of talking to anyone for the rest of the day.