Becoming a Viral Subject

At the sound of the school bell ringing, students began packing up their bags and filing out of the classroom.

Mia lingered for a while, pen and notebook left untouched on her desk. She didn’t remember writing half of the content. Her mind had been elsewhere during the entire lecture.

‘The stain on the dress had barely come off. It's the same technique I taught Wes, but his shirt turned out perfectly fine. I wonder what I did wrong.’

She heaved out a sigh and rubbed her temples. While deliberating whether to soak the dress for the meantime, Jenny walked up to her and placed her phone on top of her table. Her eyes bulged in horror the second she saw the photo reflected on the screen.

It was the picture Gwen took of her in the mall, and it had garnered several views already.

“That awful girl from next class posted it just now on her account,” her friend hissed under her breath, face simmering with anger. “Why didn’t you say anything to me, Mia? I would’ve gone after her head and strangled her until she deleted that thing!”

Mia shrank in her seat and lowered her head in shame. 'I knew they wouldn't stop there, but I didn't expect them to...' Tears pooled in her eyelids, but she tried her best to hold them in.  Jenny stared at her with furrowed brows before glaring back at the phone screen.

Outside the window, gray clouds rolled by and stifled the sky—an ominous sight. 

She wanted to thank her friend for caring, but also wanted to tell her not to mind it. Since coming to this school, she’d been the object of contempt and ridicule, and nothing she did managed to change that. 

She learned to just hide in meek quietude, to blend in the background, to be invisible. Pretending as if she didn’t exist was all she could do to go unnoticed and stop getting hurt.

“I’m f-fine now,” she assured her with a weak smile. “You don’t have to do anything-”

“No! We’ve let them get off the hook for far too long! This is downright harassment!”

“P-Please, Jenny… E-Everyone’s staring…”

“Let them,” the redhead snapped, glancing around to find their other classmates watching and murmuring among themselves. “Maybe they’ll finally see what she’s been doing to you all these years. Enough is enough! She thinks she can post whatever she wants, make you a joke, and just move on? Not this time!”

The air thickened with tension, and the weight of everyone’s attention pressed down on Mia. She swayed as though struck in the head, but immediately gripped the side of her desk, her pulse hot and quick. The surroundings hazed over the edges; voices warped, faces blurred, and lights flickered.

'Ahh... I'm scared...'

Her hands shook as she tried to pack up her stuff. But her pen slipped and clattered to the floor, the sound somehow deafening. She felt her stomach lurch while her lungs strained for air.

Jenny realized what was happening then, concern and regret crossing her expression.

“Mia, hey,” she whispered, quickly crouching beside her. “Mia, look at me.”

“I-I’m sorry… I c-can’t…” She was too afraid right now. “S-Sorry… I-I’m sorry…”

“Okay, it’s okay.” Her voice was lower but still firm. She wrapped a hand around her arm. “We’re leaving. Come on.”

Jenny brought her out of the classroom and straight to the school gates, all while carrying both of their school bags. This wasn’t the first time she’d witnessed one of her episodes, but it appeared that she was too furious at Gwen to consider the consequences of her actions back there. It’s a well-known fact that she had a temper as quick as a fuse, and Mia understood she was only upset on her behalf.

“Sorry, Mia. I didn’t mean to cause a scene,” she apologized when they reached the bus stop outside the school. 

She shook her head, having already calmed down on the way there. “I-I know. Thank you, Jenny, for getting mad for me.”

“We really should do something about this, though,” she insisted.

“I’ll try…” she trailed off, unsure. “...T-To talk with her, I mean…”

“You don’t sound convincing.”

“Ngh… I-I’ll figure it out…”

She huffed, “I said ‘we,’ didn’t I? You can ask me for help!”

Mia smiled and nodded, if only to appease her and let the case rest. Honestly, she didn’t want to make a big deal out of this. Gwen never listened to her, and she didn’t want to involve Jenny in this mess. Besides, people would eventually forget about the social media post.

'Though I really don't look forward to going to school tomorrow. It's gonna be torture.'  Imagining it made her shudder. 

Her phone vibrated in her skirt’s pocket. She pulled it out and checked the notifications.

It was a message, short and direct to the point. ‘Hello, Mia. Can we meet at the café after your class?’

‘Wes…’

Her chest fluttered at the thought of seeing him again this soon. It warmed the depths of her heart, and she found herself beginning to recover from the incident earlier, as if the memory of it had already begun to fade. The instant effect he had on her, even through something as simple as a text, amazed her in a sense.

“Who was it that you’re making such a face?” Jenny deadpanned. “That guy again?”

Mia blushed. “H-H-How did you know?”

“You’ve gone from gloomy and depressed to sunshine and rainbows within milliseconds.”

“T-That’s exaggerating!”

“Well, it’s not a bad thing, per see. Good to know someone can actually do that to you,” she remarked, a genuine smile tugging at her lips before her voice put on an insinuating tone. “Just make sure to introduce him to me one of these days, got it? We live in a dangerous world, young lady.”

“I told you b-before! Y-You’ve got it w-wrong!”

The two friends bid each other goodbye shortly after the exchange, with Mia a red-faced bundle of nerves, and Jenny a cheeky little tease.

She was relieved they parted on a light and positive note despite everything. As for Wes’s message, of course, she’d agreed and hadn’t even hesitated. There was no reason for her to decline the invitation.

But the nearer she got to her destination, the less excited she felt. A sense of incongruity shackled her thoughts, making her both agitated and eager all at once.

‘I’m so silly. I shouldn’t be feeling any of that sort in the first place.’ She clutched the strap of her school bag tighter as she arrived at the shopping district where the café was. ‘He didn't ask me to come see him. He must be there for Ms. Alice.’

It seemed that today was the day Wes would try asking Alice out once more.

That was it. That had to be it. The two of them did prepare for this all week long.

‘I have to keep supporting him! He deserves only the best.’ With that in mind, she inhaled deeply and tried to bury the emotion threatening to shake her resolve. ‘I have to let this go before I end up ruining everything.’

She was a passerby in his story, a page in the middle of his grand novel. His ideal type of girl was like a princess in fairytales, not some unwilling online scapegoat.

Still, it hurt to visualize him rehearsing a love confession with her watching from the sideline.

‘On second thought, maybe I should get out of there after Ms. Alice finally accepts his…?’

Her thoughts cut off at the sight that came into view. Standing outside a beauty parlor was a group of three young women—luxury bags dangling from their arms, pricey gadgets in hand, and laughter ringing out like silver bells. They looked as though they belonged in a lifestyle magazine.

Gwen, Lucy, and the third person, Alice.