The Slut's Guide to Chess

chapter 26

My legs burnt as I rushed along the corridors, passing a stray student or two who followed my movement with curious eyes. With my phone pressed against my ear, I waited for Aleena to answer. An uncontrollable rage festered in my stomach and I needed to let it free.

With every ring of my phone, my heartbeat became faster and faster. My throat stung and deep breaths escaped from my nose, flaring my nostrils.

"Hi?" Aleena answered. Her voice was unsure and small.

"What the fuck, Aleena?" I demanded.

Her breath was shaky on the other side and I heard the sigh.

"You have to delete it!" I continued.

"It's too late now. I'm pretty sure everyone has read it, even the mainstream media. They talked about it on the news! That's my name, it's everywhere now."

I scoffed, "This isn't about you."

"Of course it isn't," she replied. "I know it's not but I still wrote the article and I think...I think it was a pretty well-written article and my name is out there now! I don't have money to fall back on and I only have one shot to get this right but I think it's good. I think I could get into a good university, I think my mother would be proud, I think I have a chance to do something with myself! Can't you see where I'm coming from?"

I groaned, completely unable to understand what was going through her mind.

"This is someone's real life, Aleena! I can't believe you. You preach women supporting women, you help victims of sexual abuse and stand up for feminism but can't you see that this is exactly what you're trying to protect women from?" I stopped in my tracks as the rain began to trickle from the skies. I wished I could have seen Aleena face to face, seen the emotion in her eyes.

"Just because he's a guy, just because you don't have money...well- well, it's the same as when Griffin spread those photos of me."

Aleena's voice hitched an octave higher. "No, no it's...it's not. Griffin did it out of spite. Please, Zora, you know I'm not like that."

"It is the same and you know it. You had no right. It may be slightly different situations but when you strip it back, both you and Griffin exposed personal things without consent. And the worst part about it is you don't even see where you went wrong. At least Griffin knows he's a bad person but you'll defend your innocence to the grave."

The silence was so loud that it made my ears throb. I needed to say something or hear her answer.

"I'm sorry, Zora," she finally breathed out. "I shouldn't have..."

The curtains in Xander's office closed in the distance and I panicked.

"I've got to go, I'll see you later," I mumbled, tossed the phone in my bag and flung myself towards the office.

With a deep breath, I threw my knuckle against the door in a loud knock one after the other.

"Go away," the harsh voice yelled from the other side.

"It's Zora," I called back.

He didn't answer and I kept knocking on the wood. The sound had begun to get annoying to even me but I'd vowed not to stop until Xander answered.

Knock.

Knock.

Kno-

He opened the door quickly, nearly making me fall into the room headfirst with surprise.

"What," he snapped with an edge to his voice that made the hair on the back of my neck stand.

The way Xander looked at me broke my heart. Red rimmed around his eyes and hair stuck up in every direction. I glanced behind him to see his office in shreds. Papers were strewn everywhere, pillows from the sofa had been thrown across the room and books piled along the floor.