Chapter 115
HANNAH
The hallway had never seemed so long, so terrifying, and full of people. Only Willa's arm in mine kept me grounded as we walked. Even then, it couldn't stop the stares and the whispers. It couldn’t stop the eyes that followed my every movement.
"Is that her?" someone hissed loudly.
"I heard she had white hair."
I curled my hand into a fist to stop myself from self-consciously patting down my hair.
"I can't believe she murdered Julia."
I could have told the speaker that it wasn't murder if the other party had insisted on a blood duel first, but I didn't bother. They wanted me to react, to break. I would not give them that power.
Most of them had voted in favor of the fight. Most of them had wanted me to die.
"Come on, Hannah. Don't listen to them," Willa murmured encouragingly, then began to chat about something I only listened to a few seconds of before zoning back out.
"Wait. Is she really the white wolf?" A boy in my class asked his friend while he kept a wary eye on me as I walked past.
"I thought the white wolf was a fairy tale, man," his friend whispered back.
Every single person, even the teachers, stepped out of my way as soon as they saw me approaching. They acted like I was a ticking time bomb, ready to explode immediately they touched me. Some of the students even bowed as I walked past like I was a goddess or something. That creeped me out more than anything.
I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror of someone's open locker. My steps faltered a bit when I saw how cool, calm, and unruffled I looked. On the inside, I was a twitching bundle of nerves.
I had spent the weekend being terrified of resuming school, scared of what everyone would say about me, scared of how they would perceive me.
Now it turned out that the reality was even worse than my fears. Everyone was staring, gossiping, and calling me a killer. For those that hadn't said it out loud, I could see it in their eyes.
What hurt most was the fear I could feel rolling off everyone in waves, even those brave enough to voice their thoughts in not-so-quiet whispers. I groaned inwardly when I thought about how much worse it was going to get when I had to be in the same class or sit close to any of them.
Most of them saw me as the villain in the story. Julia had died a martyr, despite all she had done. For a brief moment, I wondered if they would have scorned Julia if the reverse was the case. Would they have called her a killer or gathered around to congratulate her for killing the traitor’s daughter?
"Your locker. Finally," Willa groaned, stopping her chatter when my locker was in view. She looked around with a frown. "Jeez! You would think they had nothing else to do."
"Can't blame them," I said sadly. "I guess I'm like the hottest topic of conversation in the territory." I sighed. "Thanks for sticking with me anyway. You're getting stared at as much as I am, and it's not in a good way."
Willa patted my arm with a smile. "You won't be able to get rid of me even if you try. Now get your stuff and let's go to class."
I nodded, got my locker open, and was getting out some books when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. I stopped, looked around, and felt my heart sink lower.
Standing near the doorway of a classroom behind us were a group of girls with Lydia in the lead. They were all staring at me and pretending not to. The instant our eyes met, they all looked in different directions, like they would explode if they made eye contact with me.
Willa saw them too. She shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. Clearly, this was as uncomfortable for her as it was for me, though I knew she wouldn't admit it.
"Jerks!" she muttered under her breath as the girls took off, whispering fiercely among themselves.
Now it got me wondering whether I had made the right decision in deciding to return to school. Maybe I should have listened to my mother and seriously considered getting homeschooled. At least it would be better than feeling like a bug trapped in a jar, put on display for everybody to look at.
Throwing open my locker wider, I started yanking books out of it, not bothering to check if they were the ones I needed when I felt a tap on my shoulder, slowly growing more insistent.
"What?" I said, turning around.
It was then I noticed the bell for the next class was ringing and had apparently been ringing for some time, judging by how almost empty the hallway was now.
"Hurry or we'll be late," Willa said.
"Oh. Sorry."
I grabbed my books and followed Willa, who was already hurrying along.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
