The news of Will taking Rhea home a day before had taken over the school; students began to gossip that there might be something going on between them.
Is that the reason he saved her from Sasha when she tried to bully her? They wondered. Or is he using her to take revenge on Sasha for falling in love with the new weird boy, Alan?
Everyone wondered what Sasha's reaction would be when she found out about it, but when she did, she seemed less bothered about it, and that came as a shock to everyone.
She doesn't care about Will anymore. Does she? A lot of the students began to wonder. Or maybe she has a plan already in place.
Sasha wasn't the type to let such news fly without retaliation; she would have gone after the one who had begun the rumor. Rhea would not be left out either.
If Sasha decided that she did not want to get her hands dirty for a thing like this, she would send out Dahlia or Maya and sometimes both but they also seemed not to bother either.
Everyone wondered what was going on as they waited impatiently for the next course of action from Sasha, Dahlia, or Maya. They kept lingering around the hallway, waiting for Rhea to come.
When Rhea, who knew nothing about what was going on, walked into the school with Celia, students began to murmur once more. Most students did not know Rhea by her name but by her nerd looks, unlike Celia, who was popular.
"What is the nerd girl doing with Celia?" One of the students, Bella murmured to her friend, Mary. "Is she Celia's friend?"
"You think Celia is her friend?" Mary asked.
"Or maybe her sister," Bella gasped.
Mary shook her head. "I do not think so. They have opposite personalities. Can't you see?"
"Then she could be her neighbor," Bella said, and Mary nodded in agreement.
Rhea could tell something was going on; their eyes were all on them.
"Do you think something happened?" Rhea whispered to Celia. "The students are staring at us."
Celia looked around and smiled at Rhea. "I do not think so. I do not think the students are staring at..."
"Hi, Celia. Hi, Rhea," Rosa greeted as she walked closer to them, her bag clutched to her back.
Celia waved at her friend. "Hi, Rosa."
"Hi, Rosa," Rhea greeted Rosa in a low voice.
"Rhea, do you feel better now? I could not come to see you when the school closed yesterday. Celia and I had an assignment..."
"Louie told me about it," Rhea answered quickly cutting Rosa short. "Thank you, Rosa."
"It's good to hear that he did," Rosa mumbled. She smiled. "And you are welcome, Rhea."
"Louie should be in school already, right?" Celia asked. "I should thank him for taking good care of my sister. I was at peace yesterday knowing that he took you home."
Rhea blinked slightly. She can't let Celia speak to Louie, or she will find out he wasn't the one who took her home. Louie doesn't take glory for what he did not do; he would make that clear to Celia.
Celia, on the other hand, would be shocked, and she would not contain her surprise; she would want to make sure she heard Louie correctly.
What if someone heard their conversation? Rhea wondered.
Then, the news about Will taking her home would be over the school in a short time, putting her at another risk of being bullied. She was certain that Sasha would not let her go if she heard about it.
"That would not be necessary," Rhea said quickly.
Celia furrowed her brows. "Why won't that be necessary? I just want to thank him for..."
"I know." Rhea nodded. " But Louie doesn't come to school early. Everyone knows that." Rhea hoped that this would change Celia's mind.
"I do not know," Rosa mumbled
"You are right," Rhea answered. "I will..."
"Can I go to my class now?" Rhea cut Celia short.
Celia frowned. "You do not want me to walk you to your class?"
"That would not be necessary. I can go to my class myself."
Rhea had suspected that something had happened, though Celia insisted otherwise; she didn't want Celia to see Sasha, Dahlia, or Maya bully her.
"You are acting strange, Rhea," Celia said.
"I think so too," Rosa answered.
"I am not. You both must be mistaken. The bell...". The bell rang and Rhea smiled. "I was about to say that. I am leaving. Take good care of yourself, Celia, and you too, Rosa."
"You..." Rhea left before Celia could finish her sentence, and that made Celia scoff. "That silly girl. Why is she so quick to lay me off? She used to whine anytime I wanted to leave her."
Rosa smiled. "She is growing up. Don't you think? You should be happy about that."
"I know I should be, but I am not. I think that girl is up to something. Do you not think that too?" Celia asked and Rosa nodded.
"Do you think she got into trouble again?"
Celia turned to face Rosa, her eyes furrowed. "You think she did, right? I suspect she did too. But what could be..."
"Is that nerd girl your sister?" Someone asked, and Celia looked up to see who had spoken to her.
It was Bella. Besides her was Mary, her friend.
Celia frowned. "Who did you call a nerd?"
"The girl who just left," Mary answered. "Is she your sister?"
"How dare you call my sister a nerd?" Celia snapped.
"I did not know she was your sister," Bella answered.
"Me too," Mary added. "I thought she could be your neighbor."
"It doesn't matter who she is to her. You have no right to call anyone a nerd," Rosa snapped.
"I am so sorry. I was just curious." Bella answered.
Rosa folded her arms. "What do you want to do with the information? Miss curious cat?"
"Well," Bella began. "I think she might be in trouble."
Celia blinked. "Why would she be in trouble? With who?"
"I do not know her. But I think it's a bully from her class. What is her name again, Mary?" Bella asked.
"Sasha, I guess," Mary answered.
"Isn't that the same person who bullied her a few days ago?"
"Did you know why?" Celia asked.
"I think she is going out with her boyfriend," Bella answered.
"Rhea is going out with a boy? That is not possible," Rosa answered. "Rhea would..."
"Let's go," Celia said, holding Rosa's hand.
Rosa furrowed her brows. "Where are we going?"
"To set things straight. I can't let anyone bully my sister and go scot-free!"