Chapter 9

Chapter 9

During the past week, Ariana enjoyed attending school. She made new friends with some of her classmates whom Casey had bullied before, and she relished the time she spent with Jeffrey. Annie was right; being partners with Jeffrey was fun, and she also enjoyed swimming in the school pool. She was seriously considering joining the swimming team.

On Thursday, during recess, Ariana went for a swim. Afterward, she headed to class. However, during English class, her legs started itching like crazy, and Casey couldn't help but giggle. The entire class stared at Ariana, thinking she had lost her mind. Since the itching didn't stop, the teacher sent her to see the school nurse. To Ariana's shock, the nurse found itching powder on her pants. She knew this was Casey's doing.

The next day, Ariana was texting Annie when Casey deliberately bumped into her, causing her phone to fall to the ground. As if that weren't enough, Casey then stepped on Ariana's phone, shattering the it beyond repair.

"I am so sorry," Casey gasped, her apology clearly insincere. Ariana stared at her shattered phone, a gift from her dad, now in ruins. Something inside her snapped, and she slapped Casey so hard that her fingers left imprints on Casey's face. She grabbed her ruined phone and fled the school before Casey's minions could retaliate. In her haste, she bumped into a tall figure.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized, tears clouding her eyes. She made an attempt to run, but the tall figure caught her wrist.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"I'm fine," Ariana replied curtly. The tall figure offered her his handkerchief, and she took it, although she had no interest in talking to him. With the handkerchief in hand, she ran away, unsure of where she was going. She knew that today marked the end of her time at this school.

After running what felt like forever, Ariana found herself in an alley where she sat down, wiping tears from her face. She retrieved her broken phone from her bag and couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her face. The one thing that made her feel close to her dad was now in ruins, and she couldn't bear it. She cried for what seemed like an eternity but eventually collected herself and wiped her face. At least she had gotten the satisfaction of slapping Casey. She had been waiting for an opportunity to do so, and today, she had finally seized it.

She stood up and made her way to the gas station where she worked. She had missed her shift that day at the coffee shop, and she was sure Annie had been trying to call her incessantly. She arrived at the gas station and borrowed one of her colleague's phones to call Annie and assure her that she was okay. After her shift, she visited the clinic where she usually got her mom's medications and purchased some drugs for her mom before heading home.

As she walked home, a middle-aged man caught her attention. She found him in a dark alley, surrounded by three boys attempting to rob him of his wallet. Ariana's eyes scanned the area in search of something to defend herself, and she spotted a baseball bat. She picked it up and concealed it behind her.

"Hey! Let him go!" she yelled at the robbers.

"Look what we have here, an angel. How are you doing, sweetheart?" one of the boys taunted, his eyes filled with lust.

Ariana took a step backward, her heart pounding. "Don't be scared, we don't bite," another one said with a sinister smirk.

"Stay back!" Ariana warned.

One of the three boys approached her menacingly, and Ariana was forced to use the baseball bat in self-defense. She swung it at his leg, and he fell to the ground, clutching his injured leg and groaning in pain. The others charged at her, but Ariana was quick to strike one on the head and the other on the knee. They writhed in pain on the ground as Ariana grabbed the middle-aged man, and together, they ran from the dark alley.