Strangers
Chapter 1
When Ashley, the most popular girl in school,
told me she liked me, her childhood buddy,
Chad, stood there smirking.
“Dude, the sneakers she’s wearing cost more
than you make in a year. You can’t actually
believe she’s serious, right?”
I actually did believe her.
I was too naive to see that Ashley and I lived
in completely different worlds.
Then Chad’s watch went missing.
Ashley joined everyone else, turning their
“If you needed money, you could have just
told me, Nate,” she said with a sneer. “Why
go this route?”
I was burning with anger, my fists clenched in
my pockets.
When I transferred, I blocked Ashley on every
app. I left without a word.
I never expected Ashley, who always had
everyone at her feet, to look for me for seven
years.
After gym class, star quarterback Chad
realized his ridiculously expensive watch was
gone.
Without me even knowing, he’d turned my
backpack inside out in front of everyone.
I walked in to a disaster.
He stood next to Ashley, his face like thunder.
“Ash, Nate’s your boyfriend. Tell him to give
me back my watch.”
Ashley and Chad had been inseparable since
they were little kids. Everyone knew Ashley
felt something for him.
Even I had to admit, she and Chad always had
more to talk about.
I never knew what to say when they were
discussing designer brands and limited
edition this and that
<
This time, though, Ashley didn’t rush to agree
with him.
She calmly started cleaning up my desk.
before even looking at Chad.
She said offhandedly, but not denying
anything, “It’s just a watch. I’ll buy you
another one.”
The class exploded in whispers, each more
accusatory than the last.
“Wait, are you saying Nate took it?”
“Wouldn’t be surprised. Everyone knows he’s
here on financial aid. And he was the only one
who went back to the classroom during gym.”
“Men be could sell that watch and live off it
“Man, he could sell that watch and live off it
for months, right?”
“Hey! I heard his dad broke his leg years ago
for stealing.”
I froze at the door, my face stinging from
their words.
I never knew the people who politely called
me “Class President” to my face would say
this kind of garbage behind my back.
Then someone yelled, “Nate?”
The room went dead quiet.
All eyes turned to the door.
Even though I’d done nothing, the shame and
embarrassment felt overwhelming.
I saw Ashley turn too.
Maybe I was imagining it, but I thought I saw
a flash of amusement in her eyes.
When I tried to explain, no one cared.
The more I protested, the weirder they looked
at me.
“Whatever,” Chad said with a dismissive
scoff. “It’s not like I need the watch.”
He generously told everyone to forget about
- it.
I wasn’t about to let this accusation slide.
<
As Chad turned away, I grabbed his arm and
said I’d take him to check the security
footage.
Chad glared at me, his eyes full of scorn.
I expected him to refuse.
What I didn’t expect was for Ashley to stop
- me.
She came up close and said softly, “It’s okay,
Nate. It’s fine.”
Ashley always said that to calm me down
when I was stressed.
Hearing those simple words calmed me down.
“I didn’t take it,” I said, looking down at her,
feeling helpless. “My dad came to drop off
lunch. I went back to put it in the fridge. I
didn’t do anything.”
I only went back to the classroom to drop off
the pot roast.
My dad made it special for my birthday and
dropped it off.
But Ashley didn’t seem to care about what I
was saying.
She said it didn’t matter, that she could fix
whatever I’d done.
But why didn’t it matter?
I hadn’t done anything wrong.
Did Ashley really not know how important
someone’s reputation could be?
I insisted on checking the security footage,
and Ashley lost her patience.
She suddenly let go of me and gave a light
laugh.
It was such a delicate laugh.
I finally realized something was wrong, slowly lifting my eyes to meet hers.
I saw the smile on her face.
I saw the unmistakable contempt in her eyes,
just like everyone else.
“Can we drop the act already?”
<
“You really didn’t take it?” she asked with a
sneer. “I seem to remember you saying the
other day that you were short on cash lately?”
“Also, the security camera in the classroom
just happened to break yesterday.”
“Nate, didn’t you know?”
My head was ringing.
I don’t know why, but I suddenly remembered
what Chad had said to me once.
You still don’t get it. You and Ashley live in
different worlds.
I hadn’t understood it then.
Now it suddenly made sense
Ashley, raised as the center of attention, was
prejudiced against poor people.
She would always believe Chad, who was
from her same circle, without a second
thought.
Ashley knew how important your reputation
was.
She never believed me to begin with.
The bell rang shrilly.
Mingling with Chad’s laughter.
In the chaos, someone bumped the desk.
I helplessly watched the pot roast fall.
く
The food spilled across the floor, the greasy
meat tumbling and stopping at my feet.
