Falling For You

Chapter 3: Shadows of the Past

Years ago, Orm was the quiet, invisible girl at school. She kept to herself, rarely speaking unless spoken to, and often found refuge in the shadowy corners of the campus—behind bookshelves in the library or by the edge of the soccer field during lunch breaks. Her shyness made her an easy target for those looking for someone to pick on, and her gentle nature made it difficult for her to fight back. It was a vicious cycle—she'd been marked as weak, and the bullies took full advantage of it.

Ling and her cousins, Ratee and Ploy, were the opposite of Orm in every possible way. They were part of the popular crowd, the girls who walked down the halls as if they owned the place. They were confident, loud, and always surrounded by a group of admiring friends. Ratee, in particular, had a mean streak, a tendency to single out those she deemed weaker. Ploy followed her lead, a willing partner in every cruel joke or prank they devised. And Orm—quiet, nervous Orm—was often their favorite target.

It wasn't just about the things they did to her. It was the way they did it—with smiles, laughter, and the kind of carefree malice that comes so easily to those who've never been on the receiving end of cruelty. A "harmless" prank, a giggle as they knocked over her books, or whispered snide remarks about her frayed school uniform. Every day was a test of endurance for Orm, wondering how much more she could take before she broke.

Ling, though, was different from her cousins. She was always with them—standing at the edges of the circle, laughing when they laughed, going where they went—but there was a quietness to her presence. Ling didn't join in the bullying, but she didn't stop it either. She stayed in the background, observing silently, her eyes often flickering toward Orm, as if she wanted to say something but didn't. To Orm, Ling's silence felt like complicity, like she was just another part of the problem.

One afternoon, after a particularly grueling P.E. class, Orm trudged back to the locker room, sweat still clinging to her skin. The day had been exhausting—her gym clothes were soaked through, and her legs felt like jelly from running laps. She was looking forward to the brief solace of changing back into her school uniform and sinking into the comforting silence of her next class.

But when she reached her locker, her heart sank. Her shoes were gone.

Her breath quickened as she frantically searched the area, throwing open locker doors and glancing under benches, but her shoes were nowhere to be found. A few girls had lingered behind, laughing as they gossiped, but none of them offered help. Orm could feel their eyes on her, could hear the faint murmurs of amusement as she crawled on her hands and knees, searching for the missing pair.

The last bell for the period rang, and her classmates scattered, leaving Orm alone in the echoing locker room. She sat on the cold tile floor, her back pressed against the row of lockers, her heart thudding in her chest. She didn't want to cry—not here, not where someone could see her. But the frustration and humiliation were overwhelming. She wasn't even sure how she would get home without her shoes. Walking barefoot through the crowded halls of the school was too mortifying to imagine.

Barefoot and defeated, Orm eventually left the locker room, her steps slow and hesitant. She hugged her bag tightly to her chest, trying to shrink into herself as much as possible. Every step felt like a spotlight shining down on her, the harsh cement pressing into the soles of her feet as she hurried through the empty courtyard.

When she reached the far corner of the school grounds, near the old stone fence where no one ever lingered, she sat down on the grass, pulling her knees to her chest. The afternoon sun cast long shadows over the field, and Orm hid her face in her arms, letting the tears she'd been holding back fall silently.

It wasn't long before she heard them—the familiar, mocking voices of Ratee and Ploy.

"There she is," Ratee said with a smirk, sauntering over with Ploy at her side. "I guess someone lost her shoes, huh?"