THE NEXT DAY Sophie learned the true definition of horror. 

It wasn't like anything she'd ever witnessed before. The stack of horror movies that Tabatha had forced her to watch a couple nights ago hadn't prepared her for anything like this. In fact, Sophie wasn't sure anything could have prepared her for this...

For the fan-girls. 

For Eli's fan-girls.

She hastily walked through the halls the next day toward her first class, with Mr. Wolfe. The amount of girls that cluttered the hallways had grown and they clustered together as Sophie bristled past. Each had their gazes glued to Sophie. Each looked about as murderous as a pissed of psychotic clown with anger management issues. 

Tabatha hustled down the hall at her side. Her backpack was pressed to her chest and she desperately rummaged through it. "I know I put my homework in here," she mumbled under her breath.

"Move faster," Sophie urged, her head down. She focused on the door at the end of the hall. 

The venomous whispers shot through the air like daggers. 

"Look," one girl hissed, "It's the Night Class whore." 

Sophie did her best to ignore it. When Eli had waltzed by her table last night at dinner, and she'd realized what he and his friends had done, Sophie had died a little inside. Her Day-classmates had turned on her; she'd become the enemy, the one who'd won --the one who the male population of the Night Class wanted to win. It was a blow worse than the crazies had ever experienced before. 

And thus, she'd become the Night Class whore. 

Sophie ducked into the classroom and immediately found her seat. Tabatha sank into her own seat and turned to face Sophie. She whipped out a sheet of paper and smiled victoriously. "Found it," she announced. 

Sophie glared at her. 

Tabatha pursed her lips. "Sorry." 

"I'm about to be murdered and you're concerned about your homework," Sophie grumbled bitterly under her breath. She sunk down in her seat and folded her arms across her chest. 

"I'll find your body, I promise," Tabatha teased. 

Sophie shot her another look. 

While she'd never dreamed of Sophie being nominated, Tabatha certainly wasn't complaining. She had actually become unnaturally excited about this new turn of events. She welcomed the popularity that Sophie had gained among the Night Class, and wasn't bothered by the insanity from the Day Class. It drove Sophie crazy. 

But then again, Sophie really couldn't blame her. The insanity of the Day Class wasn't directed toward her. 

Tabatha's lighthearted, "Oh, you know I'm just messing with you, Sophie," pulled Sophie out of her thoughts. Sophie rolled her eyes and pulled out her notebook. Tabatha settled into her seat and started to skim through notes for her next class. 

Sophie's gaze scanned the classroom; there were only a few students that were already in their seats and Mr. Wolfe sat behind his desk. Her attention immediately locked on him. His head was angled down, gaze focused on the spread of papers atop his desk. Sophie rested her cheek against her palm, her elbow propped against her desk. She wondered if the papers were the worksheets they'd worked on the day before, and whether or not he'd graded hers. 

"Look," a whisper broke through her concentration. "She just can't help herself." 

"Well, she is a whore." 

"I'm not surprised that she's going after the teachers too," another girl grumbled. "I mean, I wouldn't limit myself to just the Night Class, either." 

"She's probably giving them all some kind of STD." 

Sophie swallowed the ball of steel wool that had formed at the back of her throat. The conversation might as well have been shouted, thanks to the quiet of the mostly empty classroom. She opened her notebook and flipped to the back of the book. From the corner of her eye, she saw Tabatha frown. 

Maybe Tabatha wasn't as oblivious as she'd first thought. 

Sophie started to write. It was small ficlet; something to take her mind away from the classroom. It was a bit graphic, but nothing bad enough to send her to therapy, should someone else ever read it. 

It worked. 

The first block bell rang, and the last of the students filed into the classroom. Once the quiet had settled over the classroom, Sophie turned back to the front of her notebook to take notes. She settled back in her seat, her temper cooled and the hurt stored away for later. 

Mr. Wolfe stood and started the lecture. 

Sophie allowed her gaze to return to him; at least now she had a reason to be watching him. He leaned against the front of his desk, his arms folded across his chest, and used a small rectangular device to point at things on the slides he'd prepared and move through the power-point. Sophie listened and absently scribbled down notes. She liked the way he taught the class. He didn't just spout random facts about historical subjects. He told a story, and made it interesting. 

Plus, his voice was like liquid honey. She could listen to him talk for hours.  

When the bell rang, Sophie forced her gaze to stay glued to her notebook. She carefully eased it into her backpack as the students around her moved past her, toward the door. Tabatha waited patiently beside her. When most of the students had cleared the room, Sophie stood and walked with Tabatha to the door. Sophie glanced at Mr. Wolfe from the corner of her eyes as she neared the front of the room. 

Her heart thudded loudly in her chest when she realized that his vivid baby blues were focused on her. 

"Sophie," Tabatha's voice jerked her out of her stupor, and Sophie realized, much to her embarrassment, that she'd stopped walking entirely. 

"Sorry," Sophie said as she rushed out the door after Tabatha, "I got lost in thought." Her cheeks flushed a bright red and she rubbed at them. Her heart did somersaults inside her chest. Anxiety swelled like a balloon of poisonous gas. She couldn't breathe. 

Tabatha looped her arm through Sophie's. "Don't worry about everyone else, okay? They're just jealous." 

Sophie nodded absently. It wasn't exactly what she was freaking out about, but she wasn't about to own up to that awkward let-me-just-stop-and-openly-stare-at-my-professor-like-a-creep moment. She and Tabatha hurried down the hall toward their next class. 

Sophie kept her head angled down and her hair shielding her from the angry gossip that whispered through the hallways. She steeled herself against the pain; she'd experienced it before, and lived. It was like middle school all over again. All she had to do was remain quiet, not let it bother her. The hype would die down eventually. 

Sophie was distracted when she and Tabatha entered their second period, and at first she didn't notice the new editions to the class. She only stopped when Tabatha jerked to a stop, the moving pulling Sophie back as her arm was looped through Tabatha's. 

Her head snapped up and she eyed Tabatha warily. 

Tabatha's gaze was glued to something in front of them. 

Sophie turned her head, and froze. "Oh my gosh," she whispered in horror. 

Eli lifted his hand and wiggled his fingers in a playful wave. "Hello beautiful!" 

hey fam! 

Hopefully, you are enjoying this book so far. I've tried to remove a lot of the original author's notes (where I babble on about unnecessary things) but I just wanted to pop in here and say:

this book is not at all condonning slut-shaming or bullying in any form. The insults used by other classmates are meant to come across as ridiculous and absurd --to show just how stupid bullying/slut shaming is. It also shows how easily one can be disliked when they are shown bullying others. 

While I know it's not really fun, it definitely serves a purpose for this story and is necessary to include. Thank you for understanding! 

Also, thank you for your support! ♡