Chapter(1):the outcast
Outside the school, there was a girl heading towards the school. The girl had black hair with red braids, wearing a white shirt, black hoodie, and black pants. She walked until she stood in front of the school gate and entered.
When Emma entered the school, she caught glimpses from the teenagers who ignored her, continuing their conversation, ignoring her presence.
"Another cold day," thought Emma as she headed towards her locker, grabbed her belongings, and made her way to her classroom.
Upon reaching her classroom, Emma noticed some teenagers talking among themselves, some standing near their friends, some sitting, and others opening their phones. When Emma entered, some students glanced at her for a while and ignored her, while others continued to stare at her.
Emma ignored their actions and entered the classroom, sitting at the end of the class in the corner. She noticed large black writings on her desk ("nerd, disgusting, get out"). She simply ignored them, used the eraser to wipe them off, then sat down, placed her bag aside, and put her school supplies on the desk.
As Emma sat, a boy stared at her from afar for a few seconds, seeming like he wanted to talk to her, but someone interrupted him.
"Everyone in your seats now!" yelled the teacher as he entered the classroom. He was in his forties, bald, and seemed hurried. Everyone sat in their place, and the teacher glanced at the students for a few seconds before speaking again.
"Before we start the lesson, I'll distribute the test papers. Let's start with the first one, which is... Emma Blackwood," he pointed to the topic she wrote. "Honestly impressed me. And the second, Michael, excellent performance. And the third, Lilia, you could've been the first if you understood the essence of the question well. And the fourth..." The teacher talked about the students' grades in descending order until he reached a specific person.
"And lastly, we have Andrew Blackwood. You passed decently, but should you not put in more effort? If you want to succeed well, I'm not asking you to be like your sister," he gestured towards Emma from afar, "All I ask of you is to spend more time instead of looking for those strange things in your clubs."
"Yes, sir," replied the blond-haired boy, wearing a white shirt with a blue jacket and black pants.
"Now that we've finished distributing the test grades, let's start our lesson. Today's lesson will be about..."
When the teacher began the lesson, Emma sat quietly, her mind drifting away from the chatter in the classroom. Emma was thinking about her own things and lingering in her own world.
It was a refuge from the judgmental looks and mocking criticisms. At a certain moment, she began to recall some unpleasant memories.
She remembered being in the middle of the school corridors, and there was someone in front of her yelling at her. His friends were also yelling at her, defending this person...
As she was recalling those memories she wanted to forget, the bell finally rang, announcing the end of the lesson. Emma gathered her belongings and moved quickly,
not wanting to waste any time here. She avoided eye contact on her way out of the classroom and headed towards her locker.
When Emma entered the hallway, she felt someone following her. When she turned around, she saw a teenage boy with blond hair approaching her.
"Andrew," Emma said. "Say what you want."
"Can't a brother come to see his sister?" Andrew replied.
"We both know why you're here," Emma responded.
"I want to apologize for what happened in the classroom, even though it wasn't my fault, but..."
Emma interrupted, "Just go. I don't need your apology. I know you're lying. I have some important things to do, so excuse me."
Emma left the locker and went to her next class, leaving Andrew standing in the middle of the school hallway.
When Emma went to the cafeteria and sat at a distant table while eating, she thought about the writings on her seat, the annoying whispers, and the mockery in her class. She decided to eat and forget her problems for a while, but...
Emma saw from afar two girls coming toward her. She knew who they were: her brother Andrew's friends. She noticed that one of them had a scar on her shoulder. She remembered that scar well, as it was the result of a previous confrontation with them. Emma lifted her head, ready for what would happen next.
"Look, who do we have here? A nerd. It's amazing how you have the courage to show your face in the middle of the cafeteria, especially after what happened."
"I'm just trying to eat my meal in peace," said Emma, trying to ignore the two annoying girls.
"Don't be like this, honey. I just want to have a little talk with you. You know, a girl-to-girl talk."
"I have nothing to talk to you about," Emma replied.
"But we know that, you know," the girl said with a smirk.
"No, we don't have any business, and I don't want anything to do with you, so if you can, please leave."
"We can't, you know, it's not good to leave a friend like that, right, Jessica?"
"Exactly," replied the other girl, "and we will not let you get away with what you did." Isn't that right, Sarah?"
"Jessica's right."
Sarah and Jessica stood in front of Emma, staring at her. The brunette Sarah was wearing a red jacket and a black skirt, while the blonde Jessica was wearing a white dress.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Get up," Jessica said, staring at Emma.
"Why should I?" Emma asked.
Jessica replied: "You know, Sarah is right, you have to pay for what you did, and I'm not talking about a small punishment. No, there is a very serious punishment."
"I don't have time for this," Emma said. "And if I wanted to, I would have left already."
"Well, it's too bad you didn't. You shouldn't have insulted me, or rather hurt my face!"
"I did what I had to do, and I'll say it again, leave me alone."
You know what, maybe the teacher was right. Maybe if you spent less time in the library and more time with us, we would forgive you for this instead of hurting a friend.But unfortunately, you are an outcast, and this is what you will do. "And it will be that way until the end."
"If I were you, I'd leave now. Otherwise, you'll regret it later," Emma said.
"Or what? Are you going to hurt my face again? I don't think so," Jessica said, her voice full of anger.
"I'm giving you another chance. If you go away now, I'll pretend this never happened, but if you insist, I can't guarantee your safety."
"Is that a threat? Because I'm not leaving without hitting you," Jessica replied.
"Your choice," Emma said.
Jessica and Sarah exchanged glances, nodded, and approached Emma. Sarah stood in front of her, and Jessica stood behind her, ready to attack Emma.
Emma stood up and got into a fighting stance. She was ready to defend herself.
When Sarah threw a punch, Emma dodged it and hit her with a backhand. When Jessica threw a kick, Emma blocked it and pushed her away.
After Sarah regained her composure, she attacked Emma with another punch. She successfully punches her face in and Emma kicks her, and Jessica joins the fight.
Jessica and Sarah attacked Emma and punched her in the face. Emma managed to dodge the first punch but not the second. The punch was so strong that she lost her balance.
The two girls then continued to throw more punches and kicks at her, making sure that she would not be able to defend herself.
When the teacher saw what was happening, he stopped them immediately.
"Stop this right now! What's going on here?" The teacher asked.
"We were just joking," Jessica said, pointing at Emma.
Joking? Joking! Is this a joke to you?!
The two girls looked down for a while.
No sir...but it has started!
The teacher said: "Enough! Go to the principal's office, and I will call your parents."
"Okay, whatever," Jessica said, crossing her arms.
"This is ridiculous," Sarah said.
The three of them walked silently to the principal's office, each carrying her own thoughts.
In the office, the principal looked at them seriously and said, "What happened here?"
Jessica began speaking first, "Sir, we were trying to talk to Emma, but she attacked us."
Emma replied angrily, "That's not true! You were the ones who started the attack, and I had no choice but to defend myself."
The principal looked at Sarah and Jessica and said firmly, "Is this true?"
Sarah and Jessica exchanged worried glances before Sarah replied, "Sir, we were just trying to resolve things with her, but it escalated out of control."
The principal sighed and gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. "Sit down. Now, I'll hear Emma's side of the story."
Sarah and Jessica sat in silence as Emma began recounting what happened, "Jessica and Sarah came to the cafeteria and confronted me. Jessica started harassing and threatening me, and when I asked them to leave, they insisted on staying and began attacking me."
The principal listened to Emma with interest, noting the bruises and blood on her face. Then he turned to Jessica and Sarah and said sternly, "This behavior is completely unacceptable. Bullying and physical violence have no place in our school. Emma, go to the nurse to take care of your injuries."
After Emma left the office, the principal addressed Jessica and Sarah, "You both know that Emma is a smart and hardworking student, and she has never been known to cause trouble. It's clear that you both bear responsibility for what happened. Your parents will be called, and you will receive a severe punishment commensurate with your actions. You will be suspended from school for a week."
Jessica tried to interject, "But sir, we didn't mean–"
The principal cut her off sharply, "Enough! I've heard enough. Go to the counseling office now and wait there until your parents arrive."
Jessica and Sarah left the office under the principal's supervision, leaving behind an atmosphere of tension and silence.
Meanwhile, outside the nurse's room after treating her wounds, Emma headed towards the nurse, holding her bleeding face tightly and placing a clean piece of cloth on the wound. As she treated her wounds calmly, Emma showed no emotions at all, as if she were accustomed to this.
After the nurse finished treating the wound, she looked at Emma tiredly and said, "Do you feel any other pain? Do you need anything else?"
Emma replied coldly, "No, I'm fine. Thank you."
Emma left the nurse's room and went to class. The teacher wondered what had happened and she told him it was just an accident, and the lesson continued. But her brother Andrew saw this and wanted to talk to her, knowing she was the last person who wanted to talk to him.
When the school day ended, Emma decided to go back home.
But suddenly her thoughts were blown away, and for no reason her eyes began to water, and she decided to go towards the place where she could calm down.
She headed towards the forest of faces, but she did not realize then that her whole life had changed, and that she would meet something that would change the reality of the world she knew.
Something that transcends all values and boundaries