Swing!
The door opened.
"Mr. Bridge, just the one I was lo–"
A woman in her mid forties wearing a formal teacher's clothes was standing in front of the classroom.
"What happened to your face Mr. Bridge?"
Lucas smiled weakly as he massaged his bruised face.
"I fell on my way to school."
A sound of whispers invaded the room.
Lucas' classmates showed varying reactions.
Some just shook their heads, some gave him a knowing smile and some threw him a look of disdain.
Mrs. Miller threw a piercing gaze in Lucas' direction.
"Please meet me in my office after class hours Mr. Bridge."
Lucas bowed slightly.
"I surely will Mrs. Miller."
"Now please take your seat Mr. Bridge."
Lucas nodded his head and made his way towards his seat.
The classroom was made of three columns and each column had ten rows. Each row consisted of two seats which were adjacent to each other.
The classroom was currently occupied with a total of thirty students.
Lucas's seat was situated at the far end of the right corner of the classroom, the seat on his left was always unoccupied...….or at least it was supposed to be unoccupied.
Lucas froze as he noticed that the seat next to his own was occupied.
Mrs. Miller asked.
"Is there a problem Mr. Bridge?"
Lucas shook his head."Not at all Mrs. Miller."
With hurried steps, Lucas swiftly occupied his seat without sparing a single glance at the person occupying the seat next to his own.
Mrs. Miller clapped once.
"Before we begin the lesson today, I must introduce a new member of our class."
She then waved her hand.
Lucas blinked in confusion.
'New member of the class?'
As if being summoned, the person sitting next to him, the girl right next to him stood up.
"Hi, my fellow classmates."
The girl smiled.
"My name is Helena Hermington but I prefer to go by Ellie as how my friends at my old school liked to call me. I am happy to be a new addition at Bright High."
Lucas looked at the girl in stupor.
The new member of the class, Helena or Ellie as how she liked to be called was a person who was slightly taller than Lucas by a few inches at best.
She possessed black hairs and light brown eyes.She wore a dark brown coat with the school emblem woven on its left side, a white shirt, a light gray bow tie and a dark brown skirt that reached beyond her knees.
Mrs. Miller nodded.
"Let us give Mrs. Hermington a round of applause."
CLAP!
With a satisfied smile, Ellie sat down.
Mrs. Miller's gaze shifted towards Lucas.
"Mr. Bridge, I entrust you with the job of showing Mrs. Hermington around in your free time."
Lucas reluctantly nodded.
Mrs. Miller then looked at the whole class.
"Now, since the introduction is over, class will begin. We are going to proceed from where we ended in...…."
About what Mrs. Miller said next, Lucas did not know.
He had entrapped himself in a world consisting of only him and his diary.
Monday,5th May 2025
Dear Diary,
Another day I write to you for your presence comforts me.
Today's morning was as best as it could ever be.
The tasty breakfast, the hug from my mom, the morning sunlight all of this brought warmth in my heart.
Oh. Please don't tell mom that I still enjoy to be called little bear even though I say otherwise.
Ah, but that is to be expected since my mom is the only person that sees me in a different light, in a unique light.
She sees me as a person to be loved, a treasure to be cherished, a son born from her own womb.
But most people perceive me in the opposite light.
That can be proven by how people treat me at school.
"YOU ARE NOT A HUMAN THAT BREATHES BUT A DOG TO BE BREED." That is what they whisper in my ears as they deprive me of my rights.
People may wonder why I have never reported the nightmarish things that I have experienced and still experiencing but in truth I already did and more than once at that.
And what do my tormentors receive as a punishment?
Nothing! I repeat nothing! They all say it was a mere prank.
A broken arm, A MERE PRANK!
A broken leg, A MERE PRANK!
A wounded heart, A MERE PRANK!
A shattered mind, A MERE PRANK!
At the end of the day I just made my situation worse for I made my tormentors double whatever torture they implicated on me.
I have learnt it the hard way that having a tight lip was the only way through my miserable life.
Right now, I am just going to endure, endure throughout my 11th grade year.
And maybe, just maybe walk into my 12th grade year in one piece.
Oh, I almost forgot.
There is this new girl called Helena or Ellie as she prefers to be called who joined our class today.
The most surprising thing is that she is sitting right next to me.
Yes, dear diary I wrote it right and I will repeat.
SHE IS SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO ME!
I just hope she never talks to me.
People may wonder, why doesn't he want anything to do with her? The answer to that question is rather simple, my tormentors are not only boys but also girls.
While the blows delivered by my male tormentors were physical, the blows delivered by my female tormentors were rather emotional.
And I am really, really scared of emotional blows, I would happily receive kicks or punches instead.
Am I a coward? Definitely.
So why should I put on a brave front to my audiences?
Ellie whispered in Lucas's ear.
"What are you writing?"
Lucas almost jumped off his seat.
He turned his head to face Ellie whose face was only mere inches away from his own.
The flowing black hairs, the enchanting light brown eyes, the flawless skin and the inviting pink lips.
Lucas started to hyperventilate.
Ellie blinked.
"Are you okay?"
No words could escape his lips, Lucas could only nod.
'What is happening to me?'