1 Prologue

My life was hell.

Often times as I walked towards my school I would hear people sighing, ' What I hate going to class! ''. Other times, it was students I saw, with their bags over their shoulders, grimacing as they approached their high schools. And finally, the last students only complained about the time they spent in their establishment and, this, during a large part of the year. Some hated classes. Others, the teachers. And the latter simply hated the school system in general.

I was like them. I hated my high school too. In fact, I hated even going there. But, compared to them, I had real reasons to hate my class.

***

Hearing my phone's alarm go off, I just reached out to turn it off. Then, like a soulless puppet, I sat up on my bed, before simply sitting still, completely still. In fact, my simple gaze could tell of what I was thinking. It was dead. Just like my joy of living.

Every day of school was hell for me. Looking at my fingers, only to see some of them surrounded by bandages, I still felt them sore and numb as I tried to fold them back.

" So, Meline ? How much do you have on you ? " A girl asked me, stomping my hand under her foot.

Then pulling up the sleeves of the top that I was wearing, to see the skin of, I examined the still visible traces of the burns that had been caused to me by the cigarette butts.

" If you stopped moving, it would hurt less!" A boy had sneered, while crushing the hot tip of his cigarette against my skin. " Or not. "

Finally getting to my feet, I walked to my bedroom bathroom, like a robot. Once locked in the room, I took off all my clothes completely before staring into a mirror.

Overall, I had an average height of 1.72 meter for around 60 pounds. Black shoulder-length hair. Dark brown eyes and somewhat pale skin. I had never had acne problems, my teeth didn't have the slightest defect; I didn't have a diction problem; no loose ears; not even the slightest freckle. In truth, I didn't have to complain about my physique.

However, it was enough just to look at the rest of my body to see that my face was the only part that was not degraded. My abdomen as well as my arms and legs were covered with multiple bruises or burns.

Every day I got hit, humiliated, racketeering ... I was the victim of constant harassment. Yes, I was one of those people who ended up on my own, having no one who could be called a friend. As a result, I had become easy prey for those looking to let off steam, both boys and girls. The head of Turkish in my class was therefore the person I saw through this mirror. The person with the dead look who, at the beginning, only wanted to spend a school year like an ordinary student.

During the first attacks, I tried to defend myself and respond. However, realizing that this only encouraged my attackers to hit me more, I ended up giving up completely.

It had been a long time since I stopped screaming or struggling. It has been a long time since I stopped praying for someone to help me stop this. It had been a long time since I just wanted to get it over with, no matter how.

***

Finishing my preparation, I left my room and went downstairs, while maintaining the same unearthed face. Hearing me, a head finally came out of the kitchen and began to smile at me.

"Hello, Meline! You are just in time for ..."

"Is Father there?" I simply asked.

"Huh, no." The woman told me. " He just left. "

"Ah? Okay." I said, simply, before heading for the front door. "In that case, see you tonight."

"But ... don't you want to eat something?"

" I'm not hungry. "

Seeing me leave, the woman behind me finally whispered. "

"In that case, have a good day."

Stopping still, I finally turn my gaze a little to my mother-in-law.

" Why was she here?" That was the question I kept asking myself.

When I was a child, I idolized a person: my mother. I loved her deeply. She had always taken care of me. She had always loved and protected me.

But for my father, she was not much. As proof, he had cheated on her several times. And my mother, after yet another discovery of his infidelity, ended up committing suicide. Since then, my father had found a woman replacement. So it had been eight years since I lived in the company of this bitch, who, in addition, had come to live with us less than a month after the death of my mother.

Continuing to stare at my mother-in-law, I had the greatest difficulty not giving her a glare. I hated her. Yes, I hated them, her and all my father's conquests. For me, they were all responsible for my mother's death.

Still, finally nodding my head, I ended up putting my hand on the doorknob before saying simply. "

" Good day ! "

***

Walking then, I made the usual way to start a new day, that only my tormentors can make different according to their mood.

Arriving in front of a pedestrian crossing, where several people were already, I stopped, seeing a red light. So looking in front of me, I remained completely still, paying no attention to the people around me or the cars.

Nothing could interest me, or bring me out of my trance. I felt like I had lost all form of emotion. Yet in two seconds the opposite happened.

First of all, it took me a few moments to realize it. Then, finally, I finally realized that a hand had rested on my back.

"Um?" I said, making a move to turn around.

I didn't even have time to make this gesture that I felt myself push forward.

"What...?" I couldn't help but say, taking a step forward.

Finding myself on the road, I widened my eyes, while a car was just in front of me. A screeching of tires was the last thing I could hear.

***

Opening my eyes, I simply lay on the hospital bed I had been on for a few days. Looking even more blank than usual, I had stayed in this small room since my accident. This time around, the bandages that usually covered my hands had been replaced by bandages, which completely covered both of my arms. I had had a few cracked ribs, which explained the compresses, as well as a beautiful, huge bruise on my left cheek.

From my first day here, a nurse told me that luck had been on my side. Indeed, due to the fact of being in the middle of the city, the car which had struck me was traveling at a speed much too low for the shock to be fatal. So this explained my presence here, in this hospital room, and that I am still alive.

Honestly, I couldn't figure out whether or not to be happy with this news. Being alive just meant that my tormentors had a chance to find their toy in pristine condition, and I, to find my daily hell.

Suddenly opening the door to my room, a nurse arrived with a tray full of bandages, as well as medicine.

"How's our patient?" She wanted to know, giving me a smile that was supposed to reassure me.

"Good!" I said simply, in a monotonous voice.

Gently taking my arm, the nurse squeezed it a little between her fingers, while asserting.

"It just seems to be getting better and better! You've been really lucky."

" That's you telling me. "Did I want to retort.

Still being silent, I let her heal me, while wondering if she was not just going to make it possible to come back to the torturers more quickly. When all this was finished, the young nurse told me next.

"By the way, someone came to see you."

"See me?" I surprised myself.

Hearing this surprised me quite a bit. Despite the three days I had spent here, no one had come to see me, not even my father. Only my mother-in-law came to see me for the first two days. However, I had been so quiet that she must have given up on trying to distract me. However, if I had to bet, there was a better chance that it was her who came back to see me.

"She came back?" I asked myself.

As if she understood who I meant, the nurse retorted.

"Huh, no! It's someone else."

" Someone else ? "

Knocking then against the half-open door, a man ends up sticking his head in my room, before asking me. "

" May I come in ? "

First of all, I was silent, while the man's face said nothing to me at all. In fact, it was his clothes that told me who he was. The man in front of me was dressed like a police officer.

"Excuse me for disturbing you! I am Lieutenant Diaro! If this is possible, I would like to ask you a few questions."

" Questions ?" I repeated simply, as the nurse finally left my room.

Taking a seat in a chair, the officer began by pulling out a notepad and pen before asserting.

"Your name is Meline! You are 17 years old and you are in the second year of high school! Right?"

" Yes. "

"Four days ago you had an accident! Since then you spent a day in a coma before waking up three days ago."

" Yes. "

"And regarding this accident, you got hit by a car."

" Yes. "

Hearing me respond with the same word, while hardly looking at him, the agent finally asks me.

"Do you have nothing more to add?"

" As ... ? "

"The fact that someone pushed you down the road."

Immediately, the man could catch a glimpse of my surprised gaze. It only lasted half a second. Still, Diaro could see him before I made him disappear. As a result, he understood that he had information that turned out to be true.

"You were surrounded by several people when the events unfolded! Two of them could see a figure sneaking up to you, before a hand pushed you! Is that true?"

This time I was silent. To tell the truth, despite my expressionless face, my brains were in turmoil. I couldn't understand why I was so surprised to hear this. Why I was trying to convince myself that it was impossible for someone to want me dead.

I had already had the greatest difficulty in explaining why I had become the head of Turkish in my class. But then ... how could things have escalated so much?

"So? Is this true?"

At that moment, he saw me shake. I was scared. Afraid to understand that someone wanted to kill me, without me being able to know their face. Yet despite this, I preferred to keep a neutral face, while asserting.

" No. "

Almost getting ready to write a new 'yes' in his notebook, Diaro looked up at me, before asking me. "

" Sorry ? "

"I wasn't pushed." I asserted. "I... I just lost my balance."

Hearing me, Diaro stared at me for a few seconds, before finally closing his notebook.

"Meline ... do you have any problems besides this one?"

" Problems ? "

"I read your medical card, you know? As soon as you arrived here, the doctors could see that you had a considerable number of bruises; burns and the like, which had nothing to do with your accident."

"They are wrong." I retorted. "I was doing great before this happened."

"Meline ... who put you in this state?"

"Nobody." I retorted.

"Listen, this is no longer the ugly joke for fun or a simple racket! There, it is almost an attempted homicide, or maybe even murder! Meline, you have to tell me the truth

"Damn it, shut up ! ".

Showing my first expressive gaze, I stared at the man angrily, as I started to feel tears flood my eyes.

"I have nothing to tell you! Get out!"

Looking at me, Diaro finally nods, before getting up.

"Very well! Nevertheless, ..."

Writing something in his notebook, he finally tears off a sheet of paper while placing it on my bedside table.

"Here's my phone number! If you're having trouble, you know what to do with it."

Seeing me remain silent, the man finally left, after saying "goodbye" to me.

As soon as he was gone, I covered my entire body under my blanket. Once done, I end up sobbing. This man could have helped me. Maybe he could have stopped it all. Nevertheless, I was afraid. Afraid that he will only do things halfway with my tormentors and that they will only have a simple warning and that they will end up taking revenge on me, with more violence than usual.

Yet deep down inside I knew I had to act. I knew that now it was going to look like kill ... or be killed.

And so it was that a strange laughter emanated from my room.

***

"You should have seen him scamper off," a student snickered, walking down the street. "A real chick!"

"What did you want him to do in front of you and your mirrored cabinet stature?" Another boy questioned, walking beside him.

Suddenly stopping, the gaze of the first catches something interesting.

"Look, she's back."

"Hmm? About what?"

Immediately, the boy's smile widened, the instant he recognized my figure.

"Hey, it's Meline! Hey, Meline!"

Startled a little, I almost immediately regained my composure, as the inevitable encounter with my tormentors was about to happen. Turning around, I could see Samuel, the heavier of the two, as well as Lucas.

A big smile on his face, Lucas couldn't help but position himself next to me, while noticing. "

"It's been a long time since we've seen you! Looks like you've been hospitalized."

" Huh ... yes. "

"We missed you so much." Lucas snickered, resting his arm on my shoulders. "Without you, we have less fun in our classroom."

Walking on the other side of me, Samuel saw my dead gaze unresponsive, despite Lucas' laughter.

" What happened to you ?

"Car accident! I lost my balance on the road."

"Ha ha ha!" Giggles Lucas. "You really are not smart,stupid girl! To think that you put the class in mourning for it! But don't worry, everyone will certainly be happy to see you ... alive."

Hearing his sarcastic tone, I couldn't help but trap my lower lip somewhat between my teeth.

"Besides, ..." the boy began, seeing my hands still covered in bandages. "Does it still hurt you?"

Without waiting for an answer from me, he suddenly took my arm and squeezed it. Feeling the pain right away, I couldn't help but scream, which made the boy laugh.

"Ah yes! It continues to hurt! You should have stayed another day or two at the hospital, if you want my ..."

"Hey, moron! Stop that right now."

Immediately, Lucas, as well as Samuel, turned to a third guy, who came towards us, while wearing an evil look, hidden under his hair in firecrackers.

"If people see you doing it, we'll be in trouble," he roared, looking at a few people on the sidewalk across the street.

"It's his problem." Samuel asserted simply, while pulling away from Lucas.

"Hey, traitor."

Taking the opportunity to put some distance between them and me, I massaged my aching arm, while staring at the newcomer who frightened me, in all honesty, far more afraid than Lucas.

'' Bryan ! ''

Passing between the two first boys, he then ends up overtaking me, while not bothering to give me the slightest glance.

***

Entering my classroom, I saw a dozen students already present. Seeing me arrive, several began to look at me while whispering among themselves. And despite hearing a few snickers, there was no "hello" from them let alone a request for how I was.

No one cared how I was. So I simply walked over to my table. Once in front of the latter, I could read the many graffiti that had been done there, grouping together words such as "waste", "dirty waste" or simply "will die".

Staring at my table for a few moments, I was almost unmoved. Seeing this, a girl from a trio laughed.

"Meline seems surprised by what is written on her table."

"Yeah, maybe she thought her nightmare was going to end! She's dreaming."

"If you want my opinion, she would have done better to die! No one would have regretted it."

Hearing this, I ended up just sitting down and resting my head in my arms. So contenting myself with staring at the people in my class, I saw several arriving, including Lucas, Samuel and Bryan.

Each were with their friends or were simply trying to get involved so as not to find themselves alone. But no one paid attention to me more than that.

Seeing this, I finally grit my teeth, before hardening my gaze.

" At the end of the day, if I ever keep letting myself go, someone is going to kill me for good!" What the other policeman told me makes sense, we have to stop it all! Nevertheless, I would use my own method! "

Immediately, hiding the lower part of my face with my arms, I smiled mournfully, thinking.

"I would take revenge on all of you, without forgetting a single one of you!" Yes, I would avenge myself as well on my torturers as on those who watched me get hit without doing anything to come and help me! Yes, you will experience the same hell I experienced during this school year! "

________________________________________________________________________________

Remaining students:

1. Kamel; 2.Timothy; 3. Lisa; 4. Anne; 5. Roxanne; 6.Samuel; 7. Lucas; 8. Greg; 9.Luna; 10. Cassandra; 11. Mathieu; 12. Andrea; 13. Baptist; 14. Cherry; 15. Aron; 16. Yseline; 17. Sarah; 18. Antonio; 19. Bryan; 20. Klervie; 21. Sophia; 22. Méline (me); 23. Sébastien; 24. Anastasia; 25. Thomas; 26.Serge; 27. Tatiana; 28. Andrew; 29. Maria; 30. Gaël