Odd One Out

CHAPTER 20

Naya
Friday, October 31

I waited, patiently sitting at the same circular table in the library that we had all met at once. Bailey had texted us about an emergency meeting, though the last thing I wanted to do was to sit and talk to the people who got me into this mess. Maybe if I had stayed away, maybe if I had just minded my business after Francisco's disappearance, then I might have been safe.

But what if not?

If not, then I would have been completely alone in this. After my secret was out, most people stopped talking to me. My locker had an abundance of hate notes, and although there had not been any notes recently in the midst of Roosevelt High's newest gossip, the feeling that washed over me after reading "You're the worst person I have ever known" in one of the notes refused to go away, and I feared that it never actually would.

As bad as it was, I was slightly grateful for Jake's news coming out because it distracted everyone from me. It even distracted me from me, which was a bit of a relief to finally not dwell on the consequences of my own actions.

"Hey," I heard a voice beside me, and had I not been so deep in thought maybe it would not have startled me.

"Hey," I murmured, watching as Ellis grabbed the chair and pulled it, taking a seat right beside me. I wished the four of them would not have reached out to me so much, but in all honesty, they were the only ones reaching out to me nowadays.

Even Gia and Rachel had stopped talking to me, and though they tried to make it seem subtle, it was pretty obvious once they stopped responding to my messages in our group chat. Laney was better at hiding it, but he too was starting to distance himself from me. It was ironic, how they were part of the reason why I was in this situation but were now trying to avoid me like the plague.

"Hey," Bailey breathed out, finally reaching us. She looked around, frowned, and asked, "Where's Jake?"

"Clearly," Ellis sighed out, "he's not here yet. Rapunzel's not here either."

Bailey shot him a look, and if I was not still so down about my entire situation, I may have chuckled at his nickname for Viktor.

She pulled out her phone in one swift move and began to quickly type away at it. After about a minute, she read the message buzzing on her phone, looked up at the ceiling in annoyance, and slid her phone back into her back pocket.

"I'll be back," we heard her say as she rushed away from us, her hair flowing backwards as she pushed through the library's door. I wondered how her hair managed to always be so luscious and healthy and bright. While hers was a straight, shiny paradise, my hair required more attention than I could handle sometimes. Of course I had my nice days, but I also had my worst days, and I'd have to spend sometimes hours trying to tame it down.

"I tried calling you," Ellis said suddenly. I crossed my arms.

They all had tried that actually. Bailey, Ellis, Jake...even Viktor, who I was still confused on where he got my number from, had tried checking in on me, but it was easier to stay away from everyone. I deserved every bit of hate that I got, and I wanted nothing more than to finish high school and graduate alone, with only my dad by my side. I did not want to talk to anyone and especially not the other four students.

They're the only ones who checked up on you.

"Yes," I finally answered, now feeling guilty for ghosting everyone. "I know."

"And...texting you. I tried that too."

"Mm-hm."

He slapped his hands onto his thighs, rubbing them slightly as he huffed out a defeated sigh. "I'm kind of glad you didn't answer. It gave me time to focus on myself and all my house-band duties."