Lost
Trope Variety Hour: July 2026 || Day 7: Do You Want Me to Lie and Say I Love You?
This is one of the backstories of my OC Liam Trover.
(Warning for bullying, homophobia, and misgendering)
“Pop quiz in ten minutes, folks.”
Teacher Miller strolled in the classroom and dropped their bag on a chair. There were a few mutters of complaints throughout the eleven-year-olds, but most of them had gotten used to the sudden morning quizzes since they got a new Science teacher a month ago.
The Water Cycle.
Liam bored his eyes into the title of his textbook. It was boring, so boring. He was eleven already. Shouldn’t they be learning something like…Chemistry? On the other hand, Liam needn’t worry about the quiz coming in minutes. He shook off the complaining voices in his head and closed the book.
He could hear coffee draining from a dripper into the mug. It was Teacher Miller. Every Tuesday - or every day, as Liam presumed - they would make a mug of coffee, taking precisely 8 minutes, before starting their lesson or like today, a pop quiz.
18 g of ground coffee, 300 ml of boiled water, and 3 minutes.
Somewhere along the few weeks Liam had memorised the way Teacher Miller made coffee. He told himself that the interest was just born out of boredom and his keen observation.
“Ow!” hissed Liam, his hand shooting up and clasping on the back of his neck.
Someone’s spit ball had been aimed at him and it was now sliding into his shirt. He grabbed the back of his shirt and flapped it as subtly as possible, hoping desperately that the disgusting thing would drop out.
“Ay, is Miller that good to look at?”
“Shut up,” Liam muttered. He didn’t need to turn around to know it was Byrus.
Liam has always wondered how extroverts had the energy to make friends all the time. It seems, if he let Byrus around him long enough, he would find out. They had only known each other less than a month, and he was already tagging himself beside Liam everywhere he went.
“You’re staring at her,” Byrus insisted, poking Liam’s shoulder with a pen.
Luckily, Teacher Miller chose to start passing down quiz papers at that moment and rescued Liam.
He knew it wasn’t over though. Byrus would never give up on confronting him.
Sure enough, at recess, Byrus blocked the doorway before Liam could leave without him.
“So, what the hell is it about Miller?”
Liam quickened his pace and ignored him, but Byrus just started half jogging.
“C’mon, man. You keep staring at her like she’s making you coffee. Can’t you just share something with your buddy?”
“I’m not your buddy.” Liam turned so abruptly that Byrus’ nose almost bumped against his, “and you know it’s nothing.”
“You help her clean the whiteboard and put the pens or whatever stuff on the table before she comes. That’s nothing?”
“Yes,” Liam deadpanned, and asked the next question in an ugly face, as if he had been suppressing his desire to blurt it out for a long time. “How do you know Teacher Miller is a girl anyway?”
Byrus cocked his head. “I dunno. She looks like a girl pretending to be a boy. What, you like boys? Do you think she’s a boy?”
Liam whipped around and began walking again. His lips twitched, and an irritated frown was barely suppressed.
“Do you have a crush on him then?” Byrus, sensing that he couldn’t catch up to him again, threw out a holler. The very few students in the halls all turned to look at who he was yelling at.
Liam gritted his teeth and forced himself to slow down his footsteps, preventing them from breaking into a run. His face was flushed with an angry red. 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32…… he muttered faster and faster. Calm down, Trover, for God’s sake. There was no reason to be angry at Byrus, Liam told himself. He was only trying to be a friend. He didn’t do it - whatever it was - on purpose.
To be fair, Liam wasn’t sure whether Teacher Miller was a girl or a boy either. It was one of the most frequent questions his classmates would pester the teacher with, but Teacher Miller would just shake their head mysteriously and say “guess”.
By the time he had reached the English classroom, Liam’s mood had lifted, for the moment.
<—>
Liam had decided to wake up early the next Tuesday morning. He pushed open the door of the empty Science classroom. It was always unlocked for some reason. Some students had asked Teacher Miller why before, but they just shrugged and joked that the skeleton in the corner would act as a guard and protect the room. Liam couldn’t have snorted harder at that.
He wiped the whiteboard clean and dropped the red, green, and black markers on Teacher Miller’s desk. His gaze inevitably landed on the coffee dripper on the side tables.
Should he?
Liam took a hesitant step forward.
Oh, screw it.
He fetched some hot water, and after eight minutes, a coffee mug was also carefully placed on Teacher Miller’s desk.
Liam slid back into his seat, his heart thumping louder than usual.
8:47
Most of his classmates were already seated, waiting for the teacher. Liam crossed his fingers under the table, then cursed himself for being so anxious. It was no big deal. He’d prepared all the other stuff for Teacher Miller before, this time was no difference.
The door swung open and said teacher walked in with a casual smile. “Hey gang,” they dropped their bag, then…
“Well, someone’s eager for the quiz to start. I’ll pass down the papers!”
A groan, much louder than last time, spread through the room. Liam could feel withering gazes sent in his direction. The tip of his ears flared into a deep crimson. He just prayed that his hair could cover it up. Judging by another nudge from his back, he knew it didn’t.
“Great job, lover boy,” Byrus mumbled.
Liam turned, ready to snap, but the quiz papers were stuffed into his hand, so he passed them on and shot Byrus a glare instead.
Halfway through the test, a paper airplane Liam’s thigh. He bit back any sound of pain and unfolded it quietly.
Wanna make me some coffee too? LOVER BOY
A bunch of hearts were drawn at the end of the message, and scribbled signatures were jotted down all over it - the signatures of almost everyone in the classroom, as Liam counted.
He folded it into a neat, small square and slid it in the drawer. 1, 2, 4, 8, 16…… No, the method was failing him today, and he was stuck in the classroom. Liam raised his hand.
“Can I go to the bathroom, Teacher Miller?” he muttered. His body jolted as he felt Byrus kick his chair.
“Sure. Any one of you finished the quiz yet? Pick someone to go with you for safety.”
“I’ll go,” Liam’s heart sank as Byrus stood.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Byrus demanded as soon as they were out in the hallway.
Liam flinched. Fuck. That was a word his mum would only say when she was really, really out of control, when she was really mad. “What the fuck do you mean?” he retorted, mimicking the tough tone.
“You made coffee? What are you, a puppy? Are you gay, Liam? Why do you like girls pretending to be boys?”
They both stopped in their tracks in front of the men’s bathroom.
“I don’t, like, Teacher Miller,” Liam gritted out. “Do you want me to lie and say I do? It’s called being thoughtful, in case you somehow never heard of it.”
“Who the hell makes coffee for your teacher? That’s just…that’s not normal,” Byrus shook his head. “Anyways, I’m going. You’re not my friend anymore. I don’t wanna be friends with a weirdo.”
Byrus walked off.
Friends. Was that what they were? Liam stared at the way Byrus left. He’s not your friend, his mind kept telling him, but Liam still couldn’t shake off the feeling he had lost something again.
That was it. Hope you enjoyed it! Liam’s life is a bit…I think tragic could be the word. I really want to write more about him in the future. Please tell me what you think in the comments. It’s my first original story posted <3