How To Be Human

No. 1: Hopelessness

!WARNING!
There are numerous triggers in this part so if you can not handle that please do not read.

She sank to the floor, her shoulders trembling as she cried.
After crying for a while, she breathed out shakily and furiously rubbed her eyes.

She glanced wearily at the bathroom door, waiting for something - anything at all - to come through.

But nothing did.

She wasn't exactly sure what she was waiting for.
Her tormentor?
A teacher?
Or just someone who would care?

As she rose gingerly to her feet - her arms bruised and a bit red - her legs shook with the strain.

The girl walked slowly towards the mirror, her feet dragging on the floor.

As she gazed into the mirror, she grimaced at the sight of her face. Her eyes were swollen and puffy, her cheeks bruised and hollow. Her lip was split and bleeding; her hair hanging limply on the sides of her face.

She brushed her thumb softly against her bottom lip, a stinging pain following thereafter. She winced then switched on the tap.

Cupping her hands under the tap, gathering the gushing water and splashing it on her face.
It didn't exactly help but it provided come forms of relief.

After rinsing her face, she sighed and looked fearfully at the door.

Before, she had hoped that someone would come through the door. But now that she had calmed down, she realised that she should be more worried about who might be waiting behind it.

Walking forward quietly, she stopped in front of the door and slowly pressed down on the handle.
Peeking out the door, she sighed with relief when she saw no one lurking behind it.

She stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door softly behind her. She shuffled down the empty hallway, making her way to the nurse's office.
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'Goodness!' cried the nurse with a disapproving frown as she dabbed at the girl's lip.

'What is this, the 10th time this month?' The nurse said sighing with annoyance.

The girl kept quiet, her lips sealed. The nurse had given up on knowing where the bruises came from; the girl never said a word. She just entered the office and pointed at her injuries.

'There,' the nurse said softly, 'I'm done.'

The girl stood up, murmured a thank you, then left through the door; the nurse sat frozen with shock.

That was the first time she had ever spoken to her.
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'You foolish child!' A woman screeched as her hand flew across the girl's face.

The girl's face had turned with the impact but she did not say a word. She kept her words to herself like she always did.

'Seriously, what is the hell is wrong with you?' The woman spat, 'I'm getting calls from school complaining about you not concentrating in class!'

The girl still kept quiet, not at all reacting to her biological mother's venom-like words. It wasn't worth it.

She stayed still allowing her mother to scream and rage till she was tired.
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The girl, with a hand cupping her reddening cheek, walked up the stairs slowly.

Her back was hunched and her head facing downwards.
She looked broken.

Up the stairs she trudged, towards the door at the the top of the stairs; the paint was peeling and the dim light within the room shining from beneath the door.
_________________________________________________________________

'You little shit,' the mother muttered, 'what the fuck are you doing in there, huh?!'

There was no answer.

The woman pressed her ear to the door, she heard no scuttling noises or muffled sobs, it was silent.

The woman stepped back then placed her hand on the door handle.

As she opened the door, different thoughts went through her head.

As she walked into the messy room many memories came flooding back.

As she stared at her daughter's lifeless body, she felt many things.

But none of them were remorse.

The End.