Time flied - before Alyssa knew it, it was August 29th 2010 and school was going to start in 1 day. She had her schedule - Algebra I, accelerated general science, accelerated social studies, General English, a foreign language and an elective.
It was going to be tough, but then her smoke breaks gave her convenient breaks to chill out. Besides, it was only about 3 years before the new, more lenient criteria for ADHD came out, and then she would be able to receive a diagnosis much easier.
The induction week went well—she was able to adapt to the new workload, albeit with some difficulty in organization and procrastination. The teachers were not concerned, although Alyssa knew herself better - writing down these symptoms just in case of the ADHD diagnosis later if this is possible. Many of her classmates at least tolerated her smoking habit, even if it was frankly stinky.
However, there were some new students to watch out for—who knows what they would do? A few of them genuinely seem to be academically thriving. While many were friendly to Alyssa despite her smoking habit, some of them seem to be wary of Alyssa. It almost seems as if they were being brainwashed to be wary of Alyssa... almost as if the Pluh Cult was behind this.
Of course, the Pluh Cult would deny it. They don't want to be seen as people who escalate conflicts for no reason. Yet the thoughts overwhelmed Alyssa - what if the Pluh Cult was behind this? Before her paranoia and delusions set in, Alyssa breathed in deeply through her nose and out through her mouth. She also decided to pay more attention in class. The cigarette breaks gave Alyssa much-needed relief—both stimulating and calming at different times.
The weeks went by - the situation was much clearer. There were some students who were academically talented, who could potentially challenge Alyssa's valedictorian spot. Meanwhile, the debate club began to be more serious, having some tournaments that Alyssa could enroll in. She planned to join a novice (less than 1 year debating experience and no championships in open tournaments) tournament. It was technically possible, as the leader of the debate team managed to say many of his meetings last year were merely social gatherings.
On Sep 28 2010, before Alyssa applied for the novice tournament, she savored her after-school cigarette break. She decided to clear her thoughts while dangling a Virginia Slim 120 in her beautiful style. It seemed as if her smoking blended seamlessly with her relaxation, as if the buzz and gentle lung hits improved her thought process. Her natural lipstick still remained even after many cigarettes (by now she had smoked 9 cigarettes). She got more used to smoking so these things happened.
Just then, a few students asked her why she was allowed to smoke. 2 were curious while 1 was more hostile. The curious students, Mia and Emily, after being explained to by Alyssa talking about the liberalization of school policies to fight the nanny state, were stunned. They couldn't believe Alyssa managed to convince the teachers to let her smoke, so they asked Alyssa how to advocate for themselves. The hostile student just left, while the curious students exchanged numbers with
Without procrastination, Alyssa asked them to join her team. The curious students immediately obliged, which saved Alyssa enough time to go to the debate club. Besides, this saving time stopped Alyssa from lighting up a cigarette in celebration. With the debate meeting as a distraction she avoided lighting up her 10th cigarette until 6pm. But that tenth cigarette was so satisfying she almost couldn't stop dangling it - only putting it out of her mouth to tap the ashes or stub it out.
But Alyssa wondered... considering how much she smoked, wouldn't the Pluh Cult attack her and force her to smoke more to stabilise her mood? It would make sense...
She checked her phone. 6:08pm. That was not that late... oh, a notification popped out with a warning...
In SMS, from Mia: "The Pluh Cult has harassed me! Someone claimed to be PLUH CULT MASDsdafwtq4"
OH FUCK, she exclaimed, calling some of her hardliners to resolve the situation. She didn't want to call the police but thought the situation might be worse if they saw her smoking. She was scared of the CPS and the nanny state—what if they investigate her dad and take her away from him? She was rational enough to see most parents wouldn't give nearly as much freedom, so she didn't call the police. Instead she rushed to the scene.
The scene was horrific—Mia was fighting a radical Pluh Cult member who was doing whatever she could to beat Mia up. The Pluh Cult member was throwing punches, kicking Mia, and pushing her to the point that Alyssa decided to rush in to kick the Pluh Cult member on the knee. Even though it would be over 10 minutes before the police arrived, Alyssa called them anyway. Thus Alyssa had to immediately do something.
While Mia was desperately fending off the radical, Alyssa hurriedly but calmly looked through the school warehouse for a weapon. However, her search was interrupted when she heard screams of "Mia is fighting our member, help them!". At that moment, she had a sense of horror - it wasn't just a simple conflict, there were many cultists and they were going to beat up Mia! The terrifying intrusive thoughts threatened to overwhelm Alyssa and send her into a screaming mental breakdown until Alyssa just "went for it" and grabbed a broomstick.
With time of the essence, Alyssa called her hardliner supporters to help her. One responded and followed Alyssa to where Mia was. The fighting was horrendous—the radical had almost managed to beat up Mia. While Alyssa fought with all her might to smash the radical's joints using the broomstick, the hardliner took most of the damage. Eventually, the radical was beaten up - one of her knees were broken and she had many bruises. But before they could celebrate... the radical let out a scream calling for help.
Alyssa knew she was doomed, if the Pluh Cult could call the police and turn them against her. Thus she called the police again, explaining that the one who attacked Mia had been repelled but she had many supporters and they were coming to beat them up.
Alyssa: "Me and a friend barely managed to stop a radical from attacking my friend! Police where are you! HELP US FOR FUCK SAKES!"
Police: "calm down madam we are arriving in five minutes"
Alyssa: "FIVE MINUTES IS TOO LONG! THERE IS A GROUP OF RADICALS WANTING TO..."
A Pluh Cult member had spotted Alyssa, Mia and the hardliner. With the school gate ten meters from where they were, the hardliner, Mia and Alyssa all rushed out.
Everything else was a blur. All they had to do was run, and keep running they went. They did not know what happened to any others who attempted to fight off the Pluh Cult.
Boy oh boy...
YOU ARE READING
Alyssa's Sins
General FictionIn a world demanding perfection, only daughter Alyssa may be great in many areas, but she has some sins which are difficult for society to accept. Despite that, her idealistic, warm father does defend her character and accept her for who she is. He...
