The Whisper at Lincoln High

It had been easy really. It wasn’t supposed to be easy, and perhaps that should have bothered her more than it did. A whispered word in the wrong set of ears. A crude phrase scrawled in bright pink sharpie across every stall in the 3rd floor girls bathroom. And crumpled wads of cash passed quietly from one hand to another. That was all it had taken to ruin someone’s life. These three choices by no means should’ve guaranteed destruction, but she had taken the steps to ensure that they would. Those inquisitive ears had belonged to Hyacinth, Lincoln High School’s most reliable source of gossip. The same Hyacinth who had been paying her to do her homework for the past three years, and who now had a highly sought after academic scholarship to show for it. It hadn’t taken much persuasion for Hyacinth to become the whisper of persuasion she had needed. The girls bathroom on the 3rd floor had been a deliberate choice as well. Nestled in the back corner of the history wing it was the largest bathroom in the school, and incidentally the favored location for those lucky enough to escape class. There they would while away the time until the toll of the bell. For years it had been the most popular way to get word out of some indecent act truthful or fictional to the entire school. And the cash she had of course placed into the waiting hands of James Pierce. James with his dark curls, deep brown eyes, and perfectly symmetrical face always managed to give off the appearance of an extremely disheveled movie star. Thanks to his stunning good looks and megawatt smile James had the largest social media following of anyone in Lincoln High. But, unbeknownst to his many followers the persona James put on for the camera was nothing but a fiction. His viral videos may showcase a kind, funny, and charismatic teenage boy, but in reality he was a pretentious, calculating, and charismatic teenage boy. All he cared about was his follower count and what it could get him. If you wanted someone’s dirty laundry blasted all over the internet he was the one to go to. He was exactly who she needed. So though his smug smile and lack of care for, well, anything had always boiled her blood she passed the cash into his waiting hands. 

Every step of her plan had been easy. Perfectly executed without a single hitch. But, it wasn’t the logistical aspect of the plan that had worried her. She had expected to feel fear for what would happen if she was caught. Guilt for the havoc she was wrecking on someone else’s life. Maybe even regret. She felt none of these things. Nothing, but rage, and the satisfaction of a job well done. Maybe this should have concerned her, but it didn’t. He deserved it. She had imagined this as a mantra that she would need to repeat to herself until believing it was like breathing. But, that hadn’t been necessary. It was the truth. 

The birds were chirping as he walked towards the towering structure that was Lincoln High that morning. The sun was shining, and a warm gentle breeze brushed his skin and played with his hair bringing with it the scent of lilac and tulips. It was a beautiful day, and he couldn’t enjoy any of it. The same dark cloud of shame and trepidation that had clung to him for weeks followed him today. He had done something terrible. What did it matter that things hadn’t gone the way he’d intended? He’d messed up, and real people with lives of their own had been affected. This wasn’t a small everyday mistake that could be fixed and forgotten. It was traumatizing, life shattering, and he could never make it right. The guilt had clung to him for weeks like a second skin. And, the fear? Like, an axe hung over his head waiting for just the right moment to drop.  

He knew something was wrong the moment he opened the door to the school cafeteria. The cafeteria was a wide room with outdated floor tiles, nondescript white walls, and tables placed in a disorganized manner throughout. The majority of students gathered here morning after morning to steal away a few moments with their friends before the bell summoned them to their first period classes. It was arguably the loudest room in the school. When he opened the door his ears were met with the familiar cacophony that was Lincoln High’s cafeteria. The kind of sound you could only get from a hundred students speaking, whispering, and laughing all at the same time. His classmates filled the room. Some hurriedly ate the school provided breakfast, others huddled together finishing their homework at the last possible moment, and even more laughed with their friends, backpacks strewn across tables and chairs all but forgotten. Three steps. That was all it took for all sound to be sucked out of the room. Suddenly the loudest room in the school was more quiet than a graveyard. Two more steps and a different and much more quiet sound began building. Something far more suffocating than the normal chaos of the cafeteria. Whispers swept through the room like wind through a forest. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was the subject of their whispering. Next he felt a hot and unpleasant prickling sensation on the back of his neck and down his arms. The feeling of eyes on him. It felt as if his stomach had sunk through the bottom of his shoes, but despite his dread he forced himself to raise his eyes from the floor and face the room. Countless eyes were on him. Most quickly looked away when he turned to face them, but not before he caught the expressions on their faces. Anger, disgust, and disdain to name a few. Despite the quiet in the room everything felt too bright, too loud. They knew. Everyone knew. He forced himself to keep looking. He deserved this. As he surveyed the room he realized there was one girl who hadn’t even attempted to look away from him. She was still looking at him. He recognized her immediately. He wasn’t sure what he had expected to see when he looked at her. Anger or pain? Maybe even hatred. But, instead he saw none of these things. Her eyes stared forward vacantly and she wore a smile on her face, so small that he almost missed it.