Texting Anonymous

I walk into school, and immediately, I feel it. The stares. The whispers. The way people turn their heads as I pass, nudging their friends and trying to hold back laughter. My stomach twists into knots. My face already burns, and I haven't even made it to my locker yet.

I walk down the hall, pushing past people as fast as I can until I finally spot Cartman and Kenny near the lockers.

I take a deep breath, trying to prepare myself. How bad can it be?

I step up to them and ask, "How bad is it?"

Cartman glances around the hallway,. "Kenny, do we tell him?"

Kenny hesitates before sighing. "Real bad."

I let out a deep, exhausted sigh. "That's just great."

I don't even want to be in this hallway. Every second here is suffocating. "Let's go find Kyle and go somewhere else, please. Somewhere away from everybody."

Kenny nods. "Yeah, good idea."

The three of us start walking, and just when I think I might make it out of this hallway without any bullshit—

"Nice dick, Stan!"

Laughter erupts.

My whole body tenses. My ears are hot. My hands ball into fists at my sides, but I don't turn around. I don't acknowledge it. I just keep walking, but it feels like my legs are made of gelatin.

Kenny sighs beside me. "Just ignore it. Let's go find Kyle."

I just nod, my face burning with humiliation. This is hell.

We push through the crowd, my head down, until we make it to the library—somewhere quiet. Somewhere where, hopefully, nobody will bother me.

I just need a second to breathe.

I groan, dropping my head onto the table. "Dude, where's Kyle?"

Kenny pulls out his phone, scrolling for a second before saying, "He said he's almost here. I told him to meet us."

I nod, still feeling like I want to crawl into a hole and never come out. "Ugh. How do I get people to stop talking about this?"

Cartman leans back in his chair, smiling like he's been waiting for me to ask. "Hmm... maybe we make something bad happen to somebody so big that everybody forgets about it."

I lift my head just enough to glare at him. "Dude, what?"

Kenny sighs. "Don't listen to him, Stan."

Cartman shrugs. "I'm just saying. You wanna stop being the center of attention? Make someone else the center of attention. Think about it—if some huge scandal happens, people are gonna forget all about your little photo shoot."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah? And how exactly do I do that?"

Cartman grins. "Easy. We find someone with an even bigger secret than yours... and we let it slip."

Kenny shakes his head. "Jesus, dude."

I don't even respond. I just sink further into my chair. Because honestly? As awful as it sounds... part of me wishes something would happen just so everyone would shut up about me.

I glance at Cartman, feeling a wave of frustration wash over me. "Okay... who can we do it to?"

Cartman smirks, his wheels clearly turning in that sick little brain of his. "Hmm... let me think. There's gotta be someone with something juicy."

Kenny shakes his head, looking at me with a mix of disbelief and concern. "Dude, you're not seriously gonna go along with this, are you?"

I snap, my voice sharp. "I don't want people talking about me anymore, okay? I don't care what it takes."