...
My life was falling apart. I didn't know what to do. In the midst of it all, I found you. Till this day, I can't tell whether my love for you saved me or ruined me.

...

The rest of the day was a blur. Malika waited until she knew class had started and the hallways would be empty. She snuck out of the third floor and went straight to the school's medical center, luckily not running into anyone.

She lied and said she was experiencing period cramps. It was a lie that was frequently used by girls to skip school, and the school nurse had Malika blacklisted years ago. However, the look on her face led the lady to take pity on her and excuse her from classes for the rest of the day

The next day, Malika Bashir spent all morning pleading with her mother to let her stay home.

She tried everything - starting from lying about a terrible sore throat to making up stories about mean teachers. But nothing worked. Neela Bashir was adamant on her rules.

"You expect me to believe anyone in that school has the audacity to bully you? She raised a derisive brow. "I was led to believe it's the other way around."

Malika was fuming as she stood inside the lift taking her down from their ninth floor apartment and throughout the entire car ride.

Malika made sure to wear her regular heels, put on makeup and do her hair as per usual. She hoped if she looked like she always did, then she could pretend things were like they always were. People would forget that photo ever happened and remember her just as the pretty girl of their school.

But everyone remembered. The moment she stepped into the front yard, the stares and the whispers began. The catcallings started earlier than last time.

Malika's skin crawled. She felt disgusting and sick. She held her head high as she walked past them. But her insides felt like someone had lit it on fire. She was known for her confident stride and the way her honey eyes never wavered when she locked her gaze with someone; however, as she took the steps, her hands shook while she pinched the blue blazer around her tighter.

Since the first photo, a few others have popped up. They were all of hers, on a naked body she couldn't recognize. The pictures were obviously edited. But no one bothered to find out. They were being posted on a private group by an anonymous account, only catering to the students of York Academy.

Malika entered the familiar hallway, heels clicking and all eyes on her. She spotted Farrah's face in the crowd, and for a moment, she felt a sense of comfort.

Malika sauntered her way through the sea of blazers to get to her friends. The girls stared at her as she approached, their expressions colored from shock to discomfort. Malika found Dahlia at the back of the group, the hijabi looked at her for a moment and then immediately went back to raiding her locker, her expression cold.

"Hey," she murmured under her breath, greeting the girls.

"What's going on, Lia?" Farrah cried at the same moment, stepping forward. "Who uploaded the photo?"

Malika resisted the urge to flinch at the direct questions, discomfort rising to her chest. Then again, this was typical Farrah behavior that she grew up with - all business and no tact.

Malika folded her arms over her chest, looking at a distance over their heads to avoid meeting the eyes of her friends. "Imran," she said briefly. "I didn't confront him, but he's the only one who could and would do this."

Farrah's face went from confusion to rage in a blink of an eye. Her nostrils were flared and her eyes were burning.

"That jerkface," she fumed. At the back, even Layla's face twisted into disgust. Then Farrah's disapproving eyes landed on her. "And are you honestly this stupid, Lia?" she said through gritted teeth. "How could you let this happen?"

Malika blinked, completely taken aback. "Excuse me?" she uttered.

"This is so typical of you." Farrah bit out.

In their relationship, Farrah was usually the protective friend. Despite being the introverted one, she was the one who brought back Malika's toys from the mean kids in kindergarten, ensured she was on top of her assignments and held Malika accountable when she was being idiotic.

Farrah was the one who kept her grounded, and no matter how much their personalities had changed over the years Malika had learned to depend on her for it.

As she heard Farrah speak, she stared at her best friend with disbelief. "You think I wanted this?" she breathed.

"No, but getting nudes leaked is just the kind of irresponsible and rash act that can be expected from you," Farrah scoffed.

The words extinguished any flicker of comfort she had felt, in its place creating an empty pit in her heart that felt endless. Tears pricked her eyes. She could see Layla fidgeting awkwardly at the back, but she didn't say anything. Neither did Dahlia, who still refused to meet her eyes.

"How could you be this stupid?" Farrah repeated.

"Thanks for having my back, friend," Malika snorted.

Without another word, she spun on her heels and strode in the opposite direction. The tears that were sparkling before were starting to fall free, Farrah's words hurting her more than Umaira's ever could.

Malika Bashir spent the rest of the day by herself. She stayed at the back of her classes and made sure to take the hallways only after the crowd had thinned. By lunchtime, Malika knew it was safer to abort her lessons and reside on her safe spot behind the bleachers. She had already been to the nurse's office begging for another pass but was turned down.

Malika stared at the clear blue sky. The sun shone brightly, fluffy clouds drifted carelessly and Malika felt the weight of her heart sink her to the ground.

It was only after the final lesson of the day that Malika Bashir started towards the academic building again, knowing she had to. She found a group of familiar faces gathered at the center of the backyard, just by the decades old banyan tree.

A flicker of fear sparked in her heart as she saw her ex-boyfriend standing amongst the boys.

Imran was grinning ear to ear, eyes full of malice as they landed on her.

Malika drew in a deep breath. He was standing with Ryan, Umaira and a bunch of his other friends. She hadn't seen him or even spoken to him since the photos were posted. A small part of her wanted to confront him and plead with him to take them down, but a larger part of her had too much pride to let him show his actions had any effect on her.

Malika straightened her back and wiped her face of any emotions. She took large strides as she moved forward, eyes on the end destination. Cruel laughter hit her ears.

"There's your girlfriend, Imran." one of them snickered.

She held her breath and tried to remind herself that she only had to endure it for a few more seconds. Malika kept walking.

"She's not my girlfriend. I have standards."

Malika gritted her teeth in silence.

"I don't date sl*ts," his voice reached her ears. "I do with them what I did with her - use and dispose."

Malika briefly looked over, stealing a small look of him. She recalled the first time he had used this word on her. They had just begun dating, he tried to kiss her and she denied. That's what he had called her then.

"That's the only thing they're good for," someone else quipped.

More laughter rang in the backyard.

There were plenty of students caught in the middle of heading to the front gate, leaving for their homes. Malika moved along with them, wishing she could disappear in the crowd.

Farrah's eyes momentarily met Malika's in the sea of people. Farrah lowered her gaze as soon at it happened, and slipped away into the crowd. Malika reached the front gate, feeling like she was truly alone in this world.