Did you guys hear?"
"Where's it?"
"What's going on!?"
"Over there!"
Avindale community High school was a buzz at seven in the morning. Teachers hadn't arrived yet so it gave the students extra time to do what they wanted to do. And in this case, what they wanted to do was make life hell for one Farik Morgan.
All the students were gathered at the Quad. They formed a circle as some of them struggled to get through while others brought out their phones and started recording. In the middle of said circle were Farik Morgan and her tormentors, Miley Sanderson, Miranda Sanderson, Suzanne Delvin, and Orion Sullivan.
Farik was covered in what the students there could only hope was mud that just happened to smell like shit. The computer bag that she carried about was opened and its contents were lying scattered across the floor with the brown substance that was on Farik covered in them. Her red curly hair was now brown as well as her light pink Pokémon shirt and ripped jeans. Nobody said a word as Miley Sanderson, Farik's main tormentor started ripping her notebooks to shreds and shoving it in her face.
All Farik's life, she had been bullied. The first thing that made her susceptible to the torture and social torment was her name. When she first said it, everyone had thought she said 'Freak' so some people started calling her that. It got worse when one of her tormentors made empahsis on the name. She got tired of correcting them and just learnt to deal with it. The second thing that made her their target was the fact that Farik was a dork. She was obsessed with all things ancient and extinct like dinosaurs and Neanderthals. She even wrote a paper about it one time but it was burnt by yours truly.
As the years rolled by, the bullying intensified. The older they got, the more creative they became with their pranks and name calling. She was subjected to extreme weathers and a series of getting dunked in mud, tomato sauce and whatever they could come up with before the teachers arrived. There was a time that she was covered in honey and was rolled down their inclined sports field. All manner of debris was attached to her and she spent the rest of the evening soaked in her bath tub.
At the moment, Miley and her twin were saying something but Farik didn't hear it. Her mind was somewhere else and nowhere else. Farik had learned to block out their oppressions. She had learned to feel nothing and to think nothing. Her mind was so blank and she had become so numb that even if a plane crash landed on her, she wouldn't feel it. Farik's mind was empty now and she was void of all emotions and feelings. Someone who was once the smartest kid in the whole school was now just someone who managed to spell her own name sometimes.
When the school bell rang, all the students started to leave. Once the quad was empty, Farik picked up her bag and shredded books and started heading towards the girls' locker room. She always kept extra clothes because of this and once she was done in the shower, she opened her locker and took out the clothes she had. Now dress in grey sweatpants with a matching shirt, she headed to her first class for the day. Since she came in late, her teacher had asked her to get a late pass. It wasn't something new, so she turned back and dragged her weary legs to the vice Principal's office where she was to get the pass from his secretary. On her way there, she sighted Orion standing really close to her locker. She sighed and made a mental note to check out whatever dead animal was kept in there before school closed. She didn't want a repeat of what happened the last time.
The rest of the school day was a blur for Farik. She didn't quite get what her teachers were saying but to be honest, she didn't really care. School had gotten boring and tiring for her so she didn't bother putting much effort into it anymore. Her college dreams were crushed by what happened to her here in high school. She figured if shit like this can happen here in high school, there's no telling what kind of hell will await her in college.
Her locker was free from carcasses and she made sure to clear it before going home. There was no need for more important documents to be sullied by whatever. The bus ride was as dreary as ever and she kinda liked it that way. Dreary was fun to her. Farik never got around to learning how to drive because she was afraid of the road. Her father had hired a driver for her but she didn't like calling him every time school was over so she had to take the bus. He had suggested waiting for her but he wasn't allowed to be close to the school premises during school hours so Farik had to find her way home every day. It was the best part for her.
Safari Morgan sat down on their thirty thousand dollars Kehlani couch going through her phone. That was how Farik came home every day from school to meet her mother. Safari didn't have a job so she did what any rich house wife would do-shop and shop and shop. Every other thing was taken care of by the domestics including Farik. Not that her mother wasn't there for her or anything-they did have some fun times together-but Safari was always going on and on about the latest trends and Farik wasn't interested in any of that stuff. She'd rather just stay in her room all day watching Grey's Anatomy than go to the mall and pick out a new Maxi dress with her mom which was why they hadn't hung out together in months.
Her father was never around. He took care of them from anywhere across the world except their house. Farik swears that if she sees him on the street, she wouldn't recognize him.
"Mom?" Farik called as she stepped into the living room. The light from the chandelier reflected on her mother and the jewelry she was wearing appeared brighter.
Safari looked up and smiled when she saw her daughter.
"Oh my God, Farik, you have got to check this out. I just saw this cute swim suit that will be so great on you this summer…" Farik tuned out what her mother was yapping about and climbed up the steps to her room. Safari never asked her how her day went. Maybe it was because she already knew; maybe it was because she forgot to ask or maybe it was because she just didn't care. Well, Farik didn't care either.
She peeled off the sweatpants she had worn this morning in school and threw it in her laundry basket. Then she pulled out the muddy clothes she had worn to school and threw it away. Looking at the bag it just came out of, she threw the bag too.
The hot shower was a good relief for her and she stayed there longer than usual. She liked the way the hot water burned her skin. Because of what used to happen to her at school, Farik had learned to love pain. So she always turned up the heat until her skin started peeling and begging for mercy.
She attempted to do her homework after the shower but decided against it when she realized she had to get down from her bed to reach her school bag. Instead, she opted to watch a murder documentary. That was her favorite kind of films. She would spend hours watching how people killed other people; the horrendous ways they opened up their victims' bodies and tossed them into the ocean or a deep pit. She loved the way the victims screamed for help and how they trashed about trying hard to get away from their abuser.
Some might say she was crazy, a nutcase, a sadistic maniac who would probably become one of those people dragging about dead bodies one day. And maybe she was one. But who could blame her? When life was a bitch to her, she figured she could become crazy too.
As she watched Ted Bundy cut off the head of his victim with a chainsaw, a smile crept up her lips. She wished to do the exact same thing to Miley Sanders and her posy.
Maybe I will.