Chapter 7: Outcasts and Vapes

I started deliberately avoiding Caleb.

No more responding to him, no more creating chance encounters, no more trailing after him.

Caleb seemed to notice.

One evening, on my way home, he waited for me outside the 7-Eleven.

He stood beneath the harsh fluorescent lights, hands in his hoodie pocket, shuffling awkwardly. Seeing me buy a sandwich, he helped me open the packaging, folded it neatly, and handed it to me.

"Lila, let's talk. I think you're mad at me—why?"

"Only one sandwich today? Is it for me again? Aren't you eating?"

I stayed silent for a few seconds, then tossed the sandwich into a dog bowl:

"Sorry, it's for the dog. If you want it, you'll have to negotiate with him."

The stray dog that sometimes lingered near the store wagged his tail and sniffed at the sandwich. Caleb was stunned.

I brushed past his shoulder and left without looking back.

To avoid Caleb, I took a secluded route home.

Turning into an alley, a familiar vanilla scent drifted through the air.

I ran into Aubrey and a few girls vaping together.

So that vanilla scent on Aubrey was just her vape flavor.

They leaned against the brick wall, giggling, a cloud of pale blue smoke hovering above them. In the pale blue smoke, Aubrey smiled and waved at me, her eyes full of mockery:

"Lila, going home? Come say hi to your sisters!"

"This is the one at the bottom of our class—she's had a crush on my deskmate forever. Pathetic much?"

The words landed like a slap, harsher than the winter wind. I frowned, wanting to stay far away, but the girls chased after me, scratching my face with their sharp nails:

"You keep clinging to my brother-in-law, huh?"

Their laughter echoed down the alley. Before she could finish, the vice principal's voice rang out behind us, catching a few of them vaping.

"Girls! What is going on here?"

The girls scattered. Aubrey, seeing no escape, hurriedly stuffed the vape into my backpack.

I didn't have time to throw it away and was ordered to stand still.

"Hello, Mrs. Greene!" Aubrey greeted calmly, her cold face full of indifference.

We weren't allowed to speak. We had to obediently empty our pockets and bags, and of course, the contraband was found.

I still tried to explain, "Mrs. Greene, the vape has a smell—you can tell, right?"

That vanilla vape scent—anyone could tell who it came from!

But the next second, Caleb's voice suddenly came from behind:

"Mrs. Greene, I'm Aubrey's deskmate. That scent is her body spray, not from smoking."

"Besides, we're all in the top AP science class. Aubrey ranked seventh this time—would she do something like that?"

His tone was cold, like he was reciting a defense in a mock trial. My heart fell, heavy and hard.