short story

THE GOSSIPER

Loida is considered the brightest girl in Miss Ramos's class until Norma, a transferee, joined the class. Norma was intelligent , too. She easily won the friendship and confidence of her classmates and teachers. She was quiet and very cooperative. Her classmates then turned to her for help which she readily and happily gave away.
Loida feeling the loss of some of her friends felt envious. She started telling stories against Norma. Norma unaware of Loida's envy towards her, treated her well as she did with the rest of her classmates. But Loida shunned away from her.
Loida's classmates did not listen to her stories at first. But later on they believed her and so they turned away from Norma. "Oh, I see," Rosita, a classmate said. "Now I know why Norma has plenty of money every day."
"My mother said that hostesses really earn much money specially when they are pretty. And Norma's mother is very pretty. Have you seen her?" asked another classmate.
"I will not go with Norma any more. She is the daughter of the hostess," another one mused. Norma soon felt her classmate moving away from her one by one. A very closed friend of hers, Emma, told her the truth.
"Oh, no. My mother isn't a hostess.She is a telephone operator. She works on a rotation basis day and night," she explained crying to her teacher. "Who could have told such unkind story about your mother?" asked Miss Ramos.
"Who of you could be so unkind as to tell false stories about Norma's mother," Miss Ramos asked her pupils the next day. Everybody's eyes were straight on their teacher as Miss Ramos continue talking, except Loida's. Her head was bent low in shame.