Shadow And Smile

chapter 3

I cried in pain, changed my t-shirt, and lay on my bed, sobbing until I fell asleep. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of the rooster and felt the gnawing hunger in my stomach. I tried to open my room door, and after some effort, it finally opened. I was relieved that my stepdad was at work, so I decided to cook breakfast for my mom and my stepbrothers and sister. By the time I finished cooking, it was 4 a.m. I ate quickly, put on my uniform, and got ready for school. I told my mom I was leaving, and she gave me 20 pesos to buy some food.

As I walked to school, I still felt the pain in my stomach, but I pushed through it until I arrived. When I passed through the school gate, I headed towards my classroom. Suddenly, someone pulled me, and I fell down the stairs. The stairs were on the left side of the classroom, leading straight to the canteen. I hit my head, causing my forehead to bleed. The three boys who had pulled me just laughed and said, "Did you sleep in the dumpster? You don't belong here."

Shane, a classmate, saw what happened and rushed to help me. She asked the boys what had happened, and they replied that I had clumsily fallen down the stairs by accident. Shane then asked me if that was true, and I reluctantly said yes. The boys walked away, and Shane helped me up. She opened the classroom door and aided my bleeding wound. She noticed a wound on my lip and asked what had happened. I told her I had accidentally bitten my lip. I thanked her for everything, and she told me to be careful next time before going back to her table to chat with her friends.

I couldn't stop looking at Shane; she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. When class started, I wrote in my diary, recording every detail of my life. During lunchtime, I ate alone while listening to music. Suddenly, someone purposely knocked over my lunchbox. It was Kyle. He sneered, "Wow, you are so poor. Even your clothes look old and garbage-like. Eat that food like a street dog because you stink." His words made me feel down because they were true. Everyone kept their distance from me because of my smell. I moved to a seat where no one was sitting beside me, and when class finally ended, I picked up my stuff and left.