"So?"
"What do you mean 'so'? Keith and Renee are dating, how does that not bother you?" Avery asked and Gabriella just shrugged. Her friends found her reaction strange because they knew how much she liked him.
"You know you don't have to act tough when you're with us," Iris said.
"No, that's not it. I'm not acting tough, I just don't care," She already had a lot going on, she couldn't care less about Keith and Renee.
Her friends kept giving her a certain worried look, but seeing how sincere she was, they let it rest.
Gabriella didn't tell her friends about her mom because they didn't know about what happened in the beginning or now. All they knew was that both her parents were always on business trips, which was a lie, obviously. She knew she could tell her friends everything, but she left the need to keep it to herself.
During recess, she indeed saw Keith and Renee together. Although she wondered how on earth that happened, she tried her best not to be too bothered by it.
Keith sat next to Renee with a group of people, but his attention wasn't on whatever they were saying. He most times glanced towards Gabriella's direction, but she didn't do the same. According to what he saw, her expression wasn't bright, and he guessed she must have heard the news, and he felt terrible. He had no idea how it all happened, but he was surely going to fix it, as soon as possible.
They were all at the table when Cleopatra received a call. She looked uneasy, but the call seemed urgent, so she excused herself to answer it. That didn't go unnoticed by the rest, but they decided not to think too much about it, since they thought Cleopatra would tell them whatever it was when she felt like.
Gabriella also excused herself and headed to the library, she was done with her meal and the cafeteria was too noisy.
"Where are you going?" Iris asked as soon as she stood up.
"Away from everything," she responded and left. Her response convinced Iris and Avery, who although was glued to her phone heard everything, that her mood was because of Keith and Renee.
Gabriella entered the Library. Luckily, it was empty, exactly what she needed. She breathed a sigh of relief and walked around. Her footsteps were soft because she would rather not hear it.
The library was big, which was why she didn't notice anyone there until she heard a soft voice coming from a corner. She moved towards the sound quietly and surprisingly, she saw Cleopatra on a call with someone.
Come to think of it, it was the same thing the last time. She was close enough to hear what she was saying. The talk seemed random until a certain statement by Cleopatra caught her attention.
"I'm still not sure about coming out to my friends. Although, I'd love to have their support on pride months, but for now, I don't know how they'd react," This talk was followed by, 'I truly miss you.'
At first, Gabriella was dumbfounded, but it all finally made sense. She mentioned pride month and that could only mean I one thing, two, actually.
It was either Cleopatra was gay or she was trans, but being trans was impossible because she had known her for a while, so she was down to one option.
"Honestly, I can't wait to see you. You don't know how hard it was for me when you left since we kept 'Us' a secret," Cleopatra said lowly but loud enough for Gabriella to hear her since it was just the two of them.
Cleopatra was gay and was in a relationship, but no one, absolutely no one, knew. Gabriella wondered how long that had been going on and who was the person being spoken to. Just then, a book fell out from the shelf she was leaning on. It made a loud noise that even Cleopatra could have heard, even if she was far away.
Shoot!
Why did that have to happen, and how on earth did the book fall out of the shelf when it was properly placed on it?
Cleopatra immediately walked over and Gabriella knew there was no running away because it'd worsen it, so, she just put on her poker face.
"Were you eavesdropping?" Cleopatra asked furiously.
"It wasn't intentional," Gabby defended, but Cleopatra wasn't buying that. "Why didn't you tell us?" Hearing this question, Cleopatra became annoyed.
"How were you expecting me to tell you guy? You think I'd easily tell all of you something I'd be judged for?" She asked.
"We wouldn't judge you, I wouldn't have judged you, so you shouldn't have kept this from us,". Gabriella replied, and Cleopatra just scoffed.
"Just like you kept the truth about your parents from us?" She inquired while Gabriella looked at her shocked.
"What?"
"Drop the act, Gabby, I know what actually happened. I know your parents aren't always on business trips, I know your mom was in rehab for half a year," Cleopatra said. Although she had no idea why she was saying all of that, but she didn't care. She was infuriated by the fact that she was being scolded by someone whose secret was deeper than hers.
"How do you know all of this?" Gabriella asked.
"That's none of your business. You have no right to scold me for keeping this a secret," The fact that Cleopatra knew all of that was already frightening enough, even though she had no idea how she knew all of that. Gabriella was also hurt because it seemed Cleopatra was using everything she knew to insult her.
"Well, I had a good reason for keeping it a secret but what about you? You're just a coward who can't tell anyone she's into girls," Gabriella told her. These words seemed to sting, as Cleopatra didn't fire back.
"This is why I never told you guys," she said, and left the library. Gabriella felt guilty but also defensive because Cleopatra spoke first. She covered her face with her palm and sighed.
How come Cleopatra knew what she struggled to hide from everyone for years.
She thought of a private investigator, but she knew Cleopatra wouldn't go that far. Maybe, she was unknowingly being monitored.
Although she knew, no matter how she fights with her best friends, none of them would disclose the other's secret, she wasn't sure at that time, seeing how furious and hurt she was. She quietly left the Library and Went back to class. She remained silent until the end and when classes were over, and hurried to get home.
Iris and Avery could sense the tension between them, which made them wonder what exactly happened when they both left the cafeteria.
★ ★ ★
Later that day, Gabriella got dressed to head to Cleopatra's house. After speaking to her Nana about what happened, she decided to be the mature one and apologize. She caused the whole thing by eves dropping, after all.
"I'm heading out, Nana," Gabriella shouted from across the room.
"Be home early," Rosalind said, and she headed out. She wasn't afraid of running into her mom because she wasn't home.
She didn't drive, instead she took a bus. Furthermore, she couldn't deny the fact that she missed taking the bus, since it had been a while.
Finally, she arrived at Cleopatra's house. Taking a deep breath, she rang the doorbell, something she probably shouldn't have done.