Chapter 25 - The Distraction

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*2 Days later…*

It's examination week today. I'm giving it my all for this exam. It may be distracting with everyone making so much noise, feeling confident about the week… But luckily I have a remedy:

Listening to music at high volume.

Sacrificing my hearing for reviewing. It may be counter-intuitive, but listen… Are you just going to endure listening to random nonsense in the room, or are you going to listen to your favorite music all day?

That's right, you know what you picked.

Anyway, exams are really stressful. I know I reviewed, but I can't help but review more even if I memorized it.

"Let's hope I do well…" I kept reviewing. I can sense Jessie eyeing me from her seat, keeping an eye on my next move…

But who cares about her?

Anyway, I then heard running footsteps. It seems they noticed the notes.

"What's going on?"

"A ruckus is happening… Maybe we should check it out…"

"People need to take a chill pill and just stay in, it's probably not interesting."

This is my chance. I closed my book and stood up. It's my time to shine.

I clapped my hands twice, loud enough to silence everyone and drift their attention to me.

Here goes nothing… Lord in heaven, may you have mercy on my soul after this…

"EVERYONE! I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT! YOU ALL SHOULD NEED TO KNOW THIS!"

And just like that, everyone's attention went towards me. I only have one shot.

"CASSANDRA ISN'T MUTE! SHE NEVER GAVE US ANY EVIDENCE THAT SHE IS MUTE AT ALL!"

Call me an "Alrose Fan" all you want, I have a point.

"But do you have proof that she isn't?"

And here came the question. This is something I expected from my classmates who are blindly getting dumber and dumber… And now for my evidence…

"Her homeschool teacher. He talked to my friend once and she talked to him about Cassandra. Never did he mention that she was mute. By that statement, she deceived us all in the beginning by telling us that she is mute!" I pointed confidently at Cassandra, and she was shocked to see me.

I looked at Cassandra and she took this as a surprise. She wasn't expecting me to make this kind of play today. Everyone is now looking at her and wondering why she is making that kind of reaction.

Bullseye.

Cassandra stood up and wrote something on the glass board.

"I was not expecting you to suddenly say that about me… Have you no shame?"

Look who's talking, pushing Renn into expulsion! She really had the AUDACITY to call me that when she's such a hypocrite.

"If you're going to keep lying that you're mute, your homeroom teacher is concrete evidence that you're not diagnosed by a doctor about your condition! We didn't see any medical certificate, so?" I confidently countered.

I was sure that doubt would be raised at this moment.

But the unexpected happened:

She started crying silently.

What the hell… What is she even crying for when I've exposed her here?! Not to mention, she's good at concealing her voice.

But then I realized something. The fact that Jessie isn't getting in the way today makes me believe that she knows this is gonna turn in Cassandra's favor in a moment.

And that moment was now.

"Not cool… Making a girl cry like that?"

"Maybe things were better if you got expelled along with that pathetic excuse of a tutor."

"You're sick in the head, thinking of making up lies like that."

"As expected of Alrose's best friend. Just transfer to the lower class if you're so persistent in defending him!"

A group of our classmates are now comforting and siding with Cassandra…

Yep… I had a feeling this would not work. But while I felt slightly disappointed, Jessie was laughing.

"Round of applause for Ms. Winters for making such an act full of lies! Can we give her a reward please?~" I was angry at her. She wasn't having any unexpected reactions while the plan was in progress.

"It's not full of lies… Is the homeschool teacher not evidence enough for you?!" Despite my response, all she did was clap and laugh.

"You? Meeting up with the homeschool teacher of Cassandra? Pics or it didn't happen~" Of all the things she had to say, it had to be this.

"Same goes for the medical certificate! Pics or it didn't happen!" I countered against her, but she just kept laughing as if she won.

"It's a condition! Plus, she herself is already mute... Are you just going to magically let her talk? Oh, Syrra~ You and your delusions..." She laughed even more, and I'm just so frustrated hearing her voice today.

I literally couldn't even get myself out of this one, so I sat back down. It appears I have not been shown any mercy today. Everyone is now giggling, laughing, and gossiping about me.

This is no good…

I was already expecting this plan to go wrong, but to go in a way that I didn't expect it to go…

I feel destroyed…

"That's a pretty face~ Can we talk outside?" I ignored Jessie. I didn't want to put up with her bullshit today.

Somehow, I regret my own plan…

"Ah, are you trying to remove me from your existence? Alright, I shall make you." Jessie snapped her fingers and her friends from yesterday then dragged me outside.

"Wha- Hey! Let me go!" I am outnumbered being pulled by 4 girls all the way outside where no one can see us.

Now I know what you were thinking:

"Syrra, why don't you just throw them?"

Well, I could move my arms. Here, they're gripping my arms apart. I can't throw them off.

Jessie then approached me with a confident look on her face. She looked at me with a sinister smirk.

"So that was your plan? Convince everyone that she isn't mute? You're siding with a pervert! Of course no one will believe what you say!" That part I was expecting as much.

"At least I managed to relay that information to the whole school. Good thing I came up with a back-"

"Oh, you mean the notes? Yeah, the Lisa girl was caught immediately since I arrived early in school today." I… Did not take that into consideration…

*("That trash ex-girlfriend. If we don't do something about her, this entire operation will be foiled.")*

Serra was right… The moment Jessie got thrown into the mix, my plan here is getting in shambles… This is not good…

I am stuck here and now I have a feeling she wants something from me.

"I took a look at what that girl wrote and by golly… It's the thing you announced in class today~ Good thing I caught her. So I used that note to my advantage and turned it against you. Remember that ruckus earlier?" The ruckus…

The running?

… Oh no…

"The moment you heard it, you already fell for my trap! Even up to this day, you're as pathetic as you were even before Alrose met you. You're still as weak and dumb as you'll always be, and nothing will change a thing about that." Self… Don't be frustrated… Don't be frustrated…

Don't be…

F R U S T R A T E D…

I got off guard as her friends let go of me, and then Jessie grabbed my shirt and slammed my body against the wall.

"I tried to convince you peacefully twice to forget about him… And now you're basically asking to be bullied again. Luckily, since you were Alrose's most favorite supporter… I got a special surprise for someone like you… I haven't welcomed you back to my life with open arms, so here's my welcome gift!" And when she was done, she threw me to the ground and the girls began stomping me with their dirty shoes, kicking and punching me as hard as they could.

"I TOLD THAT LITTLE BRAT THAT I WILL HAVE MY WAY, AND NOW I HAVE!"

She and her friends kept going, beating me up so much while laughing as she enjoyed her "victory" She stopped after a while, leaving me in a state of mess and pain... My bones... I think some of them cracked.

It hurts… It really hurts… I'm being hurt so much that I started crying.

I pictured Renn in my mind… I remember he used to help me here but… I'm alone… I have no one here to help me… I have no one to rely on here…

Lisa is stuck in library duty, and I'm just being beaten up by these assholes…

But all I could do was cry…

"Aww~ Boohoo~ Baby already crying?~ That's what happens if you mess with me… The entire Emerald Houston has no sympathy towards you… Run to mama now, don't want to keep her waiting~" I heard laughter and footsteps while they went back to the classroom.

I tried to get up, but my aching body won't let me. I'm stuck here on the floor where no one can see me… I guess I'll sleep here for a while… Like I had any choice…

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*3 hours later…*

I slowly woke up, still feeling pain all over me. All I could see was the pale white ceiling… Knowing this, I must be in the clinic…

I couldn't get up and I was stuck on the bed. I looked around to see if there was anyone nearby.

I then noticed my sister crying, seeing me in this condition.

"Oh, thank goodness! I'M SO HAPPY YOU'RE OKAY! I happened to see you lying down in that position in that dirty, messed up state and I had to immediately carry you to the clinic!" So she brought me here. I'm so lucky to have her here right now… She sacrificed her time just for me…

I felt like crying again, this time feeling happy that my sister is here…

"Thank you for bringing me here… It hurts so damn much…" I really wonder what's going to happen now…

I know I have my back-up plan… But I'm now worried about what's going to happen to them…

To Serra…

To Fey…

To Lisa...

And to Renn if this plan fails…

"Do you want to go home? You can't take the exam in this condition. I even asked your proctor if you could take the exam at a later date, he said he'll give you a date when you can take the exam alone as the deadline of the distribution of grades is Sunday." I'm glad Sir C prioritized my health as well…

"Yes, please… Send me home… Or better yet, to a hospital…" I need help… All the help I can get… The pain never ends, I'm groaning so much...

"Alright, I'll call mom to get you to the hospital where she works so she can check up on you." Jenna called mom and I waited.

Within several minutes, I heard an ambulance outside.

"(Mom, I'm sorry you had to see me like this…)" I got carried by paramedics on a stretcher to the ambulance. Jenna placed my bag on me, before waving goodbye and wishing me safety.

Then it was a quick ride to the hospital.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — SERRA — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

I'm outside the classroom, just waiting for the morning exam time to be over. Everyone else is discussing how they did on the exam right beside me.

Not that I cared about that. As long as I finished that exam, I don't give a damn about anyone else here.

My phone then suddenly rang. I took a look at who it was.

It was Syrra. Why is she calling me at this hour? It felt odd, plus it's exam week.

"Hello." I answered.

"Hey… Serra…" Wait… Why am I hearing an ambulance siren? My eyes slightly widen.

"What happened?" I have a feeling something is definitely not right, so I asked her bluntly.

"I'm sorry… Ah… My body hurts all over… My part of the plan is foiled… And even worse… I ended up with bruises and several cracked bones… I can't move without feeling an excruciating amount of pain." Bruises… Several broken bones… I have a feeling I know who caused it.

That fucking bitch...

I felt myself gripping on my phone so much. I also held on my pencil so tight that I broke it in half.

"Get to rest. You still have that back-up plan she doesn't know. We'll take care of the rest for you." That trash ex-girlfriend… So, she resorted to physical violence without even knowing what's going to come next…

Lucky you, you're not at Phoenix Ruby High… If you were, I'll ruin your life next by doing the same thing with you and your sad excuse of a friend group. I already warned you once, you psycho...

There's no holding back for me this time.

"Tell Fey I'm sorry… And I'll leave it to her this weekend… And I'm sorry I didn't take note of Jessie… This wouldn't have happened if I just moved her out of the way first… I'm now close to the hospital to get treatment for my injuries. I'll call you again…" She hung up.

I slowly lowered my arm and put my phone in my pocket. This was the first time I felt so much frustration in a long time. My breathing hastened. I threw the broken pencil far away from me out of anger.

She's the one person that the pest really trusts, and now you're going to take her away from him? Does that ugly ass bitch think that she'll get away with what she has done?

No…

Not this time…

I will make sure that something like this…

Will never happen again.

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