unrequited

21 *tw school violence

Somehow I pulled it off. I hid in the back of the library, and some spirit took over my body and I hand produced two 5 page essays on a topic I had never learned.

It was almost worth missing the entire rest of school.

By the time the bell rang I was exhausted, and proud. I managed to return Chanhee's essay safely as well.

I passed by the librarian and she gave me a weird look, I don't think even she had spent so much time in here as I did. I walked against the rush of students leaving as I made my way to the back of the school.

I looked cautiously around the corner. It was a quiet area where almost nobody was because none of the classroom doors were here.

The sun was gently shining but my palms began to sweat anyway.

I felt a shove from behind which knocked my shoulder into the wall of the building.

"You have some nerve showing up with those." Eunjung said.

".... you told me to come here" I said back, ignoring the pain in my shoulder blade.

"I meant with those," She nodded towards my hand holding the essays. Eunjung was here with the friend from earlier as well as a guy. 2/3 of them were tall, and I most certainly was not.

I held them out to her. "It's for you," I said. "I spent hours on this. For you."

Her friend scoffed. "Hate to break it to you, but the deadline passed, and our teacher gave us both zeros."

Eunjung ripped the papers out of my hand and tossed them on the floor.

I should have kept my mouth shut, but instead I told them, "Maybe if you had just done the work yourself this wouldn't be an issue."

"Maybe you should stop talking when I'm talking." Eunjung pushed me again and my back hit the wall.

I swallowed. My only hope was that I could run faster than them.

But reality soon hit--literally-- when I felt her hand fly across my face. At first it didn't hurt, because all I felt was shock.

This whole time, I underestimated what I was going through. I really hadn't considered myself a victim of bullying or anything. I just assumed I could get by with doing a few extra assignments.

For the first time, I feared her.

Eunjung grabbed my hair and pulled me to face her. "And you think you're all the shit don't you? Hanging out with popular third years like a fucking slut."

"What the hell?? Ew! That's my brother." I scoffed. I tried not to sound scared, but I knew my face was showing it.

"And Changmin?" Eunjung's friend asked.

I recognized that tone. That was the tone of someone who had a crush on him, I had heard it so many times throughout my years of being friends with him. They were all the same.

"Look I don't know what you guys have against me!" I stalled. "I'm just an innocent second year trying to survive."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have fucked us over like this." Eunjung said.

The boy stepped forward and I shut my eyes tightly. I felt a knee to my chest, and it seemed like the wind was knocked out of me.

I was on my hands and knees on the ground, and I felt another hit to the side of my face. There was definitely blood, but I didn't know where it was coming from. All I felt was dizzy, and sick, and I felt like I was trying to hold in a cry that wouldn't come out.