Chapter 3
Ryan's payback came way faster and way more twisted than I ever expected.
He didn't come at her head-on.
Instead, he kicked off a rumor mill.
The next day, a post blew up on the school forum.
The title read: [Exposing the Dirt: How Filthy Is Our School's "Good Girl" Behind Closed Doors?]
No names were mentioned, but every detail pointed straight at Adeline.
It claimed her family was broke, her mom was a drunk, and she was selling herself to make money.
A few blurry photos were attached.
They showed a girl with the same build as Adeline stepping out of a fancy car and walking into a karaoke bar.
The shots were sneaky. People couldn't see her face. But that faded school uniform was a dead giveaway.
The post went viral almost instantly.
The comments were nothing but nasty trash talk and filthy rumors.
[Whoa, is this for real? She always acted all quiet, but turns out she's that wild?]
[No wonder Ryan's always on her case. Maybe she tried to get with him and got turned down, so now she's got a grudge.]
[Gross. Why hasn't someone like her been kicked out yet?]
Joanna was the first to chime in. She commented: [Looks can be deceiving. Some people seem pitiful, but deep down, they're rotten to the core.]
Her comment was like throwing gasoline on the fire. Everyone started piling on.
Just like that, Adeline became public enemy number one at school.
Wherever she went, people pointed and whispered.
Someone used white-out to scribble words like "slut" and "whore" all over her desk.
Someone even stuffed garbage into her backpack.
A teacher pulled her aside, dropping hints that if the rumors were true, she should drop out and not bring shame to the school.
Adeline was getting hit from every side.
She went right back to being that invisible girl, retreating into her shell.
No, it was even worse than before.
She was shrouded in a heavy, dead gloom.
A few times, I saw her curled up in the corner by the stairs, hugging her knees, her shoulders shaking slightly.
I knew she was crying, but I didn't go over to comfort her.
Because I knew that for someone like her, sympathy was worthless. It didn't mean a thing.
What she needed wasn't comfort. She needed something to fight back with.
I scrubbed the insults off her desk and cleaned out the garbage from her backpack.
She looked at me, her lips moved like she was about to say something, but nothing came out.
I locked eyes with her and said, word by word, "Those photos are photoshopped."
Adeline jolted, staring at me, completely stunned. "How do you know?"
"Because you never even left your place that night," I replied.
That night, I'd been hanging out outside her building for hours. The lights in her apartment stayed on from dusk till late.
She never left.
For the first time, something showed in Adeline's eyes besides that cold, lifeless stare.
There was a complicated mix of shock, suspicion, and just a tiny spark of hope.
Adeline locked her gaze on me, like she was trying to see right through me.
"Why are you helping me?" she asked.
"Because..." I paused, then flashed a grin. "I can't stand them. Same as you."
Maybe it was a lie, or maybe it was just not the whole truth.
I really did hate Ryan and his crew, but more than that, I couldn't stand the thought of her getting completely destroyed by these assholes.
Looking at her, I saw something we had in common. A kind of madness. The kind that got pushed to the edge and buried for too long.
I didn't want that madness to die out in silence.
Adeline stayed quiet for a long time.
So long that I thought she might never speak again.
Then, out of nowhere, she said, "I need a computer. Something high-spec."
"For what?" I asked.
"To fight back," she replied.
Her voice was low, but it cut like a knife straight out of the freezer, cold enough to slice through someone.
Looking at her, I couldn't help but grin.
I knew it. That sleeping wolf was finally waking up.