Hey Mr. Reddit. I’ve got a story for you and the REEEE army. Don’t know if I’ll sound whiny or not, but here goes:

So back in high school (all girls catholic), I was a decent student and a bit of a wallflower who preferred a handful of friends to a large social circle. I never caused trouble and all my teachers liked me. High school life was peaceful…until this.

Unbeknownst to me, someone decided to start a rumor that I was making a hit list. The catalyst for this rumor: I was always on the computer in the library (I was doing homework early and/or free writing poems and stories when the inspiration struck). I’d be so focused on what I was doing, I did better when tuning everything else out except the time. Around this time, a girl would usually approach me every so often and ask what I’m doing. I normally gave short answers because of how focused I was. I had no clue what trouble would spark for me because of my love of writing. And off to the races we go!

I had no idea about this rumor for weeks. During this time, classmates and underclass girls asking me “am I on the list?”, to which I gave them a highly confused look but never got any answers. I finally found out about it when I was called to a meeting midday with my mom, principal, and head mistress. Apparently some freshmen were talking about it during class and mentioned me by name, this alerted a teacher, which prompted the meeting.

I was drilled for 30 minutes about the rumor and I, along with my mother, was totally shocked such a rumor went around. All my notebooks were checked along with my USB stick. I also showed them the free writing I had done to clear my name. With lack of evidence (there was none to begin with) I didn’t face any consequences. After that I was free to go, but my mental state and self esteem were thrown in a total tail spin because the rumor still continued. I couldn’t go a single day without hearing whispers behind my back, getting asked about the nonexistent list, or hearing jokes directed at me about it. By then, I’d started spending an hour at home contemplating self harm which was made worse because I was home alone (parents got home hours after me) and I didn’t know who to turn to.

I withdrew, stopped spending time in the library unless it was to sit at a desk and work, and preferred to be alone. I didn’t trust anyone to not bring it up and felt like everyone saw me as a freak. I kept my head down and just prayed a solution would come.

Anyway, when it was discovered who started the rumor (apparently it was a senior and 3 freshmen - all of which were usually present to inquire about whatever I was doing on the computer), I was given some half hearted apology by only one of them. After that, I took to avoiding them at all times. After that, it took another month for the rumor to finally die out but the damage was already done and I stayed anti-social for the rest of the year and develop trust issues that persist to this day.

So that’s my story. No revenge to speak of. No malicious compliance or anything. Just a cautionary story to be more aware of my surroundings. You have my full permission to read this on YouTube.

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Edit: if you’re wondering, the ‘hit list’ I was making was actually a list of classmates I wanted to invite to my Sweet 16 (I’m currently 27). And honestly, after the rumor died down and I finally felt ok to go back on the computer, I was so depressed I sunk down the rabbit hole and wrote some really dark poems about ending myself. Poems I still have even now.