Leona and I hurried toward class with only five minutes left before it started. But the atmosphere felt different when I entered the classroom. Everyone was staring at me with looks that felt cold and unfamiliar. The people who usually smiled warmly at me now seemed to be brandishing sharp swords that could sever my head from my neck at any moment.
I stood frozen for a moment in the doorway, taking in the strange atmosphere, when I felt someone roughly shove past me as they entered the room.
She turned around and looked at me with a mocking smile. “Huh. Good morning, Che. Did you have sweet dreams last night?” she said, then sauntered over to her seat, where several of her friends were already snickering and making fun of me.
I said nothing. I simply let out a long breath and took Leona’s hand, leading her to our seats. I had a feeling she would explode if I didn’t get her to sit down.
“You’re just going to let her get away with that?” Leona growled as she sat beside me.
“Forget it. There’s nothing to gain from answering her.”
“But she’ll spread all kinds of lies. Just look at those poisonous tongues of her friends.”
“Let it go, Leona. People can think and say whatever they want about me. Nothing has changed, not from then until now,” I replied softly, trying to calm her as I began taking out my textbooks. I opened one and started quietly reading my medical lessons.
Honestly, if what Sasya had said was a lie, I would have immediately denied it and cursed her out in front of the whole class. But if I answered her and got into a fight, it would only make the rumors spreading around campus worse.
Yes, Sasya was the queen bee of this campus. It wasn’t only her last name that carried enormous influence—her family was a family of doctors who had contributed a great deal of research and money to this faculty. She was also famous for being beautiful and easy to get along with, but if you ever had a problem with her, she wouldn’t hesitate to destroy you down to the roots.
I knew both her good and bad sides so well because we had been friends at the beginning of college, until our friendship finally fell apart just like that. Since then, not a day had passed without her taunts and jeers whenever we crossed paths on campus. Thinking about it all, I could only massage my forehead gently.
Ping.
I slowly looked up when I heard my phone’s ringtone.
My class will end around lunchtime. Let’s meet in the cafeteria.
One message from Will.
I smiled faintly, feeling a sharp ache in my heart. Having lunch together was something we always did on campus, especially since our class schedules were nearly identical. We were in the same faculty, only in different years.
All right.
I sent the brief reply, put my phone back in my bag, and looked toward Lucas as he began today’s lesson. He was a young lecturer who had supervised me during hospital practicums several times. He was friendly and never stingy with his knowledge.
No wonder he was so popular with the female students in my faculty. A lot of people were jealous of me for being assigned to him until I graduated. Because of that, Lucas and I had become almost like peers, with only a three-year age gap between us.
I also remembered how angry Will had been when he found out Lucas was my practicum partner. He had sulked and insisted on driving me to and from the hospital whenever I had practice. I had already refused because our schedules and teaching hospitals would certainly be different during our internship years. But he didn’t care.
“I don’t want you riding in the same car as him,” he had grumbled at the time.
Suddenly, Leona nudged me gently, her eyes sparkling.
“I’m always excited for this class. Just look at him—he looks so handsome today,” Leona said enthusiastically. I could only smile, amused by her behavior.
Without me realizing it, Sasya had been staring at me the entire time with hatred in her eyes and a sly smile on her lips.