Short stories

Enough is enough

He was proud that his gift was appreciated. Alexandra was very enthusiastic by her new computer system. He wanted to make her happy so she finally accepted her mother’s remarriage next month. She clapped in her hands with joy while the computer was preparing itself. He wished her to have fun while getting back to the living room. He took care to close the door behind him. Since he wasn’t looking at her, he didn’t notice the strange glow that shone in the girl’s eyes.

She sat in front of the screen, impatiently waiting for the computer to be ready. She seemed to have waited all her life for this moment. Her stepfather had assured her that the internet already worked perfectly. She quickly clicked on the icon to connect herself. He hadn’t lied. She found herself on the homepage of a virtual and anonymous web world. She began to search, strolling from one site to another. She wasn’t looking for anything in particular. She was just having fun finding information she didn’t need. She reveled in this moment of tranquility with her personal computer. A huge smile on her lips, she stroke the screen with her fingertips.

“We’ll become best friends in the whole world…”

The strange light was still shining in her eyes. She wasn’t stupid enough to believe that Ray, her stepfather, had simply offered this computer by pure kindness. He wanted to buy the young girl’s affection and Alexandra knew it. He just had moved in with them and he wanted to be forgiven because he was imposing himself.

* * * * *

The air was filled with humidity and fog prevented the weaker sunlight from getting to the private school of Premium High. Her stepfather stopped the car in front of the school entrance and turned to the girl. He opened his mouth to say something, but Alexandra hurried to open the door and get out. She didn’t wish him a nice day, nor thanked him for the ride to school. He seemed annoyed by her lack of attention, but the girl climbed the stone stairs at rapid speed before disappearing into the building. She went straight to her locker in the utmost discretion, avoiding looking around. She didn’t want to draw attention to her. She put her backpack in her locker before taking her books and head to her classroom. She always shunned the indifferent gaze of others.

Blend into the students mass was sometimes very easy. It was perhaps one of the few benefits of attending a private school. Everyone wore the same black, green and white uniform. All girls wore the traditional three colors tiled skirt while the boys had to settle for simple black pants. The rest of the uniform consisted of a standard white shirt and a black jacket with the school logo embroidered on it. The girls had to add a pair of white socks, but the height varied from one girl to another. The more popular you were, the less you wore socks! For boys and girls, they also wore the regulatory black tie in a normal way. Stupid rule because a girl almost had strangled another during a fight. It was a very dangerous accessory.

The girl belonged to the “non-popular” category and her socks went up to her knees. She clutched her books against her chest, pushing her way through the horde of students. Her classroom was almost at the other end of the building. Alexandra wasn’t really popular, but a group of girls had targeted her for no apparent reason. Since that day, she was living a real nightmare when she was at school. The only time out she could get could easily be counted on one hand. The nightmare continued sometimes after school hours, dragged on and even during the weekends if she had the misfortune to cross their path.

Fortunately for her, everything seemed quiet this morning. She went to her classroom without any problem. No one was paying her any attention. She was eager to find herself in another school. Once she had her degree, she would finally be able to leave the city and never set foot there again. Not even for her mother’s marriage. She would start her life somewhere else where nobody knew her. Perhaps she could have friends. She didn’t aspire to become the most popular girl around. With one of two close friends with whom she could go out during the weekend. And there was a good chance to happen earlier. She had to use her new computer to register herself on dating sites to make friends. She had heard that it was a good way to meet people who shared the same interests. She had nothing to lose.