Regrets||✓✓

alternate 18.7

Another week passed. The anonymous writer had signed out and stopped writing. What more was there to write? They'd written everything there was to know about Naija Mendelssohn.

A whole month of torturous moments. Of tears and guilt and heartaches.

Everything I had done in five years. The reputation I had built in a whole semester. Exposed, and ruined in a single month. And as the new month rolled by, so did a new level of confidence.

I wore black jeans, a green top and black and white running shoes, and threw on a camo jacket. I used a scarf to pack my hair into a high bun. Sending a message to Gold, I packed my bag and stepped out, locking my door. I acted unbothered but deep down I was a nervous wreck. Gold met with me wearing a similar outfit outside my building, handing me a cup of coffee and giving me a side hug.

"Ready?"

"I guess so."

As I walked people stood and called names and pointed fingers. Gold gave them all cold stares and called them names, but I tugged the edges of my lips downwards instead and looked at every single one of them. Fucking hypocrites. I was scared, to be honest, too. It could have been anyone of them, but who knew.

Soon we stood at the entrance of my first class, Use of English 101. Giving Gold a side glance, which she returned, I entered the class and marked myself present for the class. The class suddenly became noisy. All eyes were turned to me. I stood upright, my hands in my camo jacket's pockets, giving them a full smile and a cocked brow. I took the open seat in the front row and Gold sat beside me. "For the love of God, will you keep quiet?" They stopped the loud talk and reduced it to whispers. "What's causing the noise?"

I confidently raised my hand. "I'm afraid that would be me, Mrs. Moner. I'm so sorry. Please continue the class." She nodded and turned around. Gold pinched my arm. I smirked in response. Beat them at their own game. After a while she turned around and excused herself from the class. As expected, they started to talk about me again. "Naija is such a slut. She definitely has some nerve, coming back to class. Especially when all her secrets are out." I bent over, silently laughing. I stood and knelt on my seat, facing the dumb blonde who was talking about me to her circle of friends.

Oh, hi, Amy, nice to hear you talk about something other than yourself for once," I started, grinning broadly. " Quick question, though, have I been fucking through your vagina?" I cocked my head to the side, furrowing my brows still with that creepy grin on my lips. She gasped, shocked. Her friends' hands flew to their mouths in surprise. "Rather than talk about me and my secrets out in the open, why don't we talk about your boyfriend who fucked every single one of the idiots you keep in your circle, and how he's given you chlamydia but of course you wouldn't know, because you are too busy with someone else's business?" Everyone in the class became quiet, looking at us. She looked at the girls who sat beside her, some of which were ducking their heads in shame or scurrying out of the class.

One student I recognized in the theatre got up from his seat, clapping at me sarcastically. I looked at him in annoyance. "Well, well, well, look who grew a pair. Naija Mendelssohn, everyone." He came close. "Yunno, if it wasn't for the fact that we know that you're not only a slut, you're a renowned smoker and drunk, I would have stood up for against Amy."

"Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"One of the many students who red those articles about you. You think you're so smart, coming back in public like you aren't affected by what happened. You're a scared loser. Everyone in this class knows how big a loser you are. Not only do you suck dicks for fun, you suck at life. Flirting with your mom's boss like a pro and having sex with a married woman but you have the audacity to call out someone's cheating boyfriend? Bravo!" He started to clap again and people started to laugh. "Look at this person, people," he said loudly, "look at this hypocrite! Judging someone of their sins when they haven't been redeemed of their own! Ha!" Everyone in the class started to laugh.

My tough demeanor fell. What was I thinking, believing i was ready to face the general school populace. Chants of 'hypocrite' rang loudly in the class and I knew i had to leave. I scrambled to my seat, ignoring Gold's call. I even almost face planted the floor and they still laughed.

People were wicked. People were cruel. I ran home, blinded by tears, and jumped on my bed, sobbing. I was a fool to have thought I didn't care. I did, and it hurt to be attacked so openly.

And just as i expected, the video went viral the next day.

*****

I put this here so it'd be a bit more, mm, serious. Not all protagonists have to have a smart mouth to put all the haters down. Some of them need to bleed, and suffer for the consequences of their actions, and sometimes be unable to heal from it.

Anyway,

Vote, comment and share.

Love, AJ