6 Our logo

After I spent weeks in the hospital, I was ready to apologize to mom and Ethan. But, when I went to her new house, she wasn’t the broken woman I met a few weeks ago. She was acting all happy and cheery like when she was with my dad. Then I realized that she moved on so quickly, and I shouldn’t beat myself for her or her love for my dad. I moved on too, and she’s a total stranger for me now.

I went to Ethan’s house to talk to him, but he left for another country with his friends. I don’t know who they are and where they went. The next year he changed school because I was going to start high school at it. A living hell was an understatement to describe my life, and he wasn’t there for me. So, I cross him from my shortlist of people I trust as he never was there.

That Liam guy tore his gaze from me to the person behind me, and the smile grows wide on his face again. “Why are you blocking the girl’s way? Do you like her?” Like me? I looked at the cheerful voice, and his face is the same. Not the same as I saw him last time but the same as I used to see him, smiling from ear to ear, and his eyes are shining like the sun. No, let me get that back because the second he saw me, his face drained and turned pale as the moon.

“Sarah,” He whispered to himself, but we heard him.

“Do you know her, man?” Liam asked, confused.

“No, he doesn’t,” I protest before Ethan could talk. “Can I go now?” I asked while taking my first step.

“Oh no, you still didn’t answer my question.” Liam stepped in front of me.

“Liam, what do you want from her?” Ethan asked him seriously this time.

“The girl is wearing a hoodie with our logo on it. I want to know where she took it. She might be a stalker,” He explained his unreasonable theory, why would I be a stalker? Who is he to think of me stalking him?

Ethan stayed silent for like 2 minutes, and I was at the time trying to get out of there, but the crazy kid was full of tricks, every move I made he follow.

“You know that she is the daughter of a famous designer, right?” Our focus turned to him. Liam nodded. “Well, she can get the design she wants whenever she wants, it doesn’t mean that the logo was ours completely.” He resonates with his friend. I know it’s not the principal reason which I should search for it, but I am glad it’s the key for me to go to class finally. I never thought that I would be that happy to go to the classroom.

Before I passed Ethan, I mutter, so he’ll be the only one to hear me, “Not happy to see your flashy smile again.”

**

I had feelings that today will never pass normally, just like yesterday. Me getting by the hallway, walking to the class, sleeping, and going to the house after that, wasn't the plan for today. And my feeling was right. At the end of the hallway, next to the stairwell, I heard a pleading voice. I knew I couldn’t ignore it the second I heard a girl screaming to be left alone. It woke the defensive side of me in an instant.

I run there to find the captain of the football team took some papers from the girl by force. Typical bullies grow some muscles, and they think that they are the center of the world, and everyone should bow to them.

“Leave the girl alone, or you’ll not be happy with my feast on your face,” I warned him. His body tensed a bit, but he did all his best to hide it.

“Well, look what we have here, Sarah Turner. The school loner. I want to talk to you more but, this girl has my homework, and I need to take it”. He said with a smug smile on his face. He wants me to use my feast. I didn’t punch someone in this school for so long and calling the homework his when it looks 100% hers makes me want to.

I looked at the girl, and she shook her head, “I worked all night on this essay, and I’ll get F if I didn’t give it to the teacher this morning,” She said with a low and scared voice.

“Stop lying,” He yelled, sending his punch to her face, which I stopped, of course, and pushed him to the wall.

“You want homework, do it yourself. If you think that I won't break some bones on you because you're representing the school in football, think twice. And before you act like a jerk again, you’ll find me in front of you waiting a second my feast contacts your pretty face,” He nodded in understanding.

“I see that your favorite sandbag didn’t give you the satisfaction you needed,” I lose the grip on the jerk jersey and turn to find that the owner’s voice was the only one Noah Hunter.

“What do you want, Hunter?” I said, glaring at him. The kid runs away from us.

“A Boxer should not be a bully, you know that right,” He was mocking me. Me?

“So, I looked like a bully a few seconds ago?” I asked sarcastically, not waiting for an answer, but he did nod confirming. And it makes me angry. “I was bullying the captain of the football team. That is not what we read in books. It’s always the popular one bully the loner which in this case, is me. Well, let me tell you what happened, not as I do care about your opinion,” Do I? “On second thought, since I don’t care, I won’t. The thing that you should know that I would never be Amer's favorite boxer if I didn’t apply his first rule. 'Boxing is about honor. Don’t use your feast on someone weaker than you or to hurt anyone who's not whiling to fight you equally.’ And I follow it with honor. To fight a bully not to be the one.”

I took my bag and the papers from the floor. I handed them to the scared girl hiding behind the lockers and I left. I was mad at myself because I gave him an explanation. Damn it; I would’ve ignored him as the rest and save my voice.

Because of the scenes that happen this morning, I entered the classroom after it was full of students. I hated the moment of silence they gave me after I get in and the whispers they follow/ Like today gossip is:

“I heard she saved someone from bullying.”

“I thought she’s the one that bullied.”

“She was talking to two other the F. A, yesterday the teacher and now them!”

“The witch is trying to have all of them to herself, that won’t happen in my watch.”

“Noah was about to kick her because he saw her bullying someone.”

“Good, that someone has the force to face her. The bitch needs who stop her.”

I ignored the nothingness they were whispering. When I was about to put my earphones so I can sleep, Noah and his friend Adam came in fixing their gaze at me. The last one smiled at me, and the other one stared. I guess they entered when the whispers started.

“Are you okay?” Adam asked with concern. “Why shouldn’t I be?” I asked back. He thinks that I am going to be sad because of them. After all this time, I’ll be stupid if I didn’t get used to it.

“How she dares to talk to him like that?” One plastic girl groaned. Is he a king I shouldn’t disrespect?

The guy next to me, Noah push his chair while getting up with so much force as it fell. The class went quiet. He looked at me, literally scan me. Went out, and Adam follows him. I put my earphones again and lay my head on the table to sleep.

“Don’t hurt me, please…… I did nothing wrong. I promise I’ll listen to everything you say, uncle. I don’t want chocolate. I’ll sit next time on your lap. Don’t ripe my doll, please give it back.”

I snapped from my sleep with sweat wetting all my clothes. My vision was blurry for the first few seconds, and I wish it stayed like that because all the class eyes were on me.

Tears fall out of my eyes. I was shivering. From when I get 12, I never had a different dream other than the night's one. And I never dreamed in the morning. Now I let out a big part of me to everyone to see.

Mr. Smith runs to my desk, trying not to freak out in front of me. I sense that he doesn’t know what to do for me.

“Sarah, are you alright?” I nodded, but clearly, I wasn’t. My mind was blank as a white paper. I can’t even describe what I just saw. “Want me to walk you to the nursery?” I shook my head. “Get your stuff and go. You can go home after. I won’t check your absence”.

I hated the look that everyone’s giving me. Some are sympathizing, some are curious or confused, and some are enjoying the look of me.

My hands were shaking to where I couldn’t take the pen from my desk. Adam grabs my bag from the floor, took the pen and notebook I had on the table. He put them in the bag and hand it to me. I mouthed to him a thank you and walked out of the classroom. I knew that they wouldn’t do anything for me in the nursery, so I took my way out of the school.

I walked, just walked. I was in horror, dazed, and terrified. I was shivering; it feels so cold, empty, and dark inside me. That nightmare was terrifying more than the usual one. I saw it like an old tape was playing in front of me. And a scene that’ll frighten every girl in the world.

The way his hands traveled on her skin. The scaring loud laughs from him and how the girl shivers. She’s young, yet she knew that what’s happening to her wasn’t normal, but he’ll give her chocolate to shush her. And if she didn’t, he'd threaten her by ripping her favorite doll.

I know it’s not healthy to see this so; I got to search this up, or I am going to turn to a real crazy this time. But would I be able to handle the answers?

I now feel like living in my head. All I know about my body is that my right hand is forcefully hold my bag, and my legs are walking. How? To where? I don’t know.

“Watch out!!”

That yell was enough to get me snap from the eternal space I was in, but it was later to save me. I opened my eyes to reality when I was pushed out of the road. It is happening again, but the victim to my insanity wasn’t my dad; it was the guy that seemed not to like me. He was lying next to me on the icy floor. Before passing through the trauma attack, everything went blurry, and the worried eyes of the Noah never let mine until I embraced the darkness.