Scream

Running breathlessly through the school hallways, I heard a sudden thump! Forcing me to come to a halt, straining my eyes, I looked to my right and realised that my already tattered textbooks had now made their way out of my big bag through the huge hole.

Kneeling down and picking up the books, I checked my watch for the time and felt a scream stuck in my throat. I was twenty minutes late to my Biology class.

The thought of entering a class full of patronising pupils petrified me to wits. I had always hated Biology; it was that one particular class where I was the victim of all the teasing and bullying. Mr Rupert, the biology teacher couldn’t care less, if I was being hanged down from the classrooms’ ceiling fan. He wouldn’t even know.

“Get to class missy!” I heard a sharp scissor-like voice, which belonged to the school secretary.

Looking up I saw her peering down at me through her thick old dusty brown glasses. Nodding my head and lowering my gaze I carried on walking. I could not possibly go to lesson now, my day had yet again had been rough, I didn’t want it to get any worse than it already was.

I waited and waited rather patiently in the girls’ toilets for the end of the day bell to ring. Looking around I could see the old white but now yellow paint slowly peeling off the walls. The stench of the overused toilets got caught in my mouth, forcing me to hold back my breath until it was time to go back home.

My safe-haven.

Dring! The bell rang and I hurried cautiously out of the toilets. I ran at full speed, the only thought that was clouding my mind was ‘get out of this living hell on earth.’

“I missed you,” I heard a familiar voice coming from behind once I had reached the corner shop. I tried to ignore it, “Don’t even think about running away Rodriguez,”

My body froze still as I closed my eyes fearing for what was waiting for me. All of a sudden, I felt someone yank me around. It was Tom, just as I had suspected, the schools’ biggest bully, “Leave me alone,” I managed to say.

Thwack! Within a split of a second I felt his huge sweaty hand whack me across my left check. I stumbled backwards and hit the red-bricked wall behind me. My tears now stinging my eyes painfully. Another slap and another one. I begged and begged him to stop but he wouldn’t listen to a word that I had to say.

“You fucking cow,” he snarled, “you think you’re better than everyone when you’re nothing but a piece of shit off the floor,” he cursed.

I closed my eyes tightly shut and yelped in pain, “I haven’t done anything to hurt you Tom, this isn’t right. Just stop. Please?!” I begged but he wasn’t having any of it.

I stood there taking it all in. There was nothing I could do about this. Pause. The claps had stopped, I opened my eyes slowly and realised that there was somebody else with Tom. A strange figure stood before me, I tried to figure out whom it was.

Nick.

The schools’ most popular and loved boy, who wouldn’t even dare to look at me, was here?

“You touch her again, I’ll make sure you suffer the pain that she has to go through everyday!” Nick screamed in Toms’ face. I looked at the both of them, confused.

Tom looked me up and down and laughed, “You bitch,” he cursed again and turned his attention towards Nick. “And you?” he pointed, “Don’t you worry Jonas, you just sent your oh so popular reputation in the bin!” he shouted and with that he ran away.

I lowered my gaze, trying not to meet Nick’s eyes.

Ruffling his fingers through his dark curly hair he coughed, “I’m sorry about that,” he paused, “Don’t worry, it wont happen again I promise,” He tried to smile, “I’ll walk you home. Just in case,” he said and began walking towards the direction of my house.

Confused even more, I began to follow him from behind. “Nick?”

He slowed and turned around to face me and waited for me to catch up with him, “Yes?” he asked.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you save me from Tom? I mean, from what I know. You hate me…your friends would pretty much kill you, if they ever found out. You didn’t have too. Tom is for once right, your reputation…” I looked at him as we carried on walking.

He let out a huge sigh, “You people think that if you’re popular and everybody loves you then you don’t have feelings. To be honest, I never liked it one bit when my friends’ would take the piss out of you. I have feelings too you know. The high popular life is not what it looks like Chelsea…it’s hard,” he paused.

“How so?”

“You have to do what people expect you to do. You can’t live your own life…”

I didn’t let him finish off his sentence, “Oh, I get what you mean,” I smiled at him, “I didn’t really think of it in that way. Sorry.” I apologised.

Nick began to laugh slightly, “Don’t apologise Chelsea. I should be the one to say I’m sorry. I knew what was happening to you was wrong. But I never said anything. I didn’t do anything at all to stop it from happening.” He lowered his gaze, “Today, when I saw you with Tom. I just couldn’t control myself anymore.”

We carried on walking in silence, I thought about what Nick had said. It hurt me to realise that he was hurting. Someone who I always thought was happy with his life. I was so wrong to think that I was the only one suffering.

Nick came to a halt and watched me silently walk up the driveway of my house. Taking in a few deep breaths I turned around, “thank you,” I smiled gratefully.

“No problem,” he winked and turned his back on me as so did I.

A few seconds later, as I put the house key into the keyhole, I heard a screeching and a yelping sound and the loudest scream I had ever heard, whisking my body around I saw a sea of people crowded around something in the middle of the road. I ran to see what was all the commotion about. I had realised that someone had been run over. Looking down I saw the dead body. He didn’t survive…I stumbled back a few steps as I felt my breathing stop. It was Nick.