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VERONICA

I walked to the door, feeling nervous as hell. The hallway outside my classroom was already crowded as usual, students gathering around rows of blue metal lockers that lined the long corridor.

I, however, feared stepping out there, knowing what would happen if I tried to make it to my locker through the crowd.

I usually arrived earlier to school to avoid this situation, but today, I was late.

I had half a heart to escape, but nothing I could do. If I failed to get to class, the school office would call my father and report that I had skipped again.

Now, my father's punishments were like a taste of hell on earth. Considering my two options, I would rather face the embarrassment from my school mates than get beaten up by my father.

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, 'get it through Veronica, it's not the first time...'

I clutched my bag tightly against my chest and took a deep breath before stepping into the crowd. Students brushed past me as they talked loudly about classes, sports practice, and the latest gossip spreading around campus.

I was so focused on trying to slip quietly through the hallway that I didn't see the foot that had been stretched out deliberately in front of me.

As a result— my shoe caught it.

I tripped instantly, my body pitching forward before I could even react. I landed face first on the cold tiled floor with a loud thud that echoed down the corridor.

For a brief second the hallway went quiet.

Then— laughter exploded around me.

Students burst into hysterics. Some quickly pulled out their phones, eager to record whatever humiliation was happening.

I remained on the floor, refusing to move from my spot.

I fucking hated life.

Today was my 18th birthday but I still had to suffer like this.

"Aren't you going to move, fatty?" David, my worst tormentor, mocked.

He stood over me wearing his letterman jacket like he owned the place.

"How can you expect her to move?" Anna, another girl, mocked while flipping her hair dramatically. "Her weight is too much for her to carry. Poor Veronica."

"When she fell, the foundation of the school shook," Michael added loudly, causing another wave of laughter from the surrounding students.

The three of them were my nemesis.

David was one of the football team's most popular players, Anna was one of the cheerleaders, and Michael followed them around like a loyal guard dog.

I hated them with everything in me but I couldn't speak against them as they ruled the school.

"What's with her clothes though?"

"Did she even take a shower this morning?"

"Her clothes are so dirty! How can she even wear it!?"

"Ewww. I'll kill myself if I was as dirty and fat as she was!" — These were words I used to. Words I heard every day.

Not only from my tormentors but also my family.

It hurt every time that I heard it. But there was nothing that I could do about it. Years of bullying and abuse had slowly killed every fight left inside me.

"I saved this just for you," I heard David's voice.

Before I could realise, a cold liquid splashed over me.

The smell hit immediately. It was stale and disgusting, churning my stomach violently.

The liquid soaked into my hair and clothes while dripping down my face onto the floor beneath me.

Laughter exploded again, even louder this time.

I could hear camera shutters clicking and see flashes from phone cameras as students recorded the moment eagerly.

I hid my face as much as I could but it didn't do much though.

The bell rang suddenly, echoing loudly through the hallway and signaling the start of first period.

One by one, the students began leaving the hallway, hurrying toward their classrooms before they were marked late.

"Fucking bitch," David muttered before kicking me in my side.

Pain shot through my ribs and I groaned quietly, still laying on the floor in the filth.

There was no time to change out of my clothes into the spare ones I kept in my locker. Ignoring the pain in my side, I slowly carried myself toward the classroom.

The teacher was already inside when I arrived.

With only as much as a brief look of disgust in my direction, the teacher turned back toward the whiteboard and continued teaching as if nothing unusual had happened.

I dragged myself to my chair at the very back of the classroom. My usual seat.

"Must we have class with her? She stinks." Becky muttered loudly from the front row where she sat with her group of friends.

There were murmurs of approval from the others in the class.

Becky was the head cheerleader and one of the most popular girls in school. Her father was a wealthy businessman and have a good position within government who donated money to the school's athletic programs, especially the football team.

Everyone listened to her, and that's what I feared the most.

I silently prayed that our teacher wouldn't listen to Becky and ask me to leave the class because of the offending smell coming from me.

"Let her be." Damon spoke calmly from across the room, and the class instantly became silent.

I looked at him and our eyes met briefly, and before I could thank him, he looked away again.

Damon was the star football player of the school.

Although he came from a wealthy family and had everything most students dreamed of, he behaved nothing like the others from his social circle.

The only person who behaves kindly to me.

After he saved me from the bullies that one time behind the gym, I also fell in love with him.

And I had always wanted him to know.

I knew he would never reciprocate my feelings. Not when he had someone as beautiful as Becky.

But this was my last year in high school. And if I never told him how I felt, I would never get another chance.

I barely focused on the lesson today. My mind was occupied entirely with Damon and how I would tell him my feelings.

All through the day, I couldn't get him alone. He was always surrounded by teammates or friends, laughing and talking about football practice later that afternoon.

I stayed away. But after school finally ended, I found my chance.

Most students had already left campus and the hallway near the locker rooms was much quieter than usual.

The football team had practice soon.

I cautiously walked into the locker room, Damon was the only one there.

He had just finished changing and was pulling on his shirt.

I froze at the doorway for a moment, my heart raced as I watched his athletic body, the result of years of intense training and practice.

"Veronica?" His sudden voice snapped me back to reality.

"Damon..." I gasped.

"Do you— need something?"

"Yeah. I-I..." The words got stuck in my throat.

"Veronica?" he asked again gently.

The kindness in his voice gave me the courage I needed. "I—I like you." I blurted out without thinking.

Damon stared at me for a moment. For a brief second, I thought I saw something soften in his eyes.

"You... like me?" he asked slowly.

"Yes!" I replied breathlessly. My heart started beating faster, hope blooming painfully inside my chest. "You're a good person and you're the only one who has ever been kind to me and..."

His lips curled into a smile. And then, suddenly, he started laughing, cutting me off.

I froze, blinking.

"I-Is something wrong?" I asked weakly, my voice barely above a whisper.

But he only laughed harder, clutching his stomach.

"I can never like someone as disgusting as you!" he said finally, wiping the corner of his eye. "You're so ugly, you're fat, and honestly... the sight of you alone makes me want to puke."

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. My mind went completely blank... This was not what I expected.

"You thought I saved you because I liked you?" His voice was dripping with ridicule now. "That day was a fucking mistake. I felt sick about it for days afterward!"

I stared at him in shock. The Damon I thought I knew— the kind boy who once helped me when no one else would, had disappeared completely.

Instead, stood someone cold and cruel, someone who looked at me like I was nothing more than a garbage.

"Did you seriously think I would like you back?" shaking his head with a laugh.

More laughter suddenly echoed through the locker room.

And my heart dropped.

I slowly turned around, only to witness his friends walking in through the second door of the locker room.

"Did you get that on camera?" Damon asked.

"Of course I did," David said proudly, waving his phone. "Every second."

My head spun. Didn't they leave earlier? Why were they here?

"I had a feeling you'd do something this stupid," David said.

"It's his fault for being nice to her," Becky said sharply, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Nice planning, Becky," David laughed. "This is even better than I thought it would be."

"The students are going to lose their minds over this video," Anna added excitedly from behind them.

"Looks like her defective brain still hasn't yet figured out what's happening," Anna snickered.

Becky stepped closer to me slowly, tilting her head slightly. "Let me make this very simple for your pathetic brain cells... Damon doesn't like you."

Her lips curled in disgust. "He's disgusted by you."

I shook my head weakly.

"N-No." No-no... this couldn't be real.

Why did I believe Damon was different?

Why did I think he was a good person when he spent every day with people like them?

"Stupid bitch." Before I could react, David grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head backward.

Pain shot through my scalp as he slammed my head against the metal locker behind me, with a loud clang.

My vision blurred immediately.

"Let's not forget our birthday gift for her," I heard Damon's voice before something cold and heavy smashed into my face.

The smell hit instantly. A spoiled cake.

Laughter exploded through the locker room again. Phones flashed repeatedly as they recorded everything.

"Happy birthday, fatso!" someone shouted.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. Blindly, I ran out of the locker room and into the hallway. Eager to go away from all this.

Students were still lingering around the building, waiting for sports practice or rides home. The moment they saw me, the laughter started.

Phones appeared everywhere. Someone must have already uploaded the video.

"Yo, isn't that the girl from the video?"

"That's her!"

"Dude, she really thought Damon liked her!"

"Holy shit, look at her face!"

I ran faster, my vision blurred by tears. My chest hurt so badly I could barely breathe.

I wished I could disappear. I wished the ground would open up and swallow me whole.

Anything would be better than living through this moment. The humiliation felt endless.

I ran past everything and eventually stumbled into a narrow storage closet near the janitor's room and slammed the door shut behind me.

Darkness surrounded me instantly. The noise of the hallway faded and my legs finally gave out.

I slid down against the wall, my back hitting the cold wall as my entire body was shaking.

The smell of spoiled cake still clung to my clothes.

Tears streamed down my cheeks uncontrollably. I buried my face in my arms and cried... I cried until my throat hurt and my chest burned.

No one loved me. Maybe they were right, for someone like me didn't deserve to be loved at all...