Kim

January 29th, 2191. I was 10 years old then. That was when I first met Kim. Our meeting occurred when we were first assigned to dorms. You see Cransfield had a special rule, and the other schools probably also had this rule: after the 3rd grade, you were no longer allowed to live with your guardians and were supposed to move into the dorms provided.

At the time I didn't think much about this strange rule, which I admit was stupid. But who could blame me, I was just an excited 10 year old, who finally was able to live somewhere without the strict rules of my own household.

The dorm was the first time that I had ever spoken to Kim. Although we had seen each other around the school we had never actually spoken or played together. Our conversation was a strange one. Kim had suddenly gone up to me and, in a blunt, direct manner, requested the top bunk. I remember getting really cross with Kim because I too had wanted the top bunk, and also something about the way she spoke, almost in a condescending way really annoyed me. I straight out refused her. And we got into a fight.

Not the best way to start our friendship, huh? We didn't talk for an entire week after that. We both ended up getting bottom bunks, next to each other. Our room was a 6 people brick room with three bunk beds. On the left hand side of the room near the bathroom was Felicity, Hannah and Elizabeth Harvey, all on the top bunk. Then directly below them was Reina Jones, me and Kim. I remember that waking up every morning, the first thing that I would see was Kim's sleeping face, usually shaped into an arrogant smirk. That really pissed off 10 year old me.

The only one in my dorm room that I was friends with beforehand was Hannah. She was in my group.

During my years at Cransfield, everyone had a group. It was just your friends who you would spend your daily life hanging out with. Those who didn't have a group were outcasts, and those who were kicked out of their groups were also outcasts. At that time, Kim was an outcast.

Looking back, the reason that she was an outcast was not that she was particularly dislikable, contrary to my first impression of her. It was more along the lines of that she had always outshone everyone. Everyone in our grade and maybe even the grade above knew that Kim was incredibly bright. She had always ranked first (tied with her brother Finn) in the weekly tests, outranking the third place (which was always Felicity) by a wide margin.

Her academic achievements were not her only strong suit though. Back then, Kim was the only one of us who could outrun the boys, and hold her own in a martial arts match with them. And more than anything Kim was pretty, very pretty, it was the type of natural beauty that your eyes would never get tired of looking at.

That was why Kim was an outcast. We were only ten then, so the worst insults that we knew were "stupid", "idiot" and "annoying", but every time Kim's name was brought up in a conversation those insults were always associated with it. Even though I hated Kim, for some funny reason that really pissed me off.

It was a week after we had adjusted to our new dorms, and I was heading down to the cafeteria, waiting in line with Hannah, Bella, Mina and Georgie, for our lunch to be served. Kim was standing directly behind, alone as she always was. Bella, knowing that Kim was standing behind us said, "She's so annoying, and so bossy, no wonder no one wants to be her friend."

Mina and Georgie snickered intentionally loudly. " Yeah, we hate her, that stupid attention seeker!"

At the time I didn't understand why but a huge ball of rage had amassed within me. Naturally I was supposed to be their ally, because like them I possessed a particular dislike for Kim, but something in me had exploded within me.

"Don't say that Kim is stupid, because she's not! She's 100 times smarter than you selfish pigs." My eyes popped open after realising what I had said. But nothing could stop me now. " She's annoying? You're the annoying ones!"

Then we had a huge fight after that and Bella pulled on my hair so hard that my scalp started bleeding. I didn't use physical violence against her though. It was my policy not to, although I wish I could have strangled her then and there. Something pissed me off about others talking shit, and it always has pissed me off.

I may have had personal problems with Kim, but something about that incident in the cafeteria made me feel sorry for her. Yes, at the time Kim may have had some attitude problems, but that small figure standing sadly behind us really broke my heart. She was so helpless to do anything. She didn't deserve to be bullied like that.

Then, during the time while Bella was pulling my hair, Kim stepped in. She kicked Bella in the shin so hard that Bella howled in pain, and was forced to let go. In that moment Kim became the coolest person that I had ever known. Afterwards Bella, Kim and I were all taken to the principal's office for a lecture.

On our way to the principal's office, Kim and I kept quiet. We had both done unexpected things, and our awkwardness only grew. However the entire journey, Bella was bawling her eyes out, crocodile tears, I suppose, or maybe it was genuine fear of our punishment. Whatever it was, it only served to make me more annoyed at her.

At the time our principal was a lady by the name of Ms Williams. She had a strict looking face covered in wrinkles, not the nice friendly wrinkles that you could find on your typical elderly woman. She wasn't even that old, in her 40's I presumed, and yet her hair was graying. Perhaps it was the stress of dealing with snotty nosed children that caused it. Or maybe it was the other thing. She frowned as we entered the room, a mess of bloody bruises.

The room was surprisingly bare for one of a principal's office, no trophies, medals awards were displayed, no photos of students, no photos of teachers on the wall. In the center of the room was a huge oak desk, mostly devoid of anything. It was almost as empty as our dorm. There were seats in the corner, placed for any disobedient students, like us, who were to get lectured by her. She put down her cup of English Breakfast tea as we entered, and stared at us, through her red rimmed glasses. All three of us looked at the floor, afraid to meet the predatory eyes of Ms Williams.

She sighed. Then Kim asked the inevitable.

" Are we going to be punished for this?"

As I took my eyes off the floor I didn't miss the look of sadness that flashed across Ms Williams face. There was a very long pause before she spoke again. When she finally spoke again, her gaze pierced my eyes so hard that she may have seen through my soul.

The answer that she came out with was a well considered one. It was an ambiguous answer, which mislead us. " You will be punished for this..." She paused again reconsidering her response with a melancholy expression on her face. " In the near future, there will be repercussions for your actions. You will see them in the long term. So not today. I will not be punishing you. You will be punishing yourself."

And then we were dismissed. At that time we had no idea what she was going on about, or the sad expression she wore on her face. We just assumed that she wanted us to feel guilty about our actions and repent on our own, which we didn't. After this incident, Bella, Mina and Georgie were no longer friends with me. They became outcasts, or maybe it was more accurate the say that Hannah and I were the ones who became outcasts instead?

It only occurred to me when I was writing this, but the only one who received benefit (although that's not exactly the right word) from the events that followed was our headmaster and the head of the Ministry of Education, Ms Williams. The tragedy that occurred, as ironic as it sounds finally gave her a certain closure, the closure that she had needed for the entirety of her life. And I hated her for it. I despised this woman for the majority of my life, due to the many despicable things that she had done, not once did I ever forgive her, nor feel any ounce of pity for such a wretched creature. However that was all until her final moments.

Years after her death, I finally realise the responsibility behind her every action. The current me is finally able to understand her, and in some form or another empathise with her. At the end of the day, just like she was the figure of my hatred, I'm sure likewise I am the figure of many others hatred. Including myself.

She lived her complete existence, for the sake of others, only to be transformed into the token of their hatred. Although her views were without a doubt twisted, she only wanted the best future for us all. That made her HUMAN. Full of weaknesses, hypocrisy and petty emotions, but human because of it.

That night in our little dormitory room, while I was lazing around on my bed, reading Harry Potter quietly to myself, Kim went up to me voluntarily. She came up to me, and in the softest voice that I had ever heard whispered the words "Thank you" to me. Right after she said those words, wearing an embarrassed expression on her face and blushing ear to ear, she went back to her own bed and covered herself with blankets. I couldn't help but smile because I was left with a strange sense of victory.

In the following weeks, Kim and I became really close to each other. We attended classes side by side, hung out together, I would spectate her karate matches in the dojo after classes were over and cheer for her. We then formed a new group. Hannah, Reina, Felicity, Kim and I. Soon afterwards Kim graduated from being the object of bullying.

Life is strange, isn't it? Even though I had barely known Kim for a month, she had already, at this point, become my best friend. After that I felt a bit sorry for Darren and Hannah, who had been my childhood friends and best friends until Kim came along and replaced them. Perhaps that wouldn't be accurate, my relationship with Hannah and Darren was far more complicated.