H.I.C.C.

Chapter 1: In the Snow

Jen was lying in bed. Her room was pitch black. Slowly her eyes were adjusting to the darkness. She focused on the ceiling. The scene of this afternoon replayed in her head over and over and over again. The smiling girl, L, as she introduced herself, reaching out to her. Jen reflected on the past years. This was probably the happiest day she had for a long time. Who cared about the pain in her stomach? Who cared about the immense fear she had felt? She certainly didn't, she only cared about this new acquaintance. L had told her where she lived, and surprisingly it wasn't that far away. So she had suggested that they walk to school together. Jen had gladly accepted the offer. It would definitely be more pleasant than going alone. When she walked alone she was always picked on. One morning had been very bad. It was a painful memory.

The alarm clock rings. I roll around and smack it off the table by accident. I sigh. Dizzy from morning drunkenness, I reach out to pick it up and turn it off. 6 AM. 30 minutes for having a shower and eating breakfast, 15 minutes to waste and one hour to walk to school. 8 o'clock would be the time the bell rang for lessons. I always walked the six kilometres. I could've used my bicycle, but I preferred walking. I put the alarm clock back on the bedside table and slowly sit up. I take a deep breath. My head was pounding. Again I awoke with a headache. Not that I had really been asleep at all, but half sleeping was some form of sleep, right? Slowly I get up and grab my uniform to take it into the bath. I take a quick shower and get dressed quickly. Then I go downstairs. My parents were up already. Dad had to go to work soon, and mum generally got up with him. "Good morning dear!" My mother rushes over and presses her lips against my forehead. I hug her in return. "Morning, mum." She brushes her hair behind her ear and looks me in the eyes. "Want something special for breakfast?" I shake my head. "I'll have the usual." I reply. "I'll make you a Cacao, hm?" Mum smiled. I want to say something, but my father interrupts without looking up from the newspaper. "Don't bother saying no, Jennifer. The milk's already warm." I look over to my mother, who went over to the cooker, laughing. Then I can't help but smile and sit down at the table. "Anything interesting in the paper?" Dad hands me the part he already read. "See for yourself, Jennifer. I'm not finished with this part. How's school?"

I gulp and freeze. Then I reach for the papers, doing my best to suppress my shivering. I desperately try not to stutter or have a trembling voice as I say: "Awesome. As always. Have I ever reported otherwise?" I make an attempt to salute. My dad lets out a small chuckle. "No, but you never know what could happen. You know that you can always come to us with your problems." I look at my father. Instead of thinking what anyone else would think, I simply stare and wonder: 'How good he looks in that uniform.' It was really suiting him though. No. I can't tell him. He'd beat all the kids to a pulp. And then they'd suspend him or even worse, degrade him. No. I can't tell him. "Sure." I say on the verge of crying. I flinch when I look at my mother. She's looking at me from the cooker. Her look is throwing daggers, as if she'd be looking deep into my soul and find out that I lied. It feels like an eternity, and I am prepared for her starting to talk any moment. Instead, she walks to the cooker, prepares my Cacao and brings it to me. Then she sits next to me and stares at me while I prepare my bred and drink a sip of the Cacao. Cinnamon, Vanilla and Pure Cacao. Just the way I loved it. I look at her. "It's delicious." She doesn't smile. "Mum... You're creeping me out..." She blinks and suddenly shakes her head. "Sorry, I was spacing out for a bit there." Now she is smiling and gently brushes the back of my hand. When she stops I finish my breakfast and get up. "I'll go now." Dad checks his watch. "This early?" I nod. He nods back. "It's been snowing out. Be careful." Mum gives me a farewell kiss. "Have fun, honey." I nod. "Is it that cold?" I turn to dad. He looks up. "-7°C. Have you dressed accordingly?" I shake my head. "I will." He smiles. I quickly dress up a little more, then head out. The world is so white. It's beautiful. And it's still snowing slightly. Maybe this might be a good day after all. I start making my way towards the school. It's cold, but it's not unendurable. I pull my scarf over my nose and my cap a little lower. It would be cool if the sun would come out later.
I'm half way too school. It's still rather early. I didn't run into any bullies yet. Normally they'd have creeped up on me already. I sigh. Now I jinxed myself. Not that I'd believe in that sort of stuff, but it happened so often. I increase my pace. I don't want to see them before I even enter school grounds today. It isn't long and I realise I spoke too soon. There they are. All together. Great. So today was a group effort? It's too late to avoid them, so I just keep looking forward and continue walking. "MORNING JEN!" One shouts. "Morning." I say. He hesitates. I guess he didn't expect me to answer. "Well aren't we talkative today?" Another butts in. I want to continue walking, but a third guy grabs both my arms. Anxiety is crawling up my stomach. "Not so fast Jen, you didn't greet all of us." I try not to sigh out loud. I keep my shivering in check. Instead I look around and say: "Good morning guys, slept well?" They laugh. "Of course we did. You can't sleep better than when you're anticipating a cool event." I raise a brow. Then both in pain as I suddenly get kicked in the kneepit. I am forced to my knees and someone pulls my hair from behind. "Isn't snow awesome?" One of them says and throws a snowball in my face. It's painful, but I don't scream or cry. Then another suddenly pushes me down to the ground and pushed my face into the snow. "Bon Appetit." Then I get pulled back up and someone pushes more snow in my face. Someone else puts it in my collar. Needlessly to say, it's extremely cold. Then I cough and retch as someone kicks my stomach with a lot of force. "Hey look, she had bred for breakfast." I try to stand up but get pushed back. One has a knife in his hand. "Hey, Mark, don't.. That's taking it too far." The one addressed as Mark laughs. "Who cares? She's just a freak. Let's see if she can take it without pissing herself." He walks up to me. I can't move. I CAN'T MOVE. I WANT TO SCREAM! I WANT TO CRY FOR HELP! BUT INSTEAD I JUST STARE AT THE FUCKING KNIFE! FROZEN! WHY? WHY?? "MARK! COME ON!" One of the guys runs away suddenly, probably scared of the consequences. Mark is grabbed by the shoulder by another guy. "Come on, we've never used something other than our fists to hurt her." Mark chuckles. "There's a first time for everything." HE IS STROKING MY FUCKING CHEEK WITH IT! HELP! Blood is flowing. I flinch. "D-D-" I try to say. "Hm?" He grabs me by the collar and pulls me up roughly. "What?" "STOP!" I yell, suddenly getting up and pushing him away. "FUCKING BITCH!" I stop. What was that? Mark tumbles backwards. Two guys have their hands on their mouths. Another is staring at us. What happened? There was this sting in my side... Mark's knife? WHERE IS IT? I look down. "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" I scream. Then all boys run away. I collapse. I don't know how long I lie there. I could barely keep my eyes open. I look at the sky. It's grey, and snow flakes still fall on my face. There's a siren in the distance. I try to distinguish it. It wasn't the police. Fire department? Yes. Sub-section Ambulance. I close my eyes. The last thing I hear is muffled voices and footsteps. And a very anxious voice. I.....th....i..........nk....that.....is..... mum........

Jen stood in front of her house. She checked her watch. Suddenly she heard someone approaching. "Morning Jen!" L jumped towards her with a very cheerful expression. She stopped next to her. "Excited?" She smiled and looked deep into Jen's eyes. "Yes, and no. I'm not sure how my usual 'Acquaintances' will react when I'm not alone anymore. L hopped up and down. "Who cares about them? We are all that matters. Let's leg it!" Suddenly L grabbed Jen's hand and started to sprint off. Jen's mother was at the door to kiss her husband goodbye for the day, when she saw both girls storming off. "Look, our daughter finally has someone to walk to school with." Her dad looked after her and straightened his Captain's Cap. "Good for her. I think she walked there alone long enough." His wife nodded. They both looked after the two girls until they were around the next corner. "I can feel a strong connection between those two. They'll be great friends." The father suddenly claimed. She smiled. "You felt that too dear?" They smiled at each other and kissed. "I'll see you later today." He whispered. Then the father left for work. Jen and L meanwhile were on their way. Jen was athletic, so the run wasn't much of a deal to her, but L wasn't even remotely phased. 'She must run a lot.' Jen thought. "Did you eat today?" L suddenly asked. "A little." Jen admitted. "Try not to eat too much today, I wanna take you on a run!" Jen's face lightened up. So she DID run a lot. "Looking forward to it." Jen replied happily.