Svetlana kept her head down, clutching onto her books tightly to her chest as if they could shield her from the weight of all the stares.
It was lunch time, and the school courtyard was buzzing with noise; laughter, gossip, the sound of trays clattering against picnic tables… but all of it felt like they were muffled under the hammering of Svet's heartbeat.
West was sitting with his friends by the basketball hoop. He always sat there with legs stretched out like he owned the place and there was that lazy grin on his face.
But today, he didn't look at Svet. Not even once.
She had sent him three texts this morning. Three. And he hadn't replied to a single one. He hadn't even read them.
She paused under the shade of the oak tree, debating whether she should just turn around and forget this whole thing. Maybe she could pretend it wasn't happening. Pretend he wasn't pulling away, wasn't avoiding her like she was some kind of disease.
But she couldn't.
Not when her chest felt like it was going to cave in from the weight of not knowing…. WHY?
"West," Svetlana called out, her voice so soft it barely won over the noise.
He didn't hear her.
Or maybe he did, but he didn't care.
She stepped closer, her legs shaking beneath her. "West."
This time, his head turned. Slowly. Too slowly.
His friends followed his gaze, their laughter dying down as they noticed her standing there, small and awkward and out of place.
"Svetlana," he said, his tone flat. "What do you want?"
She flinched at the coldness in his voice. But she forced herself to speak. "Can we talk? Please?"
His friends exchanged looks and a couple of them smirked. Svetlana hated them. She hated the way they always made her feel like she was some kind of inside joke.
West sighed and pushed himself to his feet. "Alright," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Let's talk."
He didn't move.
He didn't even gesture for Svet to follow him somewhere private.
He just stood there, waiting, like them talking was an inconvenience he wanted to get over with as quickly as possible.
"Um… can we go somewhere else?" Svet asked, her voice trembling. "Just the two of us?"
He shook his head. "Whatever you have to say, you can say it here."
The world seemed to tilt beneath her. Her palms were sweaty, and she could feel the weight of everyone's eyes on her now. Their curiosity was already sharpened. Like knives.
Svet was the kind of girl who really didn't do well with eyes on her. But, it's for West. For them both, and for their love.
"I don't understand," She started, her voice barely above a whisper. "You've been avoiding me all week. You won't answer my texts, you won't look at me in class... Did I do something wrong?"
His jaw tightened, and for a moment, he looked really annoyed. "No, Svetlana. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm just... over it."
The words hit her like a slap. Her throat tightened. She was struggling to keep her voice steady when she asked, "Over it?"
"Yeah." He shrugged, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "I don't want to do this anymore."
The whispers around them grew louder, and Svetlana could feel tears stinging her eyes. This was definitely a break up, right?
"But... but why? What did I do?"
"You didn't do anything," he said, looking away. "I just... I've moved on."
Her chest felt like it was being crushed. "Moved on? To what? To where?"
His friends started laughing, and one of them muttered something she couldn't quite catch. West smirked, and it was like he'd twisted the knife that was already lodged in Svetlana's heart.
"To someone else," he said, his tone casual.
She stared at him, her vision blurring with tears. "What? Who?"
He didn't answer. But his eyes flicked toward the fountain, where a group of girls were sitting. One of them; Adah, with her perfect hair and perfect smile, noticed and waved.
Of course, it's her. The perfect one; with rich parents, a car, beautiful, fashionable, outgoing...., everything. Everybody loves her.
But, she was always around. If he liked her so much why did he call Svetlana pretty three weeks ago. Why did he sit together with Svetlana, eat together with Svetlana, and even… laugh with Svetlana?
Svet did his homework, brought juice for him accurately after lunch, carried his bag around for him, waited for him in school till they were done with football practices even when school period was over.. all in two weeks!
He likes Svet, right? That's why he saw Adah, ignored her and came to Svet's locker every morning instead, right?
"No," Svetlana whispered, shaking her head. "No, you're lying."
He sighed, as if he was already bored with the conversation. "I'm not lying, Svetlana. I'm with Adah now."
The world seemed to stop.
Her heart shattered into a million pieces. And for a moment, she thought she couldn't breathe.
"West, please," she begged, stepping closer to him. "You can't do this. I love you. I'll do anything… anything you want. Just don't leave me."
His expression hardened, and he took a step back. "Svetlana, stop. You're embarrassing yourself."
Embarrassing.
Embarrassing?
The word cut deeper than anything else he'd said. Svet looked around, noticing the way people were staring, with their phones out, doing God-knows-what. Taking pre-wedding pics of her and West?
"I don't care," she said, her voice breaking. "I don't care if I'm embarrassing myself. I love you, West. I can't lose you."
He shook his head, his eyes cold. "It's over, Svetlana. Just let it go."
"But I can change!" Svetlana cried. There were tears streaming freely down her face now. "I can be better. Please, just give me another chance."
"There's nothing to change," he said, his tone indifferent. "I'm happy with Adah now. You should move on."
Svet felt like she was going to collapse. Her legs were shaking, her chest was heaving with sobs. But he didn't care. He just turned and walked away, leaving her standing there and broken in front of the entire school.
Laughter.
Whispers.
She wished more than anything that the ground would just open up and swallow her whole.
_____
The ride home felt like a blur.
Dad tried to ask her how school was, but Svetlana couldn't even bring herself to answer. She just mumbled that she was tired and kept her eyes on the road. She was as well hoping and praying he wouldn't notice the redness in her face or the trembling of her hands.
And he didn't.
When they got home, he placed a hand on her shoulder before she could escape upstairs. "Svet, are you okay?"
Svetlana froze for a moment.
The lump in her throat swelled. But she forced herself to nod, not trusting herself to speak.
He didn't look convinced, but he let it go. "Alright. I'm here if you need me, okay?"
She mumbled another half-hearted "okay" and hurried to her room, shutting the door behind her before collapsing onto her bed.
The weight of everything hit her like a truck, and the tears she'd been holding back all day came pouring out.
She buried her face in her pillow, muffling her sobs as her chest heaved with the force of it all. The scene in the courtyard replayed over and over in her mind; West's cold eyes, his cruel words, the laughter, the whispers.
She cried until her head ached and her throat burned. But just as she started to catch her breath, her phone pinged.
She ignored it at first. She was too drained to care about anything. But then it pinged again. And again.
With a groan, she reached for it, wiping her face on her sleeve as she unlocked the screen.
Her heart dropped when she saw the notification.
Tag: LoserGirlNerdRejected
Her fingers shook as she tapped on it. The first thing she saw was the video… the video. Someone had recorded the entire breakup, from the moment she approached West to the second he walked away, leaving her crying in front of everyone.
The caption read: "When you shoot your shot and miss.
#LoserGirl
#CringeFest"
What?! What was this?!!