Slander

Happy reading.

Neil looked around the classroom, his back stiffened face to eye with many pairs of eyes pointed at him. He had never felt so cornered compared to today, Neil didn't even know what was wrong.

"Just say Michelia, no need to be afraid," said the teacher assuredly. Michelia glanced at Neil, her tears already pooling with sobs slowly coming out of her cleft lip. Two years of friendship never once saw Michelia cry, but now she's crying in front of Neil, in front of a crowd.

"Neil," she said. "He did something to me, under the table."

Neil's eyes widened in disbelief. "Lia, what do you do? What did I do?"

"Shut up, Neil. Let Michelia speak." His teacher glared at Neil and turned his gaze back to Michelia who this time looked down to observe her fingers.

"His hand tried to get in" Not even finished Michelia spoke to everyone in the class cheering Neil loudly.

Neil looks at Michelia angrily, Neil can't trust his best friend whom he's known for so long, and now Michelia is slandering himself for what Neil never did. "What the other is Lia? Have I been silent ever since? I never even thought of doing such a dirty act."

It wasn't the justification Neil received, but Michelia's cry that cornered Neil even more. He didn't understand how Michelia could do it.

"It's clear Neil is guilty, I saw it for myself." Shout out of nowhere, evoking other unhappy cheers that were thrown for Neil.

"I didn't do it. Please believe. He's my best friend, where could I possibly do it," Neil said desperately. He looked back at Michelia who was still looking down and said as soft as possible to her. "Lia, I didn't do it. Please don't lie."

"So, I'm lying?" Michelia shouted looking up at Neil angrily, her eyes shining covered in tears that flowed back. Neil gaped, he couldn't see Michelia crying because of him. But Michelia lied.

"Calm down Michelia, I'll punish him soon."

The screams became more and more, and Neil couldn't defend himself. His voice sank to hear. Neil's jaw stiffened, his eyes tightly closed.

"Neil, I'm punishing you. Get out of my class, your point you subtract fifty. We'll see if you can get out until graduation or the school will get you out as soon as possible," the teacher said sharply.

"Points? What do you mean?" asked Neil confusedly amid the chaos.

"Let me drive him out." Neil's hand was pulled rough out of class. But Neil could still catch a glimpse, a smirk that appeared a split second from the look on Michelia's face.

***

"Are you stupid?" Rhetorical questions come out of Sain Antariksa's mouth. His eyes flashed at Neil intently with displeasure that he hadn't tried to cover up.

Neil ruffled his hair as he slumped against the dividing wall on the top floor of the school. His breath was still hunting, as it was forcibly pulled so quickly that he could get here. "I didn't do it to Michelia," Neil said.

"You didn't know what I said when you got here. This is the result, you are stupid."

"I don't know," said Neil, finishing his words tiredly. Everything seemed strange to Neil, as did Sain who suddenly disappeared in his first year of school and it turned out that he was here and 'welcomed' him when Neil was stranded here at that time.

"You before you came here, you were an asshole."

"What?" Neil was flabbergasted by the harsh words that came from Sain's lips. He did hate Sain, and Sain hated him so for what did Sain make him here for.

"I said you were an asshole," Sain said lightly.

Neil clucked, there was never a ban for him to hate Sain. That's probably the thing to do. He stood towering before her and looked at Neil narrowly. "So, the one who was here before was a bad person?"

"Yes, you are a -,"

Neil kicked Sain's shin in front of him hard, he almost always ran out of patience if he was with Sain whose mouth could not be controlled.

Sain didn't seem to feel any pain at all as he instead grinned at Neil. So Neil said, "You know where he is?"

"He disappears when you come here first, and vice versa if he comes first to your real-world that will disappear."

Neil nodded understandingly and felt his throat dry out hearing that, he let other questions hang in his mind. "So, how did you get here?"

"I'm stuck here. Follow their game while figuring out the way out," Sain said bored.

"How?"

"How's it, stupid?" cut Sain quickly. He stood resting on one of his legs with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Neil exhaled a rough breath and looked at Sain seriously. "You can get here. How?"

Sain turned away from Neil, the man chose to sit next to him. "I ditching hours of math lessons, then told to clean the toilet. Since there was an insect in the glass, I hit it until the glass cracked, and then I was already here."

"It's interesting," said Neil's body.

"That's what happened."

Neil looked at him. "Did I say I didn't believe it?"

Neil pulled his knees against his chest and sank his head there. Tired, he's tired. His life seemed to be somersaulting in less than a week.

"Then why are you here? At the time, you didn't want to talk, did you? So, start talking."

Neil gasped, his heart as if he wanted to jump out of his throat. He tried to turn his mind to the bad events of the time. But what powered all the events every detail just came to the surface for Neil to remember well. Neil felt nauseous imagining the dirty incident, he felt like removing all his stomach contents right now.

Neil didn't answer, leaving the question hanging. Sain also didn't push for Neil to say it. They were silent in silence, only Neil trying to calm down with himself so as not to cower ever deeper.

The phone in Neil's pants pocket shook, he reached into the origin as he looked at who was calling. Neil couldn't help but smile at a diversion at times like these, he quickly replied and stuck the phone in his ear.

"Hello, Skylar?" Neil felt Sain's motion next to him, he glanced at Sain who was staring curiously at him. Sain may not know this fact.

"What happened to you, in the alley in the school bulkhead?" asked Skylar quickly sounding impatient.

Neil stiffened in Skylar's question, his smile fading and forming a straight line. No, Neil always wanted to run away from conversations about this. He wanted to forget once more, lost his memory. And feel empty.

"Neil replied, maybe I can find you quickly." The last sentence was like a light in the dark for Neil but he couldn't say it. Neil didn't understand Skylar, who had long hated him, suddenly helping him.

"How do you know I've been there?" asked Neil, and noticed his voice had gone cold.

"I found a photo, I know it's yours. Neil replied, how did you get there?"

Neil knew he couldn't lie to Skylar this one, although Neil understood he didn't have any relationship with her regardless of how similar he was to Skylar. Finally, Neil said it, he wanted to return even though Neil was very reluctant to make a new wound on top of a wound that had not even dried up. "Someone pulled me there, they hit me for no reason, I fainted. When I realized they didn't exist any longer. I looked at myself in the mirror there, I was sick and felt dirty so I hit him until it broke. I've been here."

Neil felt a sharp look from Sain but he tried to ignore it. Neil himself didn't know why he remained silent here while Sain heard it all.

"What else are they doing?" asked Skylar, who could be heard quivering in his voice.

Neil felt the heat in his eyes. "They raped me."

Neil quickly closed his call, he again sank his head inside his knees, his lips quivering which Neil tried to close tightly. He was embarrassed to say that to Skylar and let alone in front of Sain that Neil didn't know him well.

But this time Neil chose not to care. He closed his eyes tightly and cried without a sound. In a moment of Neil's indifference around, he felt a warm sense wrap around him.

Weak, you are weak. Think Neil for himself.

Thank you for reading.