Please Write Back

Chapter 6

I sat up in bed the next morning, the house silent. I check the time, and it's 6:30, just around the time I should wake up. Before quietly creep down the stairs I peek into my parents' room across the hall. My dad is still asleep, even though he would normally be wide awake by now. Maybe he took off from work. I go back into my room and change out of my pajamas, packing up my books for school afterwards. I didn't eat breakfast or say goodbye to my dad, especially since I am already almost late for first period.

I haven't even checked the post about me since I left school yesterday. Honestly, I don't even want to see it and all the views and comments it got. As I started getting closer to the building, I saw groups of friends talking to each other, and I try to quickly walked past them, listening in on part of their conversations as I weave in and out of groups of people. There was this one thing a person said that really caught my attention: "I saw an ambulance outside his house yesterday." I froze on the spot, and when people saw me, they looked as if there was something wrong with me. 

Leaving me no choice at this point, I check the post to see what all the buzz is about. In the comments, people are saying a bunch of things:

         I saw an ambulance in front of his house.

                      His sister was on a stretcher yesterday right after school. 

 I never knew Earnest would do such a thing.

                          You guys are so gullible. He obviously wouldn't do that.

      I saw Earnest walking to the hospital building.

                                                                           Did Earnest hurt his sister? 

                                                  Is the sister okay?

She had bruises on her face.

                                       How do you know that's her?

         Looks exactly like Earnest. Only more beat up because of him.

                He tried to kill her. Watch out.

I look at the comments in shock. Not only does everyone think I hurt my sister, but they're spying on me as if I'm a murderer. Just one note that has been shared everywhere, and everyone already thinks I have hurt my sister. 

As I walk through the halls, some students are walking around me as usual, but everyone is giving me a strange glance. Sarah is by her locker, and I walk up to her, hoping to get some comfort. 

"Hey," I say to her, standing behind her. 

She turns around with a worried look on her face. "That post is insane. Everyone is saying how your sister is hurt."

I scratch my head. "My sister is in the hospital. She fell down the stairs and hurt her head."

"Did you really... push—"

"I didn't push her!" I say, interrupting her. "Why would you believe that? I was out working!"

Sarah stepped back towards her locker. "I was just asking. You don't need to get so defensive."

"Defensive?" I ask. "Everyone thinks I hurt my sister, and now you do too? After all that, you say I'm being defensive? It was an accident for all I know."

"Because you just happened to write that you want to kill your sister. And the same day she trips and falls down the stairs."

I feel offended. Even my closest friend thinks I did this. "You don't believe me, do you?"

Sarah gives me a long stare and, after closing her locker, walks away. "See you later, I guess," she says I stand there in the middle of the hallway, feeling helpless. 

I don't even feel like talking to anyone anymore, I think to myself, quickly storming down the hall with my head low. I can't believe Sarah. 

I feel someone hold my shoulders. "Woah, woah, woah, slow down," a familiar voice says as I skid to a stop.

I look up at the person and almost fall over but I catch myself. "A-Alexander!"

"Yep, that's me," he replies, taking his hands off me. "Oh hey, you work at the café, right?"

"Yeah." I reply, my heart pounding in my chest. It's actually him. He came to my school and he's actually talking to me. I thought I'd never see him again after the encounter in the café. And here he is, standing right in front of me.

He holds out his hand, and I hesitate to shake it at first. "You already know I'm Alexander. But you can just call me Alex for short."

I nod, showing that I heard what he said. "I'm Earnest."

He smiles at me with a twinkling in his eyes. "Is it okay if I call you Earn? For short?"

"O-Okay. Sure," I say as he lets go of my hand. "Weren't you at some other school?" I ask, trying to start a conversation.

"Yeah, I used to go to this private school. They went bankrupt, so they closed down. So now I'm here."

So now what do I say? Just ask another question, I tell myself. "So why did you decide to go here?"

"I don't know. My mom just moved me here. But it seems okay here." 

The bell rings, meaning it's time for class.

"It's already time for class. See you later!"

Alex walks off, just like Sarah. But this time it feels different. Not like I'm lonely anymore. He said he wanted to see me later. Like at lunch? Or after school? Or did he say that just to be nice? But it's not like he knows anyone else. And it's not like anyone will sit with me at lunch anymore.

I go to my class, my heart fluttering. But that feeling is crushed as I walk into class. Everyone stares at me, and I'm reminded of Rain. I sit down at my desk in the back of the room next to Sarah, and she doesn't look at me. Throughout the whole class, she doesn't pass me a note about anything.

Afterwards, I separate myself from Sarah and try to focus on myself. It's hard to not let everyone put me down, but I try my best. I used to get no attention at all, and now I am, but it's not the way I wanted to.