a sun that never sets

CHAPTER ELEVEN | KISS MY (UH OH)

I THOUGHT THAT I handled the situation quite well. Past my initial outburst, I remained perfectly calm as I sought out the few girls who I'd roomed with in the past, the ones who'd be more likely to believe me. And I quickly explained my current situation to them. No matter what they believed, they told me that they understood and that they didn't suspect me at all.

And that was where it would start spreading, to counter whatever rumours were spewing out of Sorren House and the rest of the student body. My next move was to make sure everyone got a statement from me directly.

So, on social media, I posted a quick story. Nothing fancy. Just a random zoomed-in picture of the grains on my table with the words, I didn't fucking snitch

Ten minutes later a message chimed in my inbox. Collette Vanir. It said:

I know you didn't but do you know who did????

But according to Audrey she'd been one of the people saying it just now. Perhaps she realised how absolutely ridiculous it was to even suggest it in the first place.

I typed back, no idea but kate said it might be a janitor or smth just now idk

I had to stay calm, or at least give the illusion of it. If I started freaking out, it would only make me even more suspicious.

I hadn't launched anything like this since my days at my old school. It felt dramatic to call it a scheme or a plot, it really did, but at the same time that was what it was. And I had some enemies among the student body—well, not exactly enemies, but people who weren't exactly fond of me and would be more tempted to believe bad things about me than the good. Nadia Sorren, for example, and Sebastian Hong. And a mass majority of Aesir House. I hoped that Wadsworth didn't succumb to their influence. But at the same time I couldn't care less with the boys.

If the girls believed me, they would too.

That was how rumours worked. They spread it on and on and on. It didn't matter what the message became, as long as it kept the core message—Honoria Song did not snitch.

Of course, it would be even more efficient if I knew who did snitch, but I didn't.

So I had to make do.

But despite all this and the quickness of which the tides turned regarding my reputation, I still wasn't very happy.

I'd wanted this year to be perfect. It had already been marred by Yunji and Adelina and my falling out, but now it was getting worse and worse by the second.

I just wanted to study and ace my JCMs in peace. Was it really that difficult? Apparently so.

But it was too late to say or do anything about that now. Damage control was the more important thing, and it was something I did fairly successfully. By the next day, absolutely no one was giving me the cold shoulder. Which should mean that everyone believed me.

Except, apparently, for one person.

James Withington leaned over during English class and asked, "Honoria, were you the one who snitched?"

My eyes practically rolled to the top of my head. "No. Fuck no. I didn't snitch. I couldn't have snitched because I don't even know half the people who got into trouble over it."

He frowned. "Then who did?"

"There's people other than me who don't vape, you know."

"Fair enough," he remarked. "Who do you think it was?"