The caramel-haired girl in an elegant black chiffon dress didn’t have it in her to open the tinted glass door of the women’s bathroom and walk in. She wasn’t brave enough to confront the group of girls inside, so she just stood frozen in place, just barely close enough to hear the full content of the bitter gossip just steps away.

“…bet she really thinks she’s all that,” hissed a snarky voice. “Everybody knows the Aurora installations in Canada are among the best in the world, so of course oh-so-perfect Wendy Son would have an unfair advantage.”

Another higher voice joined the conversation laced in the same acidic tone. “I heard she comes from a well-off family so she probably bought her way in here.”

Outside, Wendy merely sighed. She had gotten used to it by now, at some point over these past couple of years she had even stopped silently shedding tears, but that didn’t mean the vile poison in those words didn’t have any effect on her.

“I heard she ed the whole male population of the 1st division and a few of the girls, too,” quipped a third voice with a sharp snicker. “Rumor has it that Joy and her were a thing back in Canada, that’s how they already knew each other before training, but…” A sudden motion next to her kept Wendy from listening to the last bit of that sentence.

She turned around just in time to get a view of a slim arm flying past her to push the main restroom door open, but her reflexes were quick, her arduous training never failed her. Wendy grabbed the arm of the woman next to her, preventing her from walking any farther. The woman had dark brown hair and dark brown eyes with a fiery glint to them, she looked furious.

“Just leave it, please,” Wendy whispered barely audibly with pleading eyes that spoke volumes.

The woman next to her hesitated for a moment, then slightly shook her head as if to rid herself of her own doubts. “They’re being too much,” she replied in an equally quiet voice, ready to burst into the bathroom.

Wendy was adamant, though. She wasn’t about to let this stranger get into an argument over something so petty. She tightened her grip around the woman’s arm, dragging her as far away as she could. The other woman resisted but Wendy was determined to avoid any confrontation with the clique inside the restroom.

Only after they had rounded the corner of the long hallway that lead back to the main ceremony hall did Wendy let go of the woman’s arm. “It’s fine, they’re just words. They can’t hurt me,” she reasoned as she tried to calm down the fuming woman in fron