Ellen felt awkward as everyone looked at her with eyes that made her feel dirty. "Why is everyone looking at me like that?" She asked her friends who were helping her carry her things upstairs. She just arrived in school some minutes ago, and Abby and Kelly came over to help her. They had arrived earlier before her. They had wanted to come together but Ellen didn't want to come too early, so she waited till 12pm before setting off. It was almost 1:30pm when they got to school due to traffic. Her parents had come to drop her off together. "We don't know Elle; this has been going on since morning." Abby answered, taking the buckets, and climbing the stairs with them. "I heard some girls say there's been a scandal concerning one of the students here, but no one mentioned a name. I'm really curios to know who and what it is. Now that you're here, we'll all find out together. "Sisters, the priceless jewel is in now, give it up for her." Francisca, one of Ellen's dormmate's announced, when she and her friends entered the dorm, making the place erupt with laughter and mockery. "What does that mean?" Kelly asked, but Francisca only sneered and left. "Well, if it isn't the priceless jewel in the flesh. How was it, Ellen? I didn't think you had it in you, looking at your innocent appearance." Divine, Esther's school daughter asked with a laugh. "I don't know what you are talking about please." Ellen answered, flummoxed with what was going on, her heart picking up a race. Tension was all around, as some of the girls passed by her, making moaning sounds, and Ellen's head began to ache from her brain running with different thoughts, as to what was going on, when no one was directly saying anything, just mocking. She ignored them to lay her bed, while her friends arranged her chop box in the box room. "Oh good, you are in." Abby and Kelly came back to meet none other than Esther in the dorm. As if their day couldn't get any worse. "You little thing. I warned you, Amanda warned you, but you turned deaf ears to us. You thought just because he was with you, the whole world was at your feet. I told you he would ruin you, you thought I was lying. Just because he said some sweet words into your ears, you thought that was it. I tried to be a good Samaritan and warn you, that his plans for you are more brutal than any of us ever was. How was it? Tell me, I haven't done it with him for a while now. Did he take you to heaven and back? From the look of things, he did. He was even gentle with you, compared to his usual self, maybe he didn't want to break you in half." Esther sneered with sarcasm and mockery. Ellen at this point was too numb to hear everything she was saying, as she began to think about only one thing, and she doubted with every ounce of energy in her that it wasn't true. 'He couldn't have; he wouldn't. It's not possible, I was with him the whole time. It couldn't have been a set up when they entered and left together. Maybe Esther was talking about something else.' These thoughts played musical chairs in her head as they run around, avoiding the major thing out of fear. "What are you talking about Esther?" Ellen's ear picked Kelly's question, as it registered in her mind. "Oh, my bad. It looks like you have no idea how not so innocent your friend here is, literally. Take a good look at this. It was posted this morning anonymously, and it's trending a lot. Look at the caption, *PRICELESS JEWEL BOUGHT AND PAID FOR*. I came here specifically to be the first to say, I TOLD YOU SO." Esther explained, showing a video of what appeared to be a leaked sex tape of a girl who looked like Ellen, the boy not being seen clearly, but they needed no one to tell them that was Henry. "Elle, is this you?" Abby asked, shocked, and disgusted at the same time, showing the video to Ellen, whose eyes widened. "Of course it is, can't you recognize your best friend in the world? The better question is, did you take contraceptives Ellen? Judging from your moan and scream here, he released in you, and unless you were both protected, you could be pregnant." Esther answered, placing her finger on her chin with a sarcastic concern. "You had sex with Henry?! Ellen, tell us this is not you!" Kelly asked, her voice pitching high with astonishment. Ellen just kept staring at the phone screen, which she let it fall when her breakfast came rushing to her throat out of disgust and heartbreak. She rushed out of the dorm with her hand on her mouth, her friends behind her heels after Esther commented "That little bitch, is my phone the one that got her pregnant?" squatting to pick it up. There was an uproar in Kingsley house as everyone came for juicy gossip, topic being Senior Henry has impregnated Ellen, the priceless jewel.
Ellen emptied her system of everything that was willing to come out through her mouth, tears and loud sobs being the last to come from her eyes and throat. Nothing made sense about what was going on. Henry wouldn't do that. He might be a playboy, but he wouldn't be so evil to tarnish her this way. 'Oh God, did her family know about this? What will her parents say or do? Was she really pregnant?' She thought as she bawled her soul out. She was yet to take the pill they bought as she had to wait for three days before taking it. She should have told the pharmacist that she had already done an unprotected one a week ago as well, maybe she would have given her something for that too. She couldn't be pregnant; how would she face her mother? She trusts her so much, and this would break her heart. "Ellen!" Abby banged the door with Kelly beside her. "Ellen come out please! It's not healthy to stay there, please come out." Abby continued to bang the washroom door. They could hear her weeping, but she wouldn't come out.
Kelly just didn't know what to think. Was this really happening, or it was a nightmare? How could she hide such a thing from them? "Ellen!" Abby banged the door again. It wasn't well after about thirty minutes before Ellen came out, looking haggard with swollen eyes. The banging had stopped, so she thought her friends had left, but she came out to meet them waiting outside. "Elle!" Abby exclaimed when she saw her come out finally. She had lots of questions to ask her, but right now she had to a good friend, unlike Kelly who looked at her as if she was stranger, and Ellen's heart churned when she saw that look. "Ellen, it's okay. You'll be fine." Abby, who didn't know the right words to say, just tried to comfort her with a hug, Ellen breaking down again. "I need to make a call." She finally spoke, leaving Abby's embrace. "Who do you want to call, your baby daddy?" Kelly barked, making Abigail squint her eyes at her. "How can you say such a thing right now? Can't you see the state she's in?" Abby scolded. "You are right, I'm sorry. I just don't know what to think right now." Kelly apologized. "How about you help me console our friend for now. We'll talk later." Abby said, looking at both of them, while she held Ellen. They got to the snack square to make the call amidst stereotypical stares and pointed hands. Ellen was on the verge of losing her mind as she kept hearing "The number you have dialed does not exist." She was trying to get to Henry, but his number was not connecting. "Call me when you get the chance, it's still the same number." His words echoed in her mind as she kept trying. She needed to hear from Henry that everything was fine, that this was all a big misunderstanding, that everything he said to her was the truth, that he didn't betray her this way, possibly pregnant aside her tarnished image. Ellen began to cry silently again, and Abby felt sorry for her friend. It was disheartening watching her try Henry's number countless times. "Do you have Clara's number off head? You can try calling her if he's not answering." Abby suggested, almost in tears as well. "How naïve and clueless are you? What? Do you think those three walk together for no reason? What makes you think they don't know? If not at first, Clara found out yesterday at the beach, and yet, she said nothing about it to you. I have to say I'm disappointed in her for that. I thought she genuinely liked you. Oh well, I have irrefutable proof that Henry played you. Wanna see?" Esther's voice from nowhere sounded behind them, making Kelly curious, and she nodded. Ellen didn't pay attention to her as she tried Clara's number to no avail too. Hers existed; the phone was switched off instead. She didn't have Eric's number and so couldn't call him. Steph was not in the country, there was no way she could contact her without going online, and she didn't bring her phone, just like Henry knew she wouldn't. Ellen placed her hand on her chest as she felt pain from the conversation she was hearing on Esther's phone, the screen cracked.