The rest of the day continues on as Athena had imagined. 
 

Whispers, 

                                                                       whispers, 

                                                                                                                                        whispers.


 

They just. didn't. stop. 

From class to class, Athena could feel the stares like lasers burning her back. Rooms silenced when she entered and it really that she only had two classes with her friends; first period in the morning and fourth period (last) in the afternoon. That left her with two classes to be left alone, stared at like she was some freak show. 

Athena tried to not care, to let words simply be words, but it hurt. It hurt her to known that people thought she was some monster. The rumors that were flying around the school weren't pretty at all and most were blown way out of proportion but that didn't change the effect they had on Athena. Every time she heard a whisper or a snicker behind her back, it felt as though she was shot in the heart. 

After second period, she was more than relieved that it was lunch. The group had never really been one to stay in the cafeteria which was a major plus for Athena. No more stares. 

Or so she thought.

You see, while the gossiping kids finally got their heads out of their butts long enough to hear something new, Felix was making his way down the hallway. Now, of course, Felix didn't plan on gaining a lot of attention, it just happened. People were drawn to him and the school's student body was no different.

The girls were swooning and bombarding the boy with questions as he entered both of his morning classes. He wasn't even able to fully introduce himself before the screams were unleashed. It seemed as though everyone wanted to be Felix's friend. And that was nice. At least the idea of it was nice. In reality, Felix was extremely overwhelmed. It was his first day at school in a foreign country and all of a sudden everyone's jumping at him like he's an attraction at the zoo. It was suffocating. Plus, Felix still wasn't very confident in his Korean and now he had to become like some Korean master to talk to all of these people. 

As lunch rolled around, he was more than happy to get away from everyone. Remembering which locker Athena had told him was hers, he heads in that direction, not knowing of the mayhem he's about to cause.

Shutting her locker with a sigh, Athena grips her lunch bag tightly and tries her best to hold in tears. She breathes in and then out, closing her eyes simultaneously. When she starts to walk towards the crew's usually hang out, she feels an arm wrap itself around her shoulder. Turning to the side, a smile spreads across her face as she sees who it is.

"Hey FeFe!"

"Ew," Felix says, scrunching his nose in disgust. "Don't call me that ever again."

"Why? I think it's cute.... FeFe," Athena replies with a giggle.

Felix removes his arm from her shoulder and starts speed walking out to the front yard.

"Wait! FeFe, wait for me!" Athena yells with a laugh.

Felix bursts out giggling too before breaking into a sprint. Athena groans but races after him, feeling better than she had the whole day. They both were finally free of the suffocating air that the school brought upon them, finally feeling like themselves again. Unfortunately, that taste of freedom was really only just a taste.