Do it again

Cotzmode High

Kelly enters the bustling cafeteria, her eyes scanning the sea of faces. The haunted look in her eyes replaced once a bright eyed teenager, a guarded demeanor formed now that she was an armor against the world. The high school cafeteria is filled with lunchtime chatter. Kelly sits alone at a table with her tray of untouched food. Suddenly, a group of popular girls approaches her table, their faces contorted in sneers. One of the girls named Jessica pounds her hand on the tray and makes the most unbearable tone anyone could possibly imagine:

"Well, well, well, look who it is. The promiscuous little stripper."

Kelly shrinks down in her seat, her heart pounding in her chest.

"I heard you used to work in a whorehouse. Is that why you're so easy with those poor beaus?" Jessica's friend Lola inserts more heat in the conversation than it's already needed. The other popular girls giggle and laugh, their voices echoing through the cafeteria.

"Leave me alone, Jessica." Kelly says in a trembling voice

Nikki raises an eyebrow in amusement:

"Oh, but we're just getting started, honey. Did you know that your little secret is out? Everyone knows about your dirty past."

The popular girls lean in closer, their whispers like daggers piercing Kelly's soul. Then Jessica snatches a water bottle from Kelly and pours it into her cold food, almost shedding a drop of her tear but she tries to hold back in.

"What a disgrace to this school. I don't know what it takes for a whore to be here. It baffles me why the doctor hasn't kicked your mom's ass when she had you."

Tears well up in Kelly's eyes, but she refuses to let them fall. She stares down at her tray, her knuckles turning white as she grips her fork, in a low, defiant voice, she speaks:

"How narrow it is to judge someone by their past, you people are no better than this soaking dish."

The popular girls exchange surprised glances. They're not used to seeing Kelly fight back, nor do they want to.

"We'll see about that. Maybe next time, it wouldn't be just the soaked food."

The popular girls turn and walk away, their laughter fading into the background noise of the cafeteria. Kelly is left alone, her heart heavy and her spirit bruised. Amidst the pain, a flicker of resilience remains, a spark of determination to reclaim her life and rise above the shadows of her past. Her mind wanders back to her childhood, to the days of happiness and love that once filled her family home.

But that happiness was shattered by tragedy. Kelly's father, a successful businessman, passed away from cancer, leaving her mother to shoulder the burden of raising their family alone. The financial strain became unbearable, and Kelly's mother, desperate to make ends meet, turned to a ruthless mafia group for a loan. Turning herself to a series of Mahjong makes it even more impossible for her to deal with them, because their patience surely never lasts long. One day, on her way to escape the hard awakening, a devastating car accident left Kelly's mom in a coma for three agonizing years. One tragedy led to another. The next tragedy ironically attacks the poor, innocent girl. Unable to pay the mounting debt, she was obligated to be handed to the mafia as an interim replacement. Kelly's years in captivity were a world of darkness that left her with deep emotional scars. She was forced into a life she never chose, a life that haunted her dreams and plagued her waking hours, all because of losing someone she deeply loves...

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"WHERE IS SHE?" A stomping sound shattered through the window with the belligerent steps punched the door, a man in his mid 30s squeezing his huge, intimidating hawk brows.