And here we go again ...

DDrrriiiinnnngggg ...

The bell sounded again, reminding the students of the start of a new school year. Lina hated the first day of school, all these people crowding the halls and so much noise. Room 302, her classroom, all she needed to do was walk through the fifth grade corridor to reach it at the end. Making her way through the various groups of teens huddled throughout the halls.

"Well look who it is. The loner with no friends."

A group of girls burst into laughter, along with Alexa. She was the prettiest girl in school, but with the biggest ego. Lina couldn't understand why she was bullying her, she never initiated conversation with anyone. Lina was quite the opposite of Alexa, not ugly, but socially very awkward. She never spoke to anyone apart from her cat, but still managed to get good grades in school because she was academically gifted.

"What do you want Alexa ?" mumbled Lina.

"How dare you speak to me, you shameless nerd !" exclaimed Alexa, breaking into a fury.

Lina turned her back and walked away as quickly as she could to her classroom, she hated encounters with Alexa more than anything else, even more than surprise math tests. She managed to get there just as the teacher arrived, still hearing voices behind her. Luckily Alexa was no longer in her class this year.

" Class, please take your seats. We will start soon." announced the teacher. " My name is Mrs. Smith, and i will be your english teacher for the next school year ... "

The year had just begun and Lina was already bored of it, slowly dozing off after the first few minutes of the lesson. Every day was the same, the routine was imprinted in her brain. The only thing she looked forward to in the morning was coming home to see her cat, and going back to bed. As she was staring out the window, looking to the leaves rustling in the wind and the sad grey walls of the outer walls of the school, more thoughts raced through Lina's mind.

" Hello Mrs. sorry for being late" said a student who just entered the classroom.

Lina jumped so hard that she thought she would fly straight through the ceiling. She lowered her eyes, hoping nobody noticed her reaction to the unexpected entrance.

"You're late young man, that's not the best way to start the new year." said Mrs Smith, clearly disappointed.

Lina looked up to see thee student, and suddenly her heart fluttered when their gazes met for a brief instant. She did not expect him to be in her class this year. Him being Aaron, a really cute guy who was quite popular and surrounded by lots of friends. And since a few months, Lina realised that she had a crush on him. Like most of the girls her year to be honest, but she saw something else in him than just his looks.

"Well then, please take a seat." the teacher pointed to the only empty spot, which was just next to Lina. A sliver of hope passed through her mind, finally she could try to talk to him privately.

"Hey Aaron, there's a free spot here." pointed out another classmate. Of course, Lina was so dumb, who in their right mind would ever want to sit next to her ? And as quickly as it came, her hope was chased away. At least, she could concentrate better without distractions by her side, and fly through this year.

The bell rung again for lunch break. She only made it halfway through the day, but Lina was exhausted and couldn't wait to go energise herself with food. Even though the school cafeteria didn't serve top tier meals, they weren't as bad as everyone claimed. Lunch time wasn't her favourite, but at least she could escape that tight space people call a classroom.

"Where do you think you're going ?" said a familiar voice as Lina just left the class. "You don't think i'll let you go so easily without punishment for earlier ?"

Alexa shoved her onto the wall, Lina's backpack and all her lessons falling to the floor. Even though Lina endured situations like this one regularly, she was still as panicked each time. She desperately searched for an exit, someone passing, some way to run far from Alexa and her girl gang.

"Stop trying. No one's there, so nobody will be able to save you bitch !" Alexa fumed, she always took things way too personal.

"Please don't ... " said Lina shakily as she quivered under her grip.

"Or what ? You're gonna hit me with some random historical event ? Hahaha keep dreaming weirdo." cackled Alexa in return. She knew how much power she held on Lina and was using it to her full content. "Help me take care of her, girls." she beckoned her squad.

Ripping Lina's clothes to shreds, they took turns punching her in the face. Someone even bit her, pulled her hair so hard a clump fell out, and kicked her so hard Lina could hear her bones rattling. All she could do was take on, hit after hit being held in place. After a couple minutes her eyes grew hazy with tears, but even through those she saw the blood running down her forehead. Lina just excepted her fate at this point, it was no use and fighting back would only worsen things.

She woke up after what felt like hours of physical beating, in a mess on the floor of the girl's locker room. She couldn't remember when they moved into here, but the sharp pain all over her body reminded her of the treacherous things they had done. She slowly stood up and wobbled her way over to the mirrors. She stared horrified at what she could make out of herself. She was covered in her own blood, tears, dripping with sweat, and full of bruises.

For a moment she considered cleaning up and going back to class, but how could she show up looking like this ? Out of all the bullying, this was the worst and the furthest that Alexa had went. Was there any reason to continue ?