Suzy sat alone. Alone, without friends. Entirely alone. Everyone was playing on the schoolyard, but Suzy didn’t. She didn’t like to play. She was thinking. Just a view days ago her father died. Suzy cried about it, every night. Again and again. What did happen to him? Why did he die? Why he? Suzy’s head was full with questions. The children didn’t ask her to play with them. ‘No, of course they don’t’, Suzy thought. ‘I’m just a stupid, crying and weird child nobody wants to play with…’. The bell ringed. Suzy stand up very slowly. There was no reason for being on time in class. They didn’t learn anything so what the hell was the reason for being on time in class? A schoolteacher was walking on the playground. “Hey, Suzy!” he said. “Why aren’t you in class?” Suzy looked at the teacher. “I’m almost there,” she said sadly. The teacher put a hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong, my child?” The tears were almost rolling over her cheek. “Nothing…” Suzy said. “Who do you kidding right now?” her teacher said to Suzy. He looked at her. “So…?” Suzy looked at her shoes. “My… My father…” The teacher asked, “What’s wrong with your father?” Suzy sobbed. “He’s dead.” The teacher lifted Suzy’s head. “O dear… How sadly. I’m so sorry for you! How can I help you?” Suzy lifted her shoulders. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “Why didn’t your mum called to school? You can have a day off, if you want,” the teacher said to Suzy. “Really?” Suzy said hopefully. “Of course! I don’t say that for fun! You need your time to process. Your dad isn’t just something.” Suzy nodded. “Thank you.” The teacher stroke her head. “It will be all right. It just need its time. I know how you’re feeling. Well, go now!” Suzy smiled a bit. “Thank you.”
Her mum saw Suzy in front of the door. “Hey, Suzy! You’re early today.” Suzy shook her head. “I should rather go. Because of…” Her mother put her hand over Suzy’s mouth. “You don’t have to say it, I know already what you mean. Don’t make yourself even more sad. Do you want a cup of tea?” Suzy nodded. “Yes, please.” Her mum laughed to her. “And a cookie?”
Some later they both sat around the table with a cup of tea and a cookie. “How was your day?” mum asked. Suzy lifted her shoulders. “Normal,” she said. “Don’t lie to me, darling. Just say that it was a bad day, because I can tell from your face,” her mum said. “Sorry…” Suzy got up. “I go to my room.” Her mum sighed. “Okay. See you for dinner.” Suzy nodded.
The next day Suzy did go to school again. “Hey, Suzy! Glad you’re back again!” her teacher said. It was a different teacher than yesterday. “Yes,” Suzy said. She went in the classroom and took a seat. “Well, there’s our truant classmate,” some girls said. ‘Stupid girls, please shut up,’ Suzy thought. ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about!’ One girl looked very provocative. “How was your day?” she asked mean. “Did you have a nice day? A nice day, at home? I hope you didn’t. Cheater!” Suzy sighed. “Please shut up…” The girl laughed mean. “Why should I? I’m just curious how your day was, Suzy.” She said it with a spotting voice. The teacher tried to get the attention. “Please, ladies in the back? Can we listen?” The mean girl felt back in her chair. “I’ll come to you in the break,” she said with a mean voice.
When the break came, Suzy stayed in class. “Don’t you go playing with the others?” her teacher said to her. Suzy shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “Why not?” her teacher asked. “I don’t want to.” Her teacher lifted his shoulders. “Okay, it’s all right.” He left the room. ‘Finally,’ Suzy thought. ‘Silence, finally.’ But when she looked through the window she saw the mean girls looking at her. ‘Oh no. No!’ Suzy thought. ‘I pretend if I don’t see them, I pretend if I don’t see them…’ She bite on her lip. ‘No, they’re coming to me… Go away please… Damn!’ The girls came in the class. “Hello miss truant!” Suzy didn’t look up from her table were her lunchbox stood. ‘Please let the teacher come back soon,’ she thought. She became a bit angry. Always when you need your teacher, he isn’t there and if you don’t want him to be there then he is! How stupid is that? “Well, miss truant. How was your day, yesterday?” Suzy still looked at her lunchbox. She thought; ‘I’m not going to give an answer to that question.’
“Well, miss truant? Don’t you give an answer to me?” Suzy still looked at her lunchbox. ‘Please let the teacher come…Please let the teacher come right now…’ Suzy thought. “Hey! Miss truant! Give an answer to me!” Another girl said: “Hey! Give her an answer! Miss truant! Listen to her!” ‘Stupid girl,’ thought Suzy. ‘Follow your own way. Not that from someone else. Not because that other girl is stupid… Do you want to be stupid too? Please.’ Suzy saw in her corner of her eye that the mean girl went a bit frustrated. The mean girl hit Suzy in her face. Not that hard, but still. Suzy didn’t react. ‘This will be over in 5 minutes,’ she thought. ‘Because than the bell will ring because the break is over… I have to be strong for just 5 more minutes…’ The mean girl hit Suzy again. “Hey! Didn’t you hear me, miss truant?!”
‘4 minutes left… just 4 minutes…’ And again the girl hit Suzy. “Give me an answer! If you don’t…” Deep silence. “If you don’t, you will have a big problem, miss truant! A big problem, did you hear me?!” She almost screamed. ‘3 minutes…’ Suzy thought. ‘Only 3 minutes. Then this hell will be over… For now.’ She was still looking at her lunchbox. Why did this girl did this? Suzy even didn’t know her name. The girl also didn’t know her name, Suzy thought, because the girl called her miss truant all the time. But Suzy didn’t truant. She was just…Kind of ill. Ill of the dead of her father. ‘Maybe I have to tell her about my father… Maybe she will stop then…’ But another voice in Suzy’s head said: ‘No. She will never stop. It’s a mean girl. I think she got trouble of her own. I think that’s why she’s that mean to you. Because you’re not that popular as the others. That’s why she has chosen you! But she never will stop. Just sit here, and don’t feel the pain. In just a minute the bell will ring. A minute. That’s possible, isn’t it?’ Suzy thought; ‘Yes. Just a minute. Forget the pain. It hurt, but I have to forget the pain. And I have to forget the pain of my father death as well.’ But another voice in her head said: ‘You want to forget your father!?’
‘No, no, that’s not why I said!’ the first voice said. ‘Yes, you did! You said that you have to forget the pain of your father’s death as well,’ said the other voice. ‘No! The pain, not my father!’ Suzy heard the bell ringing. The girl hit her again, less harder than the others and then went away from Suzy. “I don’t want to be seen with her!” Suzy heard her saying. Suzy sighed. What a damned break. And, Suzy knew that this wasn’t the only break who was going to be like this…
