The New me

Now it's getting too dramatic.

"Stop! Stop it now!" Lily yelled then turned to me. "Oh goodness Iris! Are you okay?" She came close but still kept a little distance with one hand on her mouth.

It was already too much that my face was exposed from the slideshow but now she was exaggeratedly acting all concerned while shouting my name.

'Girl, did I irked you so much just 'cause I had Luke pick me up?'

"Is that her?"

"Oh God, they can't even wait to go home that they have to do that inside the school?"

"Even when I was their age I wasn't that impulsive."

"Isn't she the heiress?"

My eyes dimmed as I face the onlookers' gaze. 'So this is how it's going to be?'

And here I thought not wearing a bright colored dress would save me from a coincidental spilling of drinks. I want to laugh at myself for thinking that I may encounter some cliché drama scenes. I haven't counted on how evil can the villains be.

A shadow was cast over me then I felt someone's touch. I looked up and belatedly realized that Luke had covered me with his blazer.

"Don't listen to them." He told me. "Hurry up and find me the one responsible for this!" he shouted.

'But dude what can that do? Gossip spreads fast.'

"No don't stop me, Rose!" I heard Amara screaming at our table. Then she abruptly launches herself at me but thankfully Noah held her with Luke putting himself before me.

"I knew it! I knew you were in an affair with Harry you sl*t!" Amara pointed at me. "What were you doing there huh? What?! Did you enjoy it?!" She cried out.

'Have you 'no' originality? S*** this, S*** that, I've heard that already! Why don't you ask your boyfriend how many lands he'd conquered? He's no better than a w****!' I cursed in my heart.

"Shameless, you completely denied the allegations before, do you want to deny it again even with the footage?" Rose mocked while holding her friend.

I sincerely wanted to deny but I know that it won't change anything.

Her diary contained this story. During junior high school, Iris lost her contact lens. She was told to wait two to three days for the replacement so she went to school using her glasses. Before she lost the contact lens, she received a letter asking for her to arrive at a given time. She appeared and met Harry who confessed to her. She turned down the guy as he was known to be in a relationship and she had no other feelings for him. Her diary did not mention who was he with but now I know. It was this girl here who loathes me.

Then on her second day of wearing her glasses, she was walking to the hallway going to their classroom when someone pushed her from the back. Her glasses fell down along with her and she tried to find it extending her hand in her front. To her dismay, no matter what she does, it was gone. She tried feeling her surroundings as she held the walls while walking. She entered a room expecting that it was theirs but it was for the next class who were in the gym. Unexpectedly, one stayed. And to make it more confusing, the pervert was doing that thing inside the classroom.

Just like what was shown on the slide, a lone male, and female with the male in an obscene stance and nothing else. In truth the Iris of that time did not see anything nor did she do something so shameless. Humans were just quick to speculate on things.

If Luke just waited for a while before asking them to stop the film then they'd know. If one looked closely at the projector, Iris had been standing inside holding on to a wall not even moving. There was no sound heard but she was asking if someone's inside.

The next thing she knew, she was asked to go to the principal's office with her parent's called in. Someone saw and reported what happened. A teacher went in and fetched Iris but she saw no one with her. Iris claimed innocence as she lost her lens making her blind. Her parent's submitted her medical report and the case was concluded. There's not even a mention of the male.

"Would you guess how many guys she's served?"

"I bet on five!"

"Two but simultaneously served."

The crowd continued to spread false claims. Luke can't do much as the other guests were also with good family backgrounds. He can stop five, ten, but not all mouths. His veins were showing as he held his anger down.

"Why is no one here yet? Get me the one responsible now!" He roared again as the crowd sneered and laughed at me.

"Hear that? Serves you right sl*t. You've shown your true colors. Not even your family can help you now!" Amara spat at me. Noah who was holding her was having a complicated look as he faced me.

Rose was looking at me in a mix of disgust and contempt. Humans easily judged.

"Stop it! Won't you stop it?!" Lily yelled again. "So what if she did, what if she didn't?! Are you guys so clean that you haven't faulted once?!" She looked over the crowd as she added, "You were all young once in your lives and made mistakes too so don't condemn her!"

Instead of keeping quiet and reflecting on their pasts, the crowd felt irritated by her shouting as they yelled back, "Even us males weren't in heat as much as her!"

"That's right! Only perverts do those things at school!"

"Young lady, are you like your friend? Then come here and take my card, I'll fill you up!"

The crowd laughed aloud.

"Ms. He and Mr. Wang, you should've picked a better friend. Now you've been implicated by her." Amara reminded them, her face looking a bit better now that she'd cooled down. She might've felt better after hearing more people berate me.

"Certainly, not just you but your family too will be dragged on to the mud." Rose added as Noah released Amara.

Luke remained on my side, gently patting my hand. Lily took the initiative to speak.

"Iris, no matter what. I am your friend. I'll always be by your side." She put a hand on top of her chest as she reassured me in a soothing voice.

I smiled at her hiding what I was really feeling as I said, "Thank you. You sure are my true friend."

Just as I was done speaking the monitor in front opened as the speakers turned on.