Chapter Twenty-Two


    Piper still wasn’t on the bus Lila took the next morning. While odd, it wasn’t the end of the world – Piper had somehow arrived at school yesterday morning, so Lila supposed it would be the same today.


    Thankfully, Lila’s locker didn’t seem as though it had any further intruders. The photo was still face-down inside. She pulled out her English and Biology materials with a sigh before heading off to the Language Block.


    Asher was outside their English classroom and gave her a sideways glance but otherwise didn’t interact with her. His hands were firmly shoved in his pockets and he was glaring at an innocent-looking palm tree that was swaying gently in the breeze outside the classroom. It felt as though he was oozing a steady stream of anger. Lila didn’t dare approach him.


    They still sat next to each other in English despite the fact that the project was over. No one had wanted to change their seating arrangements so late in the term, so Lila was stuck beside a broody Asher. She hoped he wasn’t angry with her as she tried to listen to Ms Shard’s lecture on the next book that they would be analysing for the next term. It was Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, which enthralled no one.


    Biology was next, and neither Cecelia nor Lucas spoke to Lila. She thought it was odd, but they didn’t seem unfriendly either. Perhaps they were concerned with their final Biology exam next Monday. Lila couldn’t dwell on it, however. She had more important things to worry about.


    As she made her way to her locker for morning tea, Lila’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She took it out and saw an unknown caller was calling her. Curious, she answered, slowing her pace on the pathway.


    “Hello?”


    “Hey. Is this the right number?” a male voice asked, breathing heavily.


    “For what?” Lila asked sharply, tilting her head to the side. A few students turned around to look at her, but turned back around almost as quickly.


    “For the whore,” the voice said, sounding almost as perplexed as Lila felt.


    “Who is this?” Lila asked, alarm rising in her voice. “How did you get my number?”


    “What a tease,” the voice sighed before hanging up. Lila stared at her phone for a moment before putting it back in her pocket, shaking her head.


    Elise and Grace were already standing at Lila’s locker, each holding a piece of fruit for morning tea.


    “Hey,” Lila said, still unable to shake her confusion, “I just got a weird phone call.”


    “What about?” Grace asked, taking a bite of her apple.


    “Someone asked me about a… whore?” Lila replied, pulling out a mandarin from her lunchbox.


    “That’s weird,” Elise frowned. “Wrong number?”


    “Hope so,” Lila laughed, closing her locker door. They hadn’t made it very far towards the Home Ec building before Lila’s phone buzzed again. It was another unknown caller.


    “Hello?” Lila asked as she answered the call.


    “Yo!” a male voice distinctly different from the one that called a few minutes ago.


    “Uh, who is this?” Lila responded.


    “Jackson,” the caller said, his tone distinctly flirtatious now. “How much are your… services?”


    Lila hung up immediately, her mouth agape. What was going on?


    Her phone buzzed again, and she saw it was a text message from yet another unknown number. They were asking what services she was offering and how much. She passed her phone to Grace, who looked at the message in bewilderment.


    “What the heck?” Grace queried, passing it to Elise, who looked just as puzzled.


    “Did someone put your number on one of those weird websites?” Elise questioned, giving Lila back her phone.


    “What kinda websites are you looking at?” Lila asked, frowning as she put her phone back in her pocket. Elise looked as though she was about to answer when Lila’s phone buzzed yet again. It was another unknown caller.


    “Who’s this?” Lila asked, her tone distinctly angry.


    “Whoa, kitty, calm down,” a male voice laughed. “You’re a bit feisty.”


    Lila’s chest filled with an overwhelming feeling of panic. She was almost hyperventilating now, her hands quivering almost to the point of dropping her phone. Elise took the phone from her.


    “Stop calling,” she snarled, hanging up.


    “I’m keeping this,” Elise said, shoving Lila’s phone in her pocket. “Just ignore them. Must be a prank.”


    Lila nodded sullenly and followed Elise and Grace’s lead to the Home Ec building. A few people stared at them before bursting into laughter as the girls walked across the grass to a spare spot. Some of the people in Piper’s group continued to laugh even as others subsided, wiping away non-existent tears. Lila saw Piper smirking in her direction, but tried to remain calm as she swiftly surveyed who else was here. She couldn’t see Asher and Isaac, but perhaps they were still coming.


    Lila, Grace, and Elise sat down and quietly ate their morning tea. Elise occasionally took Lila’s phone out of her pocket but said nothing about what was happening on it. Lila didn’t want to ask. The looks and whispers surrounding them told Lila more than enough. Something had clearly happened that she was in the centre of.


    All seemed relatively normal with Piper’s group, albeit with a few more looks in their direction than usual. Eventually, Lila, Grace, and Elise were back in the locker room, taking out their materials for the next lesson, before making their way to their PC classroom.


    It seemed like another lesson where students were left to their own devices in PC, with Ms Wang busy marking assessments. Lila kept her head down, trying not to draw any further attention to herself. Elise reluctantly returned Lila’s phone at the end of class, given they didn’t share any others for the rest of the day.


    “We’ll see you at lunch, Lila,” Grace said with a small smile as they reached a fork in their paths.


    “I’ll keep an ear out for what Piper’s saying in German again,” Elise said tensely. “Though I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep from socking her.”


    “Please don’t,” Lila sighed. “That’ll be more trouble than it’s worth.”


    “But it’s so frustrating not being able to do anything!” Elise cried, throwing her hands in the air. “I know you want to talk to her at the end of the week, but what’s the point in waiting?”


    Lila fell silent, shifting her weight awkwardly.


    “I… can’t do it right now,” Lila finally admitted, looking at her shoes. “Just… so many things have happened at once, I need to breathe for a bit.”


    “That’s fine, Lila,” Grace cut in, placing an arm on Elise’s shoulder as if to hold her back. “We’ll support whatever you want to do.”


    “Thanks, guys,” Lila smiled, waving as she continued walking to Japanese.


    Her phone buzzed again, and she pulled it out. She had 32 unread messages and 16 missed calls. The latest message was a simple question mark from an entirely unknown number. How did all these people know her phone number?


    Like she had been during the week, Lila kept an eye on Piper during lunch. Yet again, people seemed to be laughing at Lila as she entered the vicinity of the Home Ec building and yet again Lila didn’t see Asher or Isaac anywhere. More phone calls and messages came through to her phone, but she was trying her best to ignore them for now. Truthfully, with each message or phone call that buzzed her phone, Lila’s stress levels rose even further. She wasn’t sure how much she could take, but as soon as classes resumed for the afternoon, they stopped.


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    Lila was sure, now, that all the messages and calls were coming from students, and they were most likely Forestglade College students. How they all knew her phone number and why they all had similar reasons for contacting her, Lila still couldn’t figure out. Potentially, the photo of her and Asher that was stuck inside her locker had made its way to the rest of the school? But... she hadn’t seen anything floating around – no flyers, no posters, nothing. If it was spreading through social media, Grace or Elise would’ve seen it and sent it through to Lila, but they seemed just as lost for ideas as she was.


    Lila tried to think all through Design, but nothing that would fit the scenario playing out before her came to her. It was also difficult trying to think during Design given the stares she was receiving. Every time Lila looked up, it was a different student who quickly turned away from her. Design was generally a very quiet class, so the silence accompanying the awkward looks she was receiving didn’t seem that unusual.


    Once she was released, however, Lila felt a sense of dread weighing on her shoulders. She had Study now with both Piper and Asher in the library. She didn’t want to see either of them, but it was the best opportunity she had to observe Piper, given she was always sitting in view of Lila.


    After signing in with her Study supervisor, Lila settled in at her usual booth, which was empty. She had half-thought that Asher would be sitting there, like he had before their presentation. Piper sailed in with Ayla soon after, smiling in a carefree manner as they spoke about something. Lila was too far away to hear what they were talking about, but Piper glanced in her direction and sniggered. Lila’s face flushed with anger. She inhaled deeply, her jaw clenched as she looked down at her laptop. Whilst her assessments were handed in already, she did have a few exams next week that she needed to study for.


    The trek to the bus station after Study was over felt more arduous than usual. Piper was just ahead of Lila, her footsteps bouncy and light. It seemed as though she was in quite a good mood, though Lila didn’t have any idea why that would be. Daniel was on this bus today, but he didn’t look at Lila as she sat down. Perhaps he was coming home early to study for exams?


    Lila’s phone was buzzing almost non-stop whilst the bus roared through the streets towards home. She let out a frustrated sigh and turned her vibration mode off entirely before she looked out the window, her eyes glazing over. Eventually, the bus rolled to a stop outside her usual bus stop and Lila and Daniel exited. With a quick glance at who was left on the bus, Lila saw that Piper was still there.


    Daniel and Lila didn’t speak a word to each other as they walked home. Daniel seemed off somehow, but Lila didn’t have the energy to ask him what was up.


    Clare greeted them upon arrival without getting up from the couch and they both gave her a muffled “Hey” in return. Lila climbed the steps to her bedroom and shut herself away just as she had been doing during the week. Throwing her bag unceremoniously to the floor, she tucked herself into bed and had almost fallen asleep before a knock sounded at her door.


    “Yeah?” she called, unmoving. The door slowly opened with a creak. Lila expected Clare to come in, but it was Daniel. He sidled in awkwardly and shut the door behind him, taking a deep breath.


    “U-Uh, sis…” he said hesitantly, still standing by the door.


    “That’s me,” sighed Lila, tightening the blankets around her. “What do you want?”


    He clenched his jaw before crossing the room and sitting in her desk chair.


    “I… I don’t know how to say it,” Daniel said, looking at the floor. He seemed really uncomfortable. Lila sat up, concerned and fully awake now.


    “Is everything okay?” she asked, reaching out to touch his arm.


    “I mean, I’m all good,” Daniel replied, fidgeting with his hands. He breathed deeply again before he pulled out his phone, tapping rapidly on it.


    “Here,” he said, slowly giving it to her. Her heart sank as she registered what she was looking at. It was the photo that had been in her locker yesterday, complete with the message calling Lila a whore and listing her phone number. But there was something odd about this copy of the photo. She zoomed in and saw that Asher’s face was blurred out, though his school uniform was clear as day. This was evidently a different copy than the one that was hiding in her locker.


    “Where did you find this?” she whispered, her voice wavering.


    “In the boys’ bathroom,” he said quietly. “There’s actually a copy in all the boys’ bathrooms.”


    All the air in Lila’s lungs escaped as she stared at Daniel in disbelief. “W-What?”


    “Someone told me about it at lunch today,” he said, still averting his gaze. “Uh, he tried to borrow money from me. When I asked what he needed it for, he said that there’s a girl in Grade 11 who’s offering some… services. S-So he wanted some cash.”


    “I’m guessing he didn’t know that the ‘girl in Grade 11’ is your sister,” Lila sighed, passing Daniel his phone back. He nodded solemnly.


    “What’s going on, Lila?” he asked. “I pulled this photo down at lunch but when I came back an hour later, a new one was in its place. You’re not… actually-”


    “Of course I’m not,” Lila said, pinching the bridge of her nose.


    “Are you okay?” he asked, looking incredibly serious for once. Lila rubbed her face as she contemplated telling Daniel the truth – that she was a few centimetres away from a nervous breakdown. But… he was her little brother. This was her fight. He didn’t need to know.


    “Yeah,” Lila said, smiling at Daniel. “I’ll sort it out. You don’t need to worry.”


    “I can’t help worrying, sis. This is so messed up.”


    “I know,” she said softly, pulling Daniel in for a hug, who resisted half-heartedly. “Thank you for letting me know.”


    He looked at her doubtfully and stood up.


    “I won’t tell Clare,” he said. “She’ll just freak out.”


    “I agree,” Lila replied, nodding. “Thanks.”


    He left the room, closing the door softly behind him. Lila waited for his footsteps to fade away before throwing herself back into the bed. She couldn’t hold back her tears anymore.


    For the first time in a long time, Lila cried into her pillow until she fell asleep.


    <hr>


    Lila almost missed her usual bus on Thursday morning. She had been so exhausted that she hadn’t heard her first couple alarms. She didn’t bother packing lunch today so she could make it on time.


    Piper was sitting on the bus this morning, looking prim and proper as she avoided Lila’s gaze. To Lila, Piper looked almost smug, which angered Lila somewhat. If Piper was behind all of this, there was no way that she didn’t know how it would be affecting Lila. It was almost sociopathic.


    ‘Clare’s been rubbing off on me,’ Lila thought with a wry smile.


    Lila’s morning classes passed without consequence, and she was relieved when morning tea came around. Sitting so still with everything that was happening around her was almost torture, so she welcomed the opportunity to stretch her legs. Grace and Elise met with her and they made their way to the Home Ec building as usual. Lila briefly checked her phone and saw that her missed calls and messages had grown to 40 and 82 respectively.


    During morning tea, they watched Piper’s group, who seemed to be going about their business as usual through gossiping and snide laughter. Upon spotting Lila, Piper’s group’s laughter increased exponentially. They seemed so carefree, unlike Lila who felt like a desperate bird in a cage that was far too small. Asher and Isaac were still nowhere in sight, but Lila shrugged it off. Perhaps they were in the library, studying for exams. Asher was the Dux, after all.


    Upon entering their PC class a few minutes early, however, Lila was surprised to see Ms Wang walk towards her, her face entirely serious.


    “Lila, can I please ask you to come with me?” Ms Wang asked, her tone giving away nothing regarding the context for the request. Lila nervously nodded, and Ms Wang turned to Grace.


    “Grace, I’m leaving you in charge for the moment, please. I’ve printed the roll – it’s next to my computer.”


    Ms Wang led Lila away from the classroom and towards a spare meeting room a few doors down. She tapped her staff ID card on the receiver and opened the door for Lila, who anxiously walked in. There was no one else in the room, which helped Lila relax a little, but otherwise, she was finding it hard to breathe.


    Ms Wang closed the door softly behind her and gestured to an empty seat. Lila sat down, fumbling with her hands. Ms Wang sat across from Lila, her face rather stern but not unkind.


    “I’ve received a few reports,” Ms Wang began gently, “of some alleged unsavoury behaviour.”


    Lila looked up at Ms Wang but didn’t say anything in response. Ms Wang proceeded to pull out a copy of the photo Daniel had shown Lila last night and placed it in front of Lila. Asher’s face was blurred in this one too, but the red writing on the photo was as sharp as ever. Tears began to form in her eyes as she picked up the photo. She wanted to tear it to shreds but restrained herself. She instead wiped away at her tears before looking back up at Ms Wang.


    “I’m not going to ask if that’s you in the photo,” Ms Wang said simply. “We both know that it is.”


    Lila nodded wordlessly, pushing the photo back towards Ms Wang.


    “I do have to ask, however,” Ms Wang continued, her eyes seeming to bore a hole into Lila. “Are you offering sexual services to students?”


    “Of course not,” Lila replied quietly, staring at the table.


    “Do you know who’s putting these up?” Ms Wang asked. Lila shook her head in response. At this point, though she had strong suspicions that it was Piper or at the very least Piper’s friends, she didn’t have any evidence for this.


    “Is there anything else happening that I should know about?” Ms Wang asked softly. Lila bit her bottom lip and pulled out her phone. As she did so, a message flashed up on her screen. It looked like she’d missed a few more messages and calls. Lila opened her missed call list and gave her phone to Ms Wang. She scrolled through the list with her lips pursed in disapproval.


    “I-I’ve gotten a lot of messages, too,” Lila whispered, taking the phone back and opening her messages. Ms Wang couldn’t hold her professional composure as she goggled at Lila’s phone.


    “Oh no…” Ms Wang whispered, scrolling through the messages. “These are awful, Lila.”


    Lila nodded, tears threatening to spill over from her eyes. She took a deep, shuddering breath as she waited for Ms Wang to finish looking through the messages. Ms Wang looked up at Lila, her eyes narrowed in anger.


    “Right,” Ms Wang said firmly. “We will need to start an investigation into this, Lila. This is absolutely unacceptable. Do you feel safe at school?”


    Lila hadn’t considered this question yet. Did she feel safe? No one had attacked her, or anything, but her mind conjured an image of Harrison grabbing her blazer over mere rumours that Lila was sleeping with Asher and Connor.


    “I… think so, for now,” Lila said, only half-believing herself.


    “I can call a cab to take you home,” Ms Wang said earnestly. “Your safety is our priority, Lila.”


    “It’s okay,” Lila said, looking up at Ms Wang. Her hands curled into fists under the desk as she steadied herself. Enough was enough. She was going to talk to Piper this afternoon, evidence be damned. Now that teachers were starting to get involved, talking about her safety and sending her home from school despite being in the thick of exams and assignments, Lila knew for certain that this had gone too far.


    “If anything changes, please let me know,” Ms Wang implored, standing up. “I cannot stress enough the seriousness of all this, Lila.”


    “I will,” Lila replied, also standing up. Lila''s voice shook as she added, “Apparently, there’s pictures in all the boys’ bathrooms.”


    Ms Wang sighed heavily, checking her watch. “I’ll look into it. We’d better get back to class, then. Hopefully, Grace is finished with the roll.”