A Regular Day at School

T-1 Days to Incident

#Morning-Before Tiffin Break

It was a long day for Tom. He woke up early in the morning and left home even before the breakfast hour because his father would also be at the table during breakfast. To avoid the overwhelming and discomforting presence, he had chosen to take the easy way out. “Wake up early, tidy my room, get ready, and leave for school early.”

The daily allowance was always on the reading table, left there by his mom, the only helplessly supportive woman in this agonizing world. The allowance was supposed to be enough for his commute to and from school and his lunch. Tom got all the beautiful features from his mom, Janis Baker. He was a bit taller than her mom—an inch or two, maybe? His mother had long, silky, lush black locks, hazel eyes, a celestial nose, and long eyelashes, and a set of beautiful brows complemented those features.

However, these days, despite a good allowance, he appeared thinner and malnourished. Dark shades were visible under Tom's eyes—a sign of sleepless nights and excessive anxiety. Tom seemed to limp when he walked, and he groaned while moving his limbs.

Today was a day like any other. A typical day at a high school where 'STUDENTS' would go to study and improve their 'SELF'. The teacher left a few moments ago. The girls and boys were very busy shouting, gossiping, playing, and minding their own business, carefully steering their gaze away from what was happening at the back of the room.

Tom was hoping for a set of sympathetic eyes or some voice in his favor. But it seemed his painful bruises and battered gaze, full of tears, echoed back with a wind of disregard and ridicule. None of his 'classMATES' felt particularly 'chummy'. Who would dare invoke the wrath of those indomitable bullies?

Tom was on all fours at the back of his classroom. A big, strong, and tall lump of lard was sitting cozily on Tom's back. It was Martin. He was with his faithful buddy, another bag of bones, Elister. He was hitting Tom on the backside with a plastic cane. There was an illicit relationship going on between Elister's cane and Tom's butt-cheeks.

"My comfy chair! How much did you bring today for me?" said Pig.

The cane hit hard on Tom's right buttcheek. "Yes, Tom, how much did you bring for us today?" The cane was thick and long, and it made a whiplash sound, cutting through the air.

Tom could only groan in pain. His body involuntarily squeezed his knees together and the buttocks as he tried to suppress the pain. Pig gagged Tom with his filthy socks. It was the tenth hit on the same spot. Tom groaned like an animal. Pig and Snake laughed like the happiest couple in the world.

"Tom, dear friend, how much did you bring today?" Pig asks again for the eleventh time, as the stick also did its number on Tom's body. They didn't really want to know how much money Tom brought because they had already robbed him.

"This is getting ridiculous? Why can't you answer, Tom? Cat got your tongue?" Snake laughed as if he had cracked the most entertaining joke of all time.

'...mmmphh...' Tom groaned like a slaughtered animal in extreme burning pain. He wanted to say something. He was being humiliated in front of other students, but no one was even looking at him. As if he didn't even exist!

The area where he was being repeatedly hit was bleeding now. The searing pain from the lashes was becoming unbearable. At least putting the palms of his hands on the spot could have helped.

Pig grabbed Tom's collar and helped him stand. A helpless, innocent Tom stood up like a national villain, humiliated and embarrassed for his sin of being weak and a pushover.

"This bitch! Hey, can't talk? Cat got your tongue!" Snake slaps Tom. Pig brought out the cash he robbed from Tom and said, "Go bring our favorite pudding and bread. Don't you dare steal from me! I will count the cash later! Okay? Now, fuck off!" Pig kicked Tom on the backside and sent him to the canteen. He ran like his life depended on it.

After some time, Tom brought the puddings and bread, unpacked, and then served the food to Pig and Snake. He watched them with his hands on his painful backside as they 'MERCIFULLY' gulped the food. Thanks to that kind and beautiful girl, Tom survived!

"Where is my change?" Pig asked Tom with an open palm. Tom didn't want to give all of it back. He calculated, gave only the change back, and hid the rest of it. If he were to give the whole amount back, from tomorrow on, Pig would ask him to get the food for free, just like he got it today.

"Good! Go to your seat! Standby for roll call later!" Pig ordered him.

Tom winced at the thought of how much more pain awaited him at the end of school. Pig and Snake dragged him around even after school and beat him up in front of their friends outside the school just to show off their power.

#After the tiffin break

In a neighboring class, not too far away from Tom, Cacey Summers was sitting alone, contemplating. The only time she was left alone was when a class was in progress. Everyone left her, although unintentionally. Her five feet and three inches slim, womanly appearance, with all the curves in the most desirable places, made her a 'femme fatale'. Long, wavy, dark brown hair casually fell over her shoulders; serene eyes, brows, and lashes that complemented them; and a Roman nose incited jealousy and deadly envy among the girls around her. She had a mildly tanned skin tone. But her beauty didn't exude hubris; it was rather veiled in timidity that stemmed from her humble nature.

“Tsk! How troublesome! This unwarranted attention! I'm getting fed up!” Her inner voice was quite fluent. “At this rate, I may have to drop out of school!”

Cacey regretted having no one to talk to about her problems. Although she was from a family of three elder siblings—one elder brother and two elder sisters—Cacey was alone. Her parents had her unusually late in their lives. So, it wasn't easy for Cacey to ask for help from them about the things she couldn't talk about. She needed a big sister, a friend, or a comrade who would love to listen to the stories of her sufferings.

Cacey's siblings were very successful in their student lives, and now they were doing just as well in society as citizens. Her brother lived abroad, and so did her sisters. Perhaps they never had the problems she was facing at school. When she mentioned school bullying to any of her siblings, they would just say, "It's quite normal in school. Just get along with your friends! If you can't overcome high school, you won't survive the harshness of society! You have no idea yet how hard it is to keep a job and maintain a family. Just get over it!"

“In a sense, they were not wrong,” Cacey thought, “however, all the fingers in your hand are not the same. They have different strengths and work in your life, and sometimes they need to work together to get a job done, don't they? Thumbs are the most powerful fingers in your hand, but to hold a glass of water, they will need help from others. I wish my siblings would at least try to understand. No matter how hard you try, a pinky can never become the thumb! They think they know what I'm going through, but they don't! I'm hurting inside!” Her daze ended with the class-ending chime. Suitors immediately surrounded Cacey as if she were their queen bee.

“There you go again! Ugh!” Cacey's inner, irked voice screamed. “How did this all get so messed up?”

The boys started fawning over her the moment she transferred. Her timid and quickly intimidated voice of repugnance wasn't loud enough for them. That was a fatal flaw in her character, and the consequence was this disagreeable crowd of overly zealous boys. No wonder celebrities have so many 3XL-sized bodyguards! It didn't matter how many times she said no, they would find it cute and shower her with their love through a lot of annoying things—like gifts Cacey couldn't but accept. If it weren't for the fear of retaliation, she would have strongly refused the gifts.

News of horrible stalkers, rapists, and fan-turned-haters always terrified her. “What if my refusal to accept their gifts hurts their pride and turns them into anti-fans?”

However, the fate of an endangered animal was always at the mercy of others. Although Cacey could assuage the boys somehow, she inadvertently shook the hornets' nest. She failed to notice some jealous and angry gazes.