Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 33

There were plenty of things Vivian could say that would make this dumb blond back down; that she was a Devreaux was at the top of the list, as it would hold the most weight with this sort of person. Instead, she chose to say nothing at all, staring Abby down without flinching.

Sometimes saying nothing was better than having the perfect comeback, because it gave the attacker nothing to work with.

Abby soon left in a huff, stomping back to her usual table where the girls all clustered around her to get the details on what had happened.

“Oh you’re in for a fun time now,” Theo informed her with a lopsided smile. “Abby doesn’t take rejection well. At all.”

Vivian shrugged a little, eyes watching Laurent, who paid attention to whatever was being said for a few seconds before his eyes met hers. Was it her imagination or did he wink?

Shaking her head, Vivian looked over at Theo. “I got that impression.” Part of her wanted to inquire about what was said about him, but there was no way to bring it up without giving the impression it mattered.

It didn’t matter. She was just curious, nothing more.

“I’ll give you a warning; she loves low blows. The lower she can hit, the more she enjoys tearing you down. If you’ve got anything you want to hide, better hope she doesn’t find out about it or it’ll be used against you.”

Glancing over at Miriam, who was now a shade of pink instead of the bright red she’d been, Vivian understood whatever had been said had really bothered the other girl, though she wasn’t quite sure what. Luckily, Vivian didn’t have any secret that could be used against her.

Well. They could probably find out about being a foster child, but that would inevitably lead to the realization that she was a Devreaux; as in, Laurent’s sister.

If they found that much, then it also wouldn’t be a big leap to find out no one knows anything from before she’d turned eight. Could that be used against her? Probably. The problem would be only Vivian knew the truth, and anything they could make up about that time to get a rise out of her would be more entertaining than anything. She was always curious to find out what other people dreamed up about her previous life.

“She can say whatever she wants about me,” Vivian finally told Theo. “The good, the bad, the ugly… I haven’t cared what anyone thinks of me in a long time, and I’m not about to start now.”

“Huh. Well aren’t you a curious one.”

Vivian frowned at him, wondering what that meant. Instead of elaborating, Theo pushed himself back and stood up. “Well, I got stuff to do. Thanks for sharing my apology with me! Maybe I’ll run into you again if it means I get more cake.”

“You could just get an entire slice for yourself,” she pointed out, voice bland.

“That’s not as much fun. And it’ll give the cooks something to gossip about, and if they love anything more than foreign coffees it’s good student gossip. See ya!”

“What just happened?” Vivian muttered to herself as she glanced over at Miriam, who was looking uncomfortable. “Do you know what just happened?”

“You made an enemy with the most popular girl in school, while simultaneously gaining the interest of one of the most popular boys.”

Frowning, Vivian crossed her arms over her chest. “I think Theo just enjoys the drama, nothing else. I’d bet he knew Abby would come see us, and that’s why he made sure to actually bring the cake — so he would have a front row seat to the show.”

Miriam rolled her eyes. “I may not have any experience in this field, but he’s totally into you; if I can tell then it’s stupidly obvious.”

“Or maybe he just wants to be friends,” Vivian countered again with a huff. “Why does it always have to be about something more between guys and girls?”

“Are you saying you don’t like him?”

Vivian let out a sigh. “I literally just met him; how should I know? Besides, I’m sure once the semester really gets going and the sports teams start practice or whatever they’ll all just forget about us.”

“Do you… not know how this works?” Miriam laughed a little. “They never forget about us. We’re their stress relief, their fun time punching bags.”

Was that what this was? Vivian went over the interaction again and could see where that conclusion had come from. It also made another thing clear to her. “You’ve been their punching bag since you started here, haven’t you.” It was a question as she already knew the answer, but Miriam hesitantly nodded in response.

“I usually just ignore them. They’ll bother me when they pass me in the halls, or in class if we share any, but if I keep to myself it’s not as bad.”

“Do others ever join in on it?”

Miriam shook her head a little, cheeks reddening a bit. “Not usually. They don’t really do anything.”

“And I’m guessing the faculty are less than useless if you complain?”

“I’m not technically paying to be here, so I don’t really matter.”

Annoyed, Vivian leaned back in her chair and let out a frustrated noise. “That’s dumb. Unlike them, you earned the right to be here. They just happen to have rich parents to pay tuition. It’s students who get accepted into top universities that make a school worth going to, and you’ll be one of them because you worked hard the entire time. They have no reason to try.”

“They can pay people to do it for them,” Miriam pointed out, making Vivian chuckle.

“Sure. And continue paying throughout university because they can’t actually do the work or understand the subject. Then they’ll get jobs and, what, still pay someone else to do the work? Or just live off whatever trust fund their parents set up for them.

“If that’s all they’ll do with their life, then why would anyone care about their opinions when they contribute nothing to society other than being annoying? What a waste of money.”

“Are you always so blunt?”

Surprised, Vivian looked over at Miriam, unsure how to answer the question. Usually she didn’t say much at all. Giving out her opinion on matters wasn’t something she normally did so this was new territory. “I usually don’t talk much at all.”

“Yesterday you didn’t say much, but today you are.”

Vivian frowned. What did this mean? Why was she talking so much? Why did she feel the need to speak when silence had always served her well?

“Come on,” Miriam said as she gathered their trash from the table. “We should grab our stuff for next period before the rush.”