Page 130 of His Reckless Freshman

She wouldn’t tell me why she left. She just kept repeating that it wasn’t working out and she wanted to go home.

But…

My lips part and I spring out of my seat, whacking my toe on the chair beside me and limping out of the classroom. I can feel everyone’s surprised gazes on my back, but I ignore them all, hobbling as fast as I can and denying the pain until I reach a quiet spot around the edge of the building.

With trembling fingers, I pull up Julia’s number, skimming all the unanswered texts I’ve sent her.

Argh, I can’t call from my phone. She’ll see my number and ignore it.

And even though it hurt me so deeply when she first left, if what happened to her is the same thing that happened to that other girl, then it explains so much.

Wriggling my throbbing toe, I ease into a walk and wish there were still pay phones around like they have in the old movies. That way I could call her and not have the issue of caller ID.

I really need to talk to her.

Stopping near a bench seat overlooking the park, I plunk down and ignore the guilt of missing class. This is important. Really important.

I bite my bottom lip and hover my thumbs over the screen, trying to come up with something good.

“Just text her the truth,” I reprimand my hesitation and just decide to spill.

Me: Hey Julia. I know you don’t want anything to do with Nolan U anymore, and I think I know why. I mean, maybe. Maybe I’m totally wrong about this, but I heard a rumor the other day that a girl was recorded having sex and she didn’t know about it, and then the guy who recorded her threatened to post it online. The girl was so upset that she packed up and left, and then I started to think of you and wondered if that happened to you too. Did it? I mean, did something really awful happen to you that you didn’t feel like you could tell me? When you first left, I thought I’d done something wrong, but now I’m wondering if something horrible was done to you and you just had to get out of here.

I’m not trying to start trouble or stir up bad memories, but I’d really appreciate it if you could tell me. I won’t bother you again after this, I promise. You can put Nolan U behind you and forget everything.

Please.

Can you tell me what happened?

I don’t even bother proofreading my message and just hit Send. It might be riddled with mistakes, I don’t know. But I want to get it to her before I lose my nerve.

And now I just have to wait.

The sun beats down on me, a nice contrast to the crisp autumn air. I close my eyes, lifting my face to the warmth… and then my phone starts ringing.

I’m so surprised, I nearly drop it.

Fumbling the device in my hand, I gape at the screen.

“It’s Julia,” I whisper. “It’s Julia!”

So answer it!

“Oh!” Swiping my thumb across the screen, I stutter out a greeting. “J-Julia?”

“Hey, Jolie.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re calling me.”

“I am. And, um…” Her voice sounds kind of shaky. “I’m sorry I didn’t sooner. I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring your texts. I really wanted to leave Nolan U in my rearview, you know? But then when you said you thought I’d left because of you, I had to make it clear. It wasn’t you.”

My shoulders sag with relief, and for some weird reason, I suddenly feel like crying.

“It was… That rumor, it’s…”

“Oh my gosh, is it true?” I ping up straight again. “Did that happen to you?”

There’s a thick beat, and then she lets out a soft whimper. “You can’t tell anyone about this, Jolie. I’m serious. He said he’d post it, and I never want anyone seeing that.”