Charis
It was recess ti, and I sat by myself in the cafeteria, eating a sandwich while scrolling through my phone. I had found a good webnovel about a girl who could travel between worlds, and I was so lost in reading that I barely noticed the food on my plate.
Slowly, I beca aware that people were staring at . Not the usual curious looks and whispers I’ve been getting since I resud school, but sothing else. For so reason, I felt so uncomfortable, but there was not much I could do, and I didn’t want to think too much of it.
I looked up from my phone and saw students at nearby tables pointing at and whispering to each other.
I tried to ignore it and went back to my story. Maybe they were gossiping about yesterday’s drama with Sandra in the library. Sandra had t in the library again and didn’t fail to remind about her relationship with Kael, painting a lot of colourful stories that amused .
I knew she was lying, but I was too lazy to correct her when she insinuated that I was going after Kael because we shared the sa dorm room. As always, school rumours always died down after a few days, which was surprising to because I thought everyone would be over and done with after that incident.
Suddenly, soone dropped into the seat across from . I looked up to see Marcus – Marcus Webb, the student president, staring at with a dazed expression on his face. His eyes were wide and confused, like he had seen a ghost.
I cringed a little and was about to excuse myself and leave, but I rembered Isolde’s instructions about getting close to him. I forced a smile and asked, "Hey, Marcus, how are you doing?"
He still looked completely shocked. His hand reached across the table and touched mine. Then he said one word that made every part of my body freeze.
"Eamon?"
My heart skipped a beat, but I covered it up with an oblivious smile. "Eamon?" I asked, staring at him. "Am I supposed to know him?"
Tears glistened in Marcus’s eyes as his hold on my hands tightened considerably. "You’re Eamon, right? They’re saying you’re Charis Greye, who disguised herself as Eamon. Is it true?"
"I don’t know what you’re talking about," I shook my head, still feigning ignorance. "But if you can make understand, perhaps, I can help you."
"Don’t fucking lie to ," Marcus growled, slamming his hand on the table. "Now that I see it, you’re Eamon. Everything about you didn’t change except for the longer hair and how you wear boy clothes now. Gosh!" he laughed derisively, "you deceived . I cared about you so much, but you broke my heart."
"I don’t..." I started saying, then paused.
I turned around and saw that more people were looking at their phones and pointing at . So were taking pictures. My heart started beating faster as I pulled my hand away from Marcus and grabbed my own phone.
I opened the news app and saw the headline that cut off air from reaching my lungs as I stared at it:
"MISSING ALPHA’S DAUGHTER FOUND: Charis Greye Lived as Male Student ’Eamon Riggs’ Before Custody Battle"
Below it was a picture of my parents and Isolde entering the courthouse, and another photo from my old school records showing as Eamon.
I couldn’t breathe. The room felt like it was closing in on from all sides. I stood up so fast that my chair fell over, making a loud crash that drew even more attention.
Marcus jumped up with , his face red with anger and confusion. "Tell if it’s true," he demanded. "Are you really Eamon? My Eamon?"
I tried to walk past him, but he grabbed my arm and wouldn’t let go. "Answer !" he yelled, loud enough for the whole cafeteria to hear. "Is this true? Are you Eamon? My friend who died?"
His grip was too tight. It hurt, and I could feel tears starting in my eyes. "Please let go," I begged, but he held on harder.
"Marcus, please," I said again, trying to pull away. "You’re hurting ."
That’s when Kael, Rhett, and Slater walked into the cafeteria. They took one look at the scene and understood imdiately what was happening.
"Let her go," Kael said in a loud, clear voice that cut through all the noise.
Marcus turned to look at them, but didn’t release my arm. "This is my business, not yours."
Slater walked over and tried to remove Marcus’s hands from my arm. "She asked you to let go. That ans let go."
But Marcus was too upset to listen. He actually tried to fight Slater, swinging his free hand while still holding onto .
"Let go," Kael said again, moving closer. His voice was still calm.
I could see students all around us holding up their phones to record everything. The thought of this ending up online made panic even more.
"Please, no videos," I said to the caras pointed at . "Please, I beg you."
But they all ignored ; they continued to giggle and talk among themselves as they clicked and made videos.
Marcus was still holding my arm when Kael reached over and tried to peel his fingers away. That made Marcus completely lose control. He let go of and lunged at Kael with both hands.
Kael stepped to the side smoothly, and Marcus fell hard on the floor. Before he could get up, Rhett grabbed my hand and pulled toward the exit.
"Co on," he said quietly. "We’re leaving."
We almost ran out of the cafeteria and across campus to our dorm room. Behind us, I could hear Marcus yelling my na, but we didn’t stop until we were safely inside with the door locked.
Once we were alone, everything hit at once. I started pacing around the living room, crying and shaking. My carefully built life was falling apart. Everyone knew who I really was now. There was no going back to being just another student.
I grabbed my phone and tried to call Isolde, but the number wasn’t connecting. It went straight to a ssage saying the line was busy. I tried again and again, but nothing worked.
"She’s not answering," I said, my voice getting higher. "Why isn’t she answering? What am I supposed to do?"
Rhett ca over and gently took the phone out of my hands. "Breathe," he said softly. "Just breathe with ."
He put his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "In and out. Slow and steady."
I tried to copy his breathing, but I felt like I was drowning. "Everyone knows," I whispered. "Everyone knows who I am. They’ll never let stay here now."
"Hey," Rhett said, pulling closer. "Look at , not at the problem. Just look at ."
I focused on his hazel eyes, the way they were calm and comforting even when everything else was chaos.
"That’s better," he said. "You’re safe here. With us. Nothing has changed about that."
He wrapped his arms around and held tight. I buried my face in his chest and let myself cry. For a few minutes, the world outside didn’t exist. There was just Rhett’s heartbeat and the feeling of being protected.
Then he tilted my chin up and kissed softly. It was gentle and warm, and for a mont I forgot about everything else. When we broke apart, I felt a little settled.
"We’ll figure this out," he promised. "All of us together."
That’s when the door burst open and Kael and Slater rushed in. They both looked serious and worried.
"You need to leave campus," Slater said urgently. "Right now."
"What do you an?" I asked, my panic coming back.
"The school is being flooded with reporters," Kael explained. "They’re at the main gate, the side entrances, everywhere. And campus security is looking for you."
"Why?" Rhett asked.
"Headmistress Vale wants to see you imdiately," Slater said. "She’s not happy about the dia attention."
I felt my legs get weak. "I can’t face her right now. I can’t face anyone."
"You don’t have to," Kael said firmly. "We’re getting you out of here."
"But where can I go? If reporters are everywhere—"
"We have a plan," Slater interrupted. "Trust us."
Rhett was already moving toward my room. "Pack only what you absolutely need. We leave in five minutes."
As I threw clothes into a bag with shaking hands, I could hear the boys whispering in the common room. They were planning sothing, but I was too scared to focus on their words.
All I could think about was that my secret was out. The whole world knew that Charis Greye and Eamon Riggs were the sa person. There was no hiding anymore, no pretending to be soone else.
I was completely exposed, and I had no idea what would happen next.
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