Rita Tory ~ 19:37
So you're dating him.
Zoe Meyer ~ 19:37
What do you mean?
Rita Tory ~ 19:37
You're with Jean.
Zoe Meyer ~ 19:37
How is that your business?
Rita Tory ~ 19:38
I saw you two, running off, after pranking Caitlyn, laughing together.
Zoe Meyer ~ 19:38
And?
Rita Tory ~ 19:38
Well, I was just wondering if it is actually official.
Zoe Meyer ~ 19:39
It's none of your business.
"Is that Rita again?" Jean asks me from across the room. I nod slowly, glancing back down at my phone as it vibrates again.
Rita Tory ~ 19:39
Okay, when you figure out who I am, you will realise that everything is my business.
Zoe Meyer ~ 19:40
Maybe I don't want to find out who you are.
Rita Tory ~ 19:40
Why wouldn't you?
Zoe Meyer ~ 19:40
Because I have a feeling I'll be disappointed. Now, you're just a faceless, nameless friend. Whether I'm with Jean or not doesn't matter. He's leaving in a few weeks.
I suddenly realise Jean is leaving in less than three weeks.
"Jean?" I call. He looks up from the book.
"Yeah?"
"You're, uh, leaving in a while."
"What?" He asks with a confused face.
"You're going to go back to France, right?"
"Yeah, I have to."
I start nibbling on my nails again nervously, peeling the nailpolish I was wearing on my right thumb completely off. I groan. Ugh, why am I even wearing nail polish in the first place? That's not me.
Rita Tory ~ 19:41
Yeah, I guess so.
Zoe Meyer ~ 19:41
At what point are you just going to tell me who you are?
Rita Tory ~ 19:41
Maybe I don't want to tell you who I am either... When you know you're not going to see me the same way.
Zoe Meyer ~ 19:42
So I'm assuming you're Luke, or Caleb or something?
Rita Tory ~ 19:42
Too close for comfort, yet nowhere near.
I sigh. There really is no way. They're obviously not going to 'fess up in a hurry. I'm guessing that when Jean is gone I will be able to do some more detective work and unmask whoever it is.
Zoe Meyer ~ 19:42
I don't understand.
Rita Tory ~ 19:42
It's okay. I guess I'll have to tell you sooner or later, or you'll find out. Or someone else will.
Zoe Meyer ~ 19:43
Would you tell me if I promise I wouldn't be angry?
Rita Tory ~ 19:45
That's impossible. I've done too much to hurt you. I don't know if you'll ever forgive me.
Zoe Meyer ~ 19:45
Well, I'll sure forgive you sooner than the Three.
Rita Tory ~ 19:45
Who are the Three?
Zoe Meyer ~ 19:45
Caleb, Luke and Seth. I don't think I could ever forgive them.
I wait a few seconds, expecting to have an immediate reply. I don't, and after waiting for three minutes, I put my phone away. I wonder why they didn't answer- OH MY GOD. It's Luke, isn't it? It's bloody Luke. I knew it. This is a prank.
"Jean!" I exclaim. He looks up yet again. "I think I know who Rita is!"
"Really?"
"It's Luke." I carry my phone over to him, and show him my last texts with Rita. He nods his head a little as he reads, then points to forgive.
"What does that mean?"
"Forgive." I answer quickly in French. His English has gotten so good I almost forgot he's still not fluent, and there's plenty of things he doesn't understand.
"Well, it looks like it, but I wouldn't be too sure, Zoe." He smiles. "Just leave Rita for the time being." He glances up at me, then wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me down next to him. "What does this mean?" He asks, drawing a faint line under a word in the book.
Yes, he's reading Roald Dahl. Come on, he literally only started learning English a couple of weeks ago.
"Uh, that's a made up word." I smile. "It means something fantastic, though, kind of extraordinary."
"You said this was easy!"
"It is easy!" I answer, curling my legs under me and snatching the book from him. "Come on, what's wrong with this?"
"It's got made up words!"
"Just ignore them!"
"How am I meant to know they're made up in the first place? My English vocabulary is tiny!"
"Okay, okay." I giggle, handing the book back to him and patting his back. "Learn, my friend."
Instead of continuing to read, he folds the top corner of the page and puts it down. "I kind of don't want to leave, you know?" He says quietly. "It's been really nice, being here with you, somewhere where no one knows me and people haven't judged me in the same way."
"I'm not exactly the kind of person you want to be with anyway..."
"You are." He smiles. "You're funny, super intelligent, you understand people, and you've been a great teacher. You didn't act differently because of what I told you, and even through everything you've been through, you haven't given up."
"That's not true." I say, blushing and pulling his hand off my chin, where it somehow ended up resting. I get up, brushing my fingertips through my hair. "I just have no one else. Was I really going to push away the one person I had a chance of be-friending?"
"You could have, very easily."
I sigh. "It's really not like that, Jean. I just saw someone who I could actually help for once... And that's it. I helped you. Now it's your choice to go with Caitlyn or me."
He groans, putting his head in his hands. "My god, I'd choose you over her any day." I smile a little. "It's not exactly a hard decision, Zoe."
"Well, it shows you're a nice person too, and that you're not shallow! I'm pretty sure any other guy would have chosen Caitlyn."
"After everything I've been through, how could I leave you?"
"You're also a nice guy." I smile a little, trying not to blush and failing miserably. I fetch my phone and text Rita again. If it's Luke, I just want to get it over with.
Zoe Meyer ~ 20:04
Hi?
Rita Tory ~ 20:04
Hi, Zoe, sorry, I didn't read your previous message.
Zoe Meyer ~ 20:04
And?
Rita Tory ~ 20:05
Yeah, I get it. They've done awful things to you.
Zoe Meyer ~ 20:05
So you're not...
Rita Tory ~ 20:05
No, I'm not one of them.
Zoe Meyer ~ 20:05
I don't believe you. You're Luke, for sure.
EXCERPT OF RITA'S POV
At this point, I just feel awful. She thinks I'm Luke. Really? How can she be close, yet not have a clue of who I actually am? I just want to change things... I thought that Rita could be a way to be able to talk to her. Then the fucking Frenchie came along.
I run a hand through my hair and glance down at my phone again. She obviously is really set on the idea I'm one of her "The Three", which really worries me. I just hope I find a decent way to break it to her.
Rita Tory ~ 20:04
I'm really not Luke. And if I was, do you think I'd just tell you?
Zoe Meyer ~ 20:04
Well...
Rita Tory ~ 20:04
I need to go, I'm sorry.
Zoe Meyer ~ 20:04
Rita...
There's no answer.
¬
"Move out of the way." Someone grabs my shoulder, shoving me forcefully away from my locker. Nate snatches my phone from my hand, pushing me away for good measure.
"Apparently you've made some friend, and now Luke thinks it's me." He snarls, looking through my phone. I go to take it from him, then catch Caleb and Seth's dirty looks from behind Nate, and decide not to. "Rita, huh?" He snaps once he's found it. "Ugh, I could just kill you."
PLEASE DON'T.
Instead of killing me, or even punching me, he throws the phone to the floor and steps on it, slamming on it with his heel. It makes a weirdly satisfying cracking sound, and when I see it again it's completely shattered.
"Oh my-"
"I guess you'll have to buy a new one." Nate smirks. "Good luck with that."
That phone was two months old. It was the newest iPhone. It cost my parents 800 dollars. They are going to bloody kill me. I groan, trying to keep calm and not lunge at him and rip all his hair out.
Instead, I just kick it away from me, pretending not to care, and storm off down the corridor. I find Jean waiting outside the Computer Technology class, and I grab him and pull him into the deserted classroom.
"I am going to punch someone." I mutter through gritted teeth. "They smashed my phone."
"I'm so sorry." He says quietly, reaching to me, rubbing my shoulder gently. "Was it Luke?"
"No, it was Nate. Apparently they've found out about Rita and Luke is accusing Nate of being Rita, so Nate got pissed at me and decided to take out his rage by smashing my eight-hundred dollar phone."
"Gosh, I'm so sorry." He frowns, pulling me into a hug. "I wish I could get back at them for you."
"There's no point." I sigh. "I've tried everything, trust me."
¬
When I open my locker the next day, I find a white envelope. I check around me, then open it, hoping some insect is not going to jump out at me.
Instead, there's a note and another envelope, and something wrapped in some tissue.
Zoe,
I'm really sorry about your phone yesterday. It was unfair, and I know how much these phones cost. I was able to rescue the memory card from the pile, I put it in here so hopefully we can keep talking via text. I wasn't able to salvage the phone or the battery, though. In the other envelope you'll find some money. Once again, I'm really sorry. I hope someday you will forgive me for all I've done.
- Rita
A/N - I GAVE YOU A MAJOR HINT. YOU ARE SO VERY WELCOME.
Announcements:
I - My book "No Words Left" which hadn't been updated for three months has now been updated and it is going to be updated once a week from now on. Please go check it out!!
II - I made an Instagram account! It is unknownfamousauthor and I will be posting sneak-peaks of OOTB (useful) and fan art or any other things that I want to.
I hope you enjoyed this part!! Next update on Monday!!
Could I get 40 votes on this chappie? Please just click on the little star :D