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

Chapter Two

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Chapter Two

Before my high school era began, before I set foot in Riviera High for the first time as a student, I had assumed high school boys were hot. After watching Troy Bolten and Stefan Salvatore, who wouldn't think so? Thus, before any of it began, and after I had just been accepted here, I had expected there to be at least one boy who would get me tingly. At least one boy who would grab my attention in the first instant and make me want to stare at him all day.

When that didn't happen, I wondered if there was something wrong with me. My elder sister would often talk about crushing on some or the other boy, and when that didn't happen with me, doubts arose. I wanted to talk to someone about the issue, just didn't know who. I could have asked her about this, probably. Maybe she could have told me it was normal at my age, and that my hormones hadn't raged enough yet, but I was too much of a shy-baby back then.

However, as the day progressed, I found myself happier by the minute for not having that sudden attraction. Maybe I was lucky, after all, because what happened next made me hate these brats of boys a lot more than I already did - which was too much already.

When I heard that the new boy, Sameer belonged to the same place I did, I wanted to go and talk to him. He would be the first person I would be able to talk about something that mattered. Why shouldn't I be excited about the prospect?

I would know the answer weeks later.

That day, Sameer sat on the seat diagonal to my seat. Almost every time I turned around to talk to Sanya or Priya, I caught him staring at me from the corners of his eyes. It would have been easy to wave at him right then and there. He was already looking at me. And I would have probably done it too, had it not been for his sideward turned lips. A strange smirk marked his face - the meaning of which I was unable to decipher.

Once, it happened. I blamed it on anxiety. Twice, it happened. I blamed it on paranoia. Something inside me clicked. Maybe I was acting too much, surely all boys would be like this. Except, they weren't. No other boy gave me such a negative vibe as he did. And then, when this happened over and over again, my brain began giving me the 'red signal'. A part inside me yelled at me to 'stay away' every time I thought of striking a conversation with him.

The bell rang. The lesson was over. Everyone was free to talk, even though the teacher was still present in the class. He was still trying to say something at the last moment. Everyone ignored him. I looked around the classroom with disgust stuck on my face. No one seemed to respect him enough to stay silent in his presence.

A thought - why wouldn't these people respect the person who was giving them this education? A vow - to never to disrespect them in the same way.

"What do you think of Sameer?" Soniya, my seat partner for the day asked, breaking through my thoughts of disgust toward these people.

"What about him?" I asked back, trying to act nonchalant, while also trying to not let the uneasiness I felt upon hearing his name be noticed. I didn't want anyone to think of me as a freak, that too on the first day itself!

"Don't you find him cute?" she asked. A faint blush appeared on her face.

"I..don't think so," I answered, crinkling my forehead. I didn't know how else to reply.

"But he is," she repeated. "And he has been staring at me since morning. Do you think he likes me?"

Her pink cheeks turned brighter as her eyes roamed in every direction but me. Seeing her the way she was, I wondered if I had made the right choice by joining this school. I had no idea what was it in Sameer that attracted Soniya - maybe it was that he was new, or maybe he was from a different place than here - I had no idea. Except that, looking at her made me uneasy. I was no longer comfortable sitting at that seat. How could she not see that what that boy was doing was cheap and creepy? Had the girls here been brainwashed so hard that they found such gestures romantic? Did the boys think these gestures would help them win over a girl's heart?