Chapter 12 : The Stand
The next day seemed to be like the old times, full of meaning. My confidence has returned, and instead of wishing that I can go back to sleep I forced myself up and got ready. My heart beated in steady slow rhythm, thump, thump, thump, the waves of quiet longing for my long gone pride and happiness.
In the hallway, I was greeted by the same looks, the same whispering. A sense of wanting to hide, to run away hit me, just like before. My hands started fidgeting again. My eyes flited to the floor.
No. I told myself. You need to stand up for yourself. If you can’t, do it for Elodie. Yes. Elodie. I still remembered her earnest smile, her warm embrace. This is a time to show Elodie that you’re brave, to show you make attempts to fulfill your promises. I forced myself to lift my head up, to stop my fidgeting. Be proud. Be strong.
The hot looks still landed on me. But as I moved down the hallway, it felt better. I realized that no one did anything I expected, like throw things at me. There were only looks and whispers. And I’ve endured that before.
I felt a smile bloom upon my lips, and this time, it’s not forced. My legs burst with astonishing speed and I jogged down the hallway and into the classroom, raising heads and causing a riot of whispers. A voice sang merrily inside me: “I don’t care I don’t care!”
Elodie sat in her normal seat, reading her textbook, waiting for me. Normally, I would sit away from her in fear of being bullied. But today I went to the seat next to her and set my stuff. A few people snickered, but I forced myself to sit down. “Hey, Elodie!”
She looked up, her smile like a thousand daisies blooming in the spring breeze. There was no impression of the hostile girl once in her place. “Hey Serena. Good morning.”
Teresa’s giggles came from halfway across the room. “If it isn’t Serena, finally sitting in her place beside the failure.”
I shivered. Her words didn’t cause a commotion like before, but the very sound makes my blood turn into ice. I lowered my head, wanting to disappear.
But then I saw Elodie looking at me. Her eyes were expecting and encouraging. She nodded towards Teresa and mouthed a single word. Go.
I took a deep breath. Teresa still stands there, dark and oppressing, but I understand that I have to do this. Elodie’s watching, everyone’s watching, I reminded myself.
I stood up and made my way across the room. A few students jumped out of the way as if I had the flu or something, but I continued over, until I was standing in front of Teresa. I forced myself to stand straight, to look into her amber eyes, which stared back like a predator’s, every cell screaming failure, jerk, stupid.
The words seemed to flow out by themselves, probably out of desperation, but it was not the least unsure or timid. “Teresa, I’m not going to be rash, even though you do deserve a good beating. I am here to tell you that you shouldn’t call me any names like that. Or Elodie. We don’t like it. If you don’t like being called names, you shouldn’t do that to anyone else.”
Her eyebrows raised. “And why should I care about a single word you farted out, Serena? Learn your place.” It stung, but I could see by the tensing in her posture that she was nervous
“No, it should be you who should learn your place. As a student, you have no right to teat anyone like that. You have no respect, Teresa. In theory, you didn’t even deserve to be a student as a cowardly bully who gang up with others on people. As for why you should care, well, because next time, I’ll let Mrs. Hall know about this. This time I’ll let you off easy. But next time, it’ll be much worse for you guys.”
Teresa’s eyes were bewildered. She didn’t show any sign of it in terms of body language. But her pupils were dilated and her cheeks were flushed, and that’s enough to show how hard that my words struck. It occurred to me that Teresa was the weakest among the trio of bullies. Felicia has relationships all around, Ivy can be ruthless and cruel, and Rachel has the gall and wits to talk mean. When on her own, Teresa doesn’t stand a chance.
I turned on my heels. Only now had I realized how nervous I had been. Sweat stained my palms, my heart beated as if I’d just run 10 kilometers or something. I can feel every pair of eyes on me as I went back to my seat. But some of those eyes have changed. Now they bore a look of amazement, shock, and something else I can’t tell.
The next day, I felt a mixture of fear and determination as I walked into the classroom. Despite everything, I had a small flicker of confidence, mostly because of Elodie’s support. I sat down beside her, ignoring the snickers that followed me as I passed.
But it didn’t take long for their attack to start.
It was during break. As I sat at my desk, working on some last-minute homework, I felt a sharp tug on the strap of my backpack. Before I could even react, Rachel and Felicia yanked it off the chair and threw it across the room.
“Oops, my bad,” Felicia said with a mocking smile, “Guess your bag’s too heavy to stay where it belongs.”
I quickly stood up to get my bag, but Rachel was already there, standing in front of it with her arms crossed, blocking me.
“Looking for this?” she smirked, holding up my pencil case. “Maybe you should’ve been more careful with your stuff.”
“Give it back, Rachel,” I said, my voice tight with anxiety. I wasn’t going to let them make me beg, but the fear in me made it hard to stay calm. Obviously, the confrontation with Teresa haven’t taught them a thing, and now they’re here to punish me for my resilience.
She tossed the pencil case at me, but the bag was still in the corner of the room. I tried to move past her, but she shoved me back, sending me stumbling into one of the desks. I felt my hands go clammy, my heart racing. My eyes were cast to the ground, and I wanted to plead for mercy.
“Do you really think we’re afraid of you, Serena?” Felicia sneered from behind me. “Go ahead, report us. But you know what? Everyone already knows what you’re like. No one will care.”
“Mrs. Hall will care,” I said, the words coming out less than half sure I wanted them to sound. “And you will receive your consequences, whatever they may be.”
A hand grabbed my hair and yanked back and I slammed into the ground. Ivy’s smile is scornful, but it was clear she was enjoying seeing me suffer under her hand. When she spoke, her voice was soft, but hurting nonetheless. “Serena, I know you. We’ve been friends for 4 years. And you cannot tell the teacher on anything others do no matter what.”
“I will——” I was about to speak when Rachel stepped over. She moved so fast I didn’t even have time to react, and her blow came down hard on my cheek. It stung like fire, burning away all my willpower. I instinctively pulled my legs to my chest, curling into a ball like a startled porcupine.
Teresa gave one last kick on my back. “Now we know who’s going to learn her place. You are completely hopeless, Serena. And you will be for the rest of your life.”
With that she and her companions left the classroom, leaving me torn and broken like a forgotten doll on the floor.
I was in such a daze that I didn’t even realize Elodie until her hand, ever so comforting, landed on my shoulder. “Hey, Serena?”
I threw myself into her arms and sobbed, my heart seeming to break into a million pieces. “It’s useless, Elodie! I can’t do it. Even if I show them that I’m not to be treated like that, they just ignore me!”
Elodie waited until I finished my outbreak. It felt better, just to let the tears flow out and have a pair of arms to embrace you. “I have a plan. You can tell Mrs. Hall and she will ensure that they don’t touch a cell on you ever again.”
“It won’t work,” I whimpered. “They’re such good students to Mrs. Hall, especially Felicia and Ivy.”
“But I’ve got something special.” Elodie’s voice was as mischievous as a small child who just plotted a new scheme to taunt her mother. Her smile was bright as she showed me her phone.
The video begins in the bustling hallway, with Elodie’s voiceover. “There’s commotion in the classroom, and I’m curious.” The scene shifts into the classroom, capturing me being surrounded by the bullies. Elodie gave an exaggerated gasp here before leaving the sounds to the scene. I watched as my bag sails across the room, me being pulled to the ground and struck.
“This will be your evidence, Serena. And they can’t deny it!” Elodie could barely mask her excitement.
I stared at the screen in silence, my mind racing. Elodie’s excitement was contagious, but my thoughts spiraled. What if showing the video only made things worse? What if the bullies found a way to cover their tracks, or worse, turn the tables on me?
Elodie seemed to sense my hesitation. She squeezed my shoulder, her voice steady but filled with urgency. “Serena, they have to be held accountable for this. We have the proof now, and it’s not just about them being punished. It’s about making sure they can’t do this to anyone else, either. You can’t let them keep getting away with it.”
I wiped my face with the back of my hand, feeling the remnants of tears drying on my cheeks. Her words sank in but doubt still clung to me like a weight. What if this backfired? What if the bullies turned even more vicious when they saw how serious I was about fighting back?
“I don’t know, Elodie,” I said softly. “What if they twist it? What if they turn everyone against us?”
Elodie shook her head, her eyes locked on mine. “That’s not going to happen. You’ve already been strong enough to face them. And now you have the one thing they can’t deny. Don’t let them keep you in the shadows, Serena. It’s time to show them you’re not afraid.”
Her confidence, her unwavering belief in me, made something inside me shift. Maybe she was right. I could run away, hide, let this fester until it swallowed me whole, or I could stand tall and make sure this was the end of it.
Elodie pulled out her phone again and unlocked it, her finger hovering over the screen. “Let’s go show Mrs. Hall. We’ll do this together.”
The thought of showing the video to a teacher, of confronting the bullies head-on, still made my stomach churn, but I didn’t want to let fear dictate my life anymore. Not anymore. Not with Elodie by my side. She was my anchor. If we faced this together, maybe, just maybe, we could turn things around.
I nodded, my resolve building. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
