I Wish...

1

"Rubicea, can you answer the next question for us," the orphanage teacher, Mrs. Rosa, a woman in her late twenties with unruly brown hair and hazel eyes, asked.

I nodded slowly, then looked at my hands. 'Three plus seven...' I put seven fingers up then proceeded to add three. 'Seven, eight, nine, TEN!'

"Ten," I squealed as I held up all my fingers. Mrs. Rosa grinned at me,"Yes, good job!" She came by where I was sitting and put a duck sticker on my worn-out journal. She turned away after giving me a gentle pat on the head.

"That wasn't even a hard question, so don't think you're smart," an older kid named, Maric, said. I ignored him because he was mean. Plus, he always said I wasn't smart after I answered a question, but the other kids always said I was super smart. "Hey, brat, who said you could ignore me?" I looked at him and shook my head. Maric glared, "Guess we'll find out at recess."

Recess was in a little bit, but I don't know how I'll find out who said I could ignore him if no one told me.

Soon enough, the ringing of the bell told us it was time for recess. Mrs. Rosa needed me to help her in class though. "Mrs. Rosa," I started, "Maric said he wanted to play with me." "Help me a little bit, then you can go play," she said as she rubbed the board clean.

A few minutes later and there wasn't much left to do, so I left the room to use what little of recess was left. "Rubicea! Where are you?!" Maric practically yelled. "You fuckin' brat," he said with a snarl. "Thought you could escape didn't you?"

"Esc-ape? What's 'esc-ape'?" I questioned. He growled and told me to follow him. I obliged thinking he wanted to play hide-and-seek. Suddenly, I was shoved into an alley in between the cafeteria and the gym. I was now on the floor with a scraped knee and tears blurring my vision.

"Maric? Are you angry I didn't come to play earlier?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly. He stayed silent and started to kick me. "Maric! Stop! Please!" I sobbed. "SHUT UP!" he yelled back. I curled up, nearly silent.

"Please, Maric, stop," I pleaded in a voice slightly higher than a whisper. I shut my eyes tight and let the tears fall as I willed the blows and the pain away. Then, they stopped.

"Get up, loser," Maric sneered. I uncurled and got up slowly. My vision blurry, the world spinning, and unbearable pain surrounding me.

He grabbed me by the collar before I could gather my wits. "M-Maric?" I managed to stutter out. He was laughing... at me. "'M-Maric'," he mocked. "You sound fuckin' pathetic." He punched my face with his free hand and I felt a crack. Then, I felt a second warm liquid dribble down my chin.

He dropped me on the floor and he started to kick again. I curled up once more with shut eyes. I tried counting sheep to pass the time. I felt a crack, then two, then a few more. I heard a faint whistle, recess had ended. The kicking continued. The pain more prominent than before.

Then, there was nothing. It was black. I felt nothing. I saw nothing. I heard nothing. I'd knocked out.