Neglect

3

During the two days when Lily didn't come to school, I tossed and turned in bed every night and couldn't sleep.

Later, the homeroom teacher told us that she had ended her own life by cutting her wrist. However, the police spoke to us and said that someone ended Lily. Her death was like throwing a small stone into the lake, but only a small ripple splashed before it disappeared.

I didn't see sadness and nostalgia in the eyes of my classmates.

She was just like the disgrace of our class. We were all ashamed to talk about her.

However, when she was alive, she was the punching bag of our whole class.

Graduation and grades put us under a lot of stress. We were all suffocating like sardines crammed into cans.

That was until Lily appeared. She was a stress reliever in our mundane lives. She was also a common topic for us to bond with our classmates.

Lily's appearance made the boys accept me. I fit into the boys' circle when I first called Lily a hooker.

However, after Lily died, I realized that I hadn't fit in at all.

Lily was gone, and they desperately needed someone to vent their adolescent resentment and endless energy.

Hence, they all looked at me.

I was curled up on the dirty floor of the toilet at the time, smelling of blood and excrement.

Next to me was the silver-spooned kid, who had scolded Lily with me not long ago. He was now taking pictures of me with his phone.

I knew that the video would circulate on the internet soon, and I had even guessed how the words described me.

I looked like a stinkbug and a dog.

I closed my eyes and didn't move anymore.

I waited for the next fist to fall on me.

I suddenly thought of Lily, who was also beaten in the toilet. I thought she must have felt the same as me at that time.

4

This case was actually quite simple. A small amount of bodily fluid was found on the victim's body, as well as the killer's dander in the victim's nails. It was clear that this person was not a professional.

We investigated the suspects. Lily's boyfriend was a gangster who had been hanging out in illegal cybercafes all year round and was still under the age of 18.

When we proposed a DNA test, Lily's boyfriend explained, "Lily and I never went over the line. I'm innocent."

After a comparison, Lily's boyfriend was not the killer.

We also compared the DNA of the silver-spooned kid. He had a strong reaction and refused to cooperate. I vividly recalled him spitting at us and saying, "I wouldn't take advantage of that hooker, Lily. I'm scared of AIDS."

I said calmly, "You were unable to provide an alibi at that time. Please cooperate with the inspection."

However, there was still no match.

The third suspect was Julian Walker, who had appeared at the scene. According to the victim's father's account, Julian left after delivering the materials. I remembered when I interviewed him. Although his alibi was incomplete, I couldn't associate this feeble-looking boy with the menace.

However, his DNA matched that of the killer.

When I saw the boy named Julian again, he was in a hardware store.

He was wearing a baggy school uniform, and his back was slightly hunched. He stood in the store and seemed cowardly.

I asked my colleague to wait for me outside and went into the store by myself. I just happened to hear him whispering to the storekeeper, "Do you have a small hammer for hammering nails?"

He turned around and saw me, and there was nothing abnormal about his facial expression. Instead, he smiled and greeted me.

I couldn't see any evil intentions through that cowardly and fawning smiling face.

5

I knew I was under suspicion by the police.

I knew this day would come sooner or later, but it just came a little too early.

It was so early that I hadn't smashed Daniel's head with a hammer yet.

I said to the police calmly, "I'm still under 18."

I saw the policeman suddenly clenching his fists. I thought he would rush over to hit me, but he didn't move.

He just glanced at me, and unlike my classmates and teachers, there was no disgust or mockery in his eyes.

However, I considered this to be worse than being beaten in the restroom or mocked by the teacher in class.

I sat on a chair and slowly narrated the process of my crime.

When I went to Lily's house to deliver the materials, I heard her quarreling with her father. She opened the door for me, and I saw her face was a little swollen.

When I set the materials down, her father was answering the phone and saying that he would pay them back soon. I heard her father owed a lot of money and would frequently go out to avoid his creditors.

I left Lily's house, but I didn't leave the residential area until I saw her father hurry out of the residential area with a small suitcase.

I went back to Lily's house. She invited me in and poured me a glass of water.

A small piece of tanned flesh was revealed when she lowered her head.

When she handed me the water, her eyes were slightly red, and she looked very pitiful.

As if blood had rushed to the top of my head all of a sudden, I couldn't help but say what I had always wanted to say, "I like you!"

She opened her mouth wide in surprise when she heard that.

I was afraid that she couldn't hear me clearly, so I repeated, "I like you."

She had a bad reputation, was bullied a lot, and was despised by a lot of people. I assumed she would take my love very seriously. Would I appear as a savior in her dark life?

However, her facial expression changed drastically. She set the glass of water down and said coldly, "I don't like you. Thank you for delivering the materials to me. You can go back now."

Her indifference was simply unacceptable. Everyone hated her, and only I liked her. Shouldn't she accept my love because of that?

She was an ungrateful witch.

I was blinded by rage, and I threw myself at her.

I pinned her legs with my knees.

She struggled so fiercely that the force of my hand grew stronger and stronger.

I knew she was dead when her red nail-polished hands dropped limply.

When I looked at her body, it was as if a beast had escaped from the prison in my heart, and I played with the prey in front of me unscrupulously.

I looked up at the police after I finished speaking.

The police asked me coldly, "Who do you think you are? Why should she accept your love? What were you doing when she was bullied for the first time?"

I was in a trance. I remembered that day when the paper balls were thrown at her from all directions, and when she was sobbing softly on the table, and I... What was I doing?

6

Two female students were talking in the noisy corridor about what had happened at school recently.

One of the girls said, "A girl in our class died. She didn't study well and was usually quiet. Her behavior wasn't the best either. I learned that she was ended by a high-performing student in our class. It seemed that boy wanted to date her, but she refused. Why did she allow the boy to visit her if she didn't want to date him? It takes two to tango. She died because of her own reasons. It's a pity for that high-performing student. He could have been admitted to the top university." She then sighed.

Another girl covered her mouth in surprise and said, "That's terrifying."

When the two girls were gossiping in a low voice, a boy ran over, pushed them, and said, "Go back to the classroom. That girl's lunatic father came to argue with the homeroom teacher again. He had demanded tens of thousands of dollars from the boy's parents, but it wasn't enough for him. So, he's come to the school to ask for money."

The three of them went back to their respective classrooms.

The sky at Maple High School was blue.

The students were smiling and running in the corridor.