Sasebo

The girl’s breathing was coming out in short, ragged huffs as she gazed down at the now helpless body of her classmate that laid before her. The young girl reached a desperate hand out to her assailant, gasping as the blood poured from her slit throat, staining the tiles beneath her a color of deep red. She began to choke again, her hand falling back to the floor. Her assailant could see the life draining from her classmate’s body.

What happened?

The question flew through Natsumi’s mind as she stepped back from the bloodied body. She and her classmate used to be the best of friends, inseparable almost. This was all Satomi’s fault anyway! If Satomi hadn’t said those things…. If she hadn’t hurt Natsumi like that…. Then she wouldn’t have had to be punished for it. It was all her fault. Natsumi hadn’t done anything wrong. Natsumi hadn’t done anything but punish Satomi. Just like she deserved to be.

Right?

Of course. That’s how it was. But still, there was a nagging feeling in the back of Natsumi’s mind, had she done the right thing? Maybe she went too far in punishing Satomi. No. That couldn’t be true. Her eyes darkened as she took another set of steps away from Satomi. Satomi continued to choke on the blood, her body beginning to convulse. Her eyes were screaming for help, her body beginning to give out.

No.

The thought rushed through Natsumi’s head. No. She wasn’t going to help Satomi. No matter how the girl begged, she wouldn’t do it. Satomi didn’t deserve help. Satomi deserved to die so she couldn’t hurt anyone else. So she couldn’t bully anyone else. Natsumi’s face remained void of emotion as she continued to gaze at the soon-to-be lifeless student. She felt nothing. Not happiness. Not sadness. She was numb. There was nothing in her to feel. She did what she had to do.

Natsumi turned on her heels, turning her back on her former friend and former classmate. She began taking slow steps towards the door, placing her hand on the cold metal door handle. She pushed open the door gently, making sure to close it behind her.

The box cutter she held in her hand snipped close with a sharp noise as she placed it in her sweatshirt pocket. She wiped her hands on her sweatshirt, the blood making fingerprints on the sweatshirt as she drug her hands across it. She was covered in Satomi’s blood. The splashes on her pant legs combined with the dark stains on her navy blue Nevada sweatshirt.

But she didn’t care.

She wanted people to know. She wanted them to know that Satomi had been properly punished. It was all for the best after all. People couldn’t get mad at her, could they? Of course they wouldn’t. Satomi was mean. She was a bully. People would be happy that was Satomi was gone.

Natsumi trudged down the hall, her head being kept down. As she passed the few students milling about the hallways, some of them stopped to stare, but no one said anything to her. No one dared to stop her. The whispers surrounded her as she walked down the hall towards her classroom, her hands shoved into her sweatshirt pockets.

When she finally reached her classroom, Natsumi pushed open the door, taking only a few steps inside to get her teacher’s attention.

“Oh hello, Tsuji, you’re a bit--” her teacher’s words were caught off, being overtaken by a scream as the teacher turned to face her tardy student. “What happened to you, Tsuji?!” The teacher asked frantically, rushing over to Natsumi, placing her hands on the student’s shoulders. Feel the teacher’s hands in her shoulders, Natsumi was overcome by the emotion she had been fighting off all this time. Everything crashed back into her as the tears welled in her eyes. It felt like the world was coming down around her. What she’d just done had finally set in.

“I have something to show you,” Natsumi said softly, a small smile gracing her features as the tears poured down her cheeks. She didn’t know what to feel. Did she smile with happiness? Did she cry with sadness? The rush of emotions confused the young girl.