"Good morning, class. Unfortunately, our psychology lecture has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. Have a nice day." Liam, our class representative, announced.
That's wonderful; I would have more time to speak to Ethan before Mrs Patel comes to pick me up. Now, the main issue was to get him away from fake Sophie, and how would I do that? For the past hour that I have been here, he has been clinging to me. Doesn't he know it's not me? Or is he going with the flow to get some information from her for me? Maybe I should send a text. Well, I know he misses me, and it wouldn't be hard to convince my pumpkin pie to believe me. Ooh, I can't wait to hug him tight, and for him to give me a peck on my cheek; that would heal all the wounds that the imposter has caused.
"Can I have a word with you?"
Ding, I watched Ethan remove his phone from his pocket to read the text. He raised his head locking eyes with me before he turned back to fake Sophie. I was seated directly opposite them and I could see everything he does.
"Let's meet out in the hallway. I won't take your time, Sugar Plum," he would know now; I was the only one who called him that. He was my favourite person and the sweetest boy in the world hence why I call him that.
"Give me a minute," He replied; I knew it. He can tell it's me. Ooh, I knew convincing him wouldn't be an issue.
I packed my things and left the class, as I waited outside for Ethan to follow suit.
"Aren't we far enough into the halls? What do you want?" Ethan said as he was growing increasingly impatient, I wanted to get to a deserted place before speaking to him. We had nearly gone far, and the psychology lecture theater was at the end of the hallway; I didn't want fake Sophie to come out and see me with Ethan; I didn't want her to suspect that I was onto her.
"Let's get to somewhere secluded, I want us to talk"
"See, I don't have time to play this game with you; whatever you want to tell me, you can do it right here. There is no need to go into a private area who knows what you are capable of..." Ethan began to raise his voice; a few students were hanging around the hallway, staring at us.
"Please let's go" I pressed further as I walked onto the basketball court, it was still morning and the basketball team didn't start practice till sometime in the afternoon so this spot was perfect except for some passer by of course.
"Suger plum, see, a little patience doesn't hurt." I gave a large smile as I stared into his lovely brown eyes, ooh how I have missed them.
"Suger plum? Maya, don't you ever call me that," Ethan said with a straight face; this was the fastest smile that had ever faded from my face; what did he mean by that?
"We are here already, what do you want? What could you possibly have to tell me that you couldn't do it in public Maya?" he asked, his voice tight with annoyance. The sound of my footsteps echoed off the court's walls as I stepped in front of him, the smell of sweat and polished wood of the newly painted seats filling my nostrils.
"It's not Maya," I said, trying to keep my cool. "It's Sophie. I'm Sophie." Why was he referring to me as Maya? Didn't he know? Does Ethan believe that the imposter is Sophie?
Ethan's expression turned incredulous. "Oh, come on. Not this again."
I felt a surge of desperation. Why wouldn't he listen to me? "Ethan, please. Just hear me out. I know it sounds crazy, but I'm telling you the truth. I'm Sophie." I walked closer to him as he was now at an arm's length of me; I could passive the fragrance of his Dior, all men's classic perfume; that was his go-to fragrance. He likes it, and I liked it on him.
Ethan's anger boiled over, and he also stepped closer to me, he was close enough for me to hear the sound of him breathing. "Aren't you tired already? You're not Sophie; it has been a month already; how long do you plan to keep this up? Let me guess, this is one of those your attention-seeking moves," he spat, his voice loud enough to make me wince. The sound bounced off the walls, making it feel like the whole court was reverberating with his anger. That was strange; I had never seen him this angry before, let alone at me; what had that imposter done? How did she manage to put my sweet boy against me?
I felt a sting from his words, but I refused to back down. "I'm not trying to get attention, Ethan. I'm telling you the truth. I'm Sophie, I am your girl... she's the imposter. Why don't you believe me?"
Ethan's face turned red with rage. "Is this what you wanted to tell me so urgently? he said, his voice low and menacing as I gave a little nod, answering his question. He did not respond to the heart-filled message I just said to him, "That means you are going to keep pushing this ridiculous claim until someone believes you, aren't you?"
I felt tears pricking at the corners of my eyes, like a stinging sensation that threatened to spill over. I held them back, my eyelids growing hot and prickly as I struggled to keep my emotions in check. I wouldn't let Ethan see me cry. "I'm just trying to make you understand the truth," I said, my voice shaking.
Ethan's expression softened slightly, but his voice remained firm. "Okay then, what proof do you have, you can not just be walking around and making these outrageous claims"
"Nothing yet, I mean the accident scene if you think about it for a second, my claims are true and he just needs to believe me, I will prove it all later I promise"
Ethan took a step forward and leaned over, I could feel his cheast touching my shoulder as his mouth directly on my right ear "Look, Maya... or whoever you think you are... I don't know what's going on with you, but you need to stop this. You're not Sophie. You're Maya, and you're just causing trouble. And I would advise you to stop. Don't embarrass yourself any further" he said as he stood upright and took two steps back.
"And If that's all you want to speak to me about, then I am sorry, but I don't want to hear it. You are lucky the Graysons aren't pressing any charges for the murder of Alexandra because we all know who did it."
I felt a lump form in my throat as Ethan uttered his last statement, but he didn't even want to see my reaction. He just turned his back on me and began walking away; he didn't only believe that I was Maya, but he also believed I murdered Alexandra. He left me standing alone in this court, feeling defeated, lost, embarrassed, and most importantly, like an Intruder like Maya.
"I'm Sophie," I wisherpered, perking my lips, preventing myself from crying "Why don't you believe me? Why doesn't anyone believe me?" All the yelling Ethan did alter onlookers in the court; although it was a small crowd, it was large enough to spread this information before tomorrow morning.
"Come on," someone from the crowd said as he grabbed my hands, his warm fingers wrapping around mine like a vice. He dragged me out of the court, my feet scraping against the floor as I stumbled to keep up.
"What do you want from me?" I yanked my hands off him; I could see him perfectly now it was Caleb. Why is he helping me?
"You don't want to do this here," he said as he dragged me out of the building.
"Caleb, what do you want? To also laugh at me? You want to take this to the so-called Sophie and enjoy yourself over breakfast?"
"What are you talking about Sophie? Wait aren't you supposed to be Sophie? Or"