Something About Alice Murphy: BOOK 2

P A R T - T W E L V E

Chapter Twelve: Moments and Realisations.
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Friday 5th April
12:00pm

The bell for lunch rang loudly, echoing through the halls as students across Summerland High began to pack up their things to start heading to lunch. Alice closed her notebook and began tucking her pen away in her fluffy yellow pencil case, her expression subtly blank as other students began to talk animatedly around her. "Don't forget your essay on the retrieval of memory is due next week Thursday! Don't leave it to the last minute!" The professor called over the buzz of talk as Alice slid her notebook and pencil case into her bag and picked up her text books to leave.

People watched her as she moved past them, stepping between the desks and keeping her eyes ahead as she heard conversations filter into whispers as she got closer. It had been like this for just under a week, ever since news broke of Jasper actually being an Andrew and blurred pictures of her nudity were leaked onto the web for all to see. Whispers and rumours spread through the school, and much like Chinese whispers the ones that got back to her ears seemed to be so far from the truth.

Once back at her locker she quietly put in her pin, hearing the quiet snickers of laughter from behind her. She ignored it well, but as she opened her locker, a sheet of paper fell out and wafted to the floor. Alice glanced down at it after sliding her book into a free slot and bent down to pick it up, ignoring the gathering of quiet laughter from across the hall behind her that was growing to irritate her, even if it was meant to blend in with the buzz of talk in the hallway.

She opened the paper, folding it up since it was only folded it two... and saw a blurred images of her with breasts sketched where hers were meant to be and a badly drawn figure of a man with his face in between them. She assumed the figure was meant to be Andrew, and she exhaled carefully as she continued to stare at it, feeling her heart begin to thud angrily in her chest. She found it amazing, how even in a messed up situation like this, someone managed to twist it to make it into a bad joke for their amusement. She knew some of the rumours had been that she had been sleeping with him, and that was obviously why he hadn't kidnapped or hurt her like the rest. She was being labelled as the girl who seduced the serial killer to escape death, and the amount of 'survivors guilt' some students, and even some parents, were trying to make her feel almost made her want to feel it.

The picture was suddenly taken from her hands, and Alice felt her heart jump as she had zoned out and hadn't noticed someone approach her. "What the fuck is this?" Magnus asked, his voice tense and angry as he stared down at the image.

"Nothing," Alice replied, taking the image back and scrunching it up. They had barely spoken since Monday, considering Alice still felt the stinging of anger in her chest. Their argument hadn't stopped them being around each other, but the tension was there nevertheless.

Magnus glanced up and around him, hearing the quiet chuckles seconds before the group of boys even noticed him there. His eyes focussed on one of them making an inappropriate gesture with his hands and his temper flared. He continued to stare angrily for a few seconds, and the boy felt the burn of it and looked back over, only to suddenly stop laughing as he saw Magnus glaring him.

They turned and filtered away into the sea of students in the hall before Magnus could comment, however he made sure to remember the faces of every person that had been in that group. "Since when did people start doing this?" Magnus asked as Alice stuffed her back into her locker and began to close it.

"Just today." She replied simply, tucking one side of her hair behind her ear and turning away to make her way towards the library. Magnus followed, his long strides putting him into step with her within a few seconds.