SLOW TORTURE

It is time for her to go back to school. She lost a week of lecture already and needed to catch up. This is the moment that she is too afraid to go through – seeing her classmates' reaction and crossing paths with Edmond and Val again.

Like the usual morning routine, she did not care about her looks. She wore whatever was available and tied her hair up. She lost a bit of weight for being sick and depressed.

Descending from the stairs, her family was very concerned. Her mom asked:

"Will you be ok in school?"

She tried her best to look bright and positive for her family. She nodded her head and smiled brightly as reply.

**********

The commute going to school was like waiting for a death sentence. She tried to convince herself to stop overreacting. The situation might not be as bad as she thought and her imagination was just running wild. Maybe it was for the best. If their closeness had gotten any further, it may be more difficult to handle. Things happen for a reason... With that final thought, she entered the school grounds. The feeling was shady and she assumed that all eyes were looking at her with mockery. They now have a valid reason to bully her.

Silently, she told herself: "I am stronger than my fears!"

Inside the classroom, she was surprised that most of her classmates were new faces. Edmond and Val were not there too. She wondered what happened. She slowly looked around hoping that no one will notice. She recognized few faces but the major players were not there. Not even her number one basher, Diane. As she continued to look around, she recognized a familiar face. It was Kevin and he was looking at her too. He smiled and wave at her. She gave him a shy smile and turned away.

Kevin felt a mix of guilt and sorry feelings for for Amy. However, he knew it was for the best. If Edmond was unsure about his intentions, it was not ok to play with emotions as he learned it the hard way. It was best to end the fantasy rather than drag it to a tragic ending.

As soon as the class ended, Kevin tried to reach out to Amy but before he can make the move, he saw her hurrying to leave.

Amy felt suffocated. She went to the washroom straight to the cubicle to get away and breathe a little. A group of girls came in and gossiping about Edmond and Val:

"It is official, Edmond and Val are together!"

"Aaawww! I am so jealous. Val is so lucky."

"They even transferred to a new course and will be mostly in the other building."

"Oh I will miss seeing Edmond all the time."

"What will happen to the girl that Edmond used to hang out with?"

Amy knew that they were referring to her.

"Oh that girl... well I guess she will be out of the picture."

"She was Edmond's toy for a time being I guess." Then they all laughed.

Amy was tearing up while seated in the bowl. She was grabbing her clothes so hard to a fist. She felt so mad at Edmond for making her a joke to everyone but she is angry with herself more for seriously believing there was a romantic relationship between them.

Kevin was waiting outside the washroom for Amy hoping to catch up with her but as soon as Amy got out, she was in a hurry to leave school and did not notice anyone around. She was looking down trying to hide her swollen eyes.