Laura picked up a piece of braised pork with her chopsticks, still smiling, her tone innocent.
"But if Jeffrey hadn't saved Jill back then, she wouldn't be where she is today."
In the silence that followed, Jeffrey finally spoke up. "Alright, enough. It's Mrs. Lambert's birthday. Let's not keep talking about me."
He raised his glass, inviting everyone to toast together.
I took a quiet sip of wine, my mind drifting back to that summer when I first started school.
The car my driver dropped me off in must have been too flashy. Behind my back, people started spreading disgusting rumors about me.
That I was being kept by some older man.
Even the new student teacher started making veiled jabs at me during class.
One day after the bell rang, all my classmates scattered, and I sat alone at my desk, crying softly until the sky grew dark.
When I finally got up to leave, I discovered that someone had locked the door from the outside.
I didn't understand why everyone was treating me this way. Fear and hurt welled up inside me, and I broke down sobbing.
When the drunk security guard followed the sound of my cries and peered through, I thought I'd found my lifeline.