This is a semi-fictional piece, the names of the characters have been changed. Special thanks to my ex-boyfriend ,PrinzLucky ,for support and editing. 

Darlene dragged herself out of bed. It was only 6 a.m. in the morning, and the sky was still dark. Nevertheless, she had to be rudely awakened by her servant, Lin, to get up and get ready for that miserable thing called school. She grimaced at the thought of school. Today, she would be silent, like a lonely grave, as she has always been and if she had the urge to speak, she would bite her lip until it bled.

“Let them say what they like”, the Little Voice in her mind whispered” Why should I care about what they have to say?” Darlene thought in agreement with the Little Voice.

Darlene hoped one day some evil dark power would choke them with their own words. Let them suffocate and drop dead with their soulless eyes still wide open from shock staring back at her. The dark thought brought a sense of satisfaction and comfort to her, an eerie smile displayed on her full red lips.

She removed her black pyjama shirt by pulling it over her head then flung it into her laundry basket and stepped over towards the hanging white and turquoise uniform she hated so much. It reminded her of the other nosy students in school, the consistent nags from the so-called teachers, the dreary building which resembled a prison and of course, the dark old store room at the back of the school. That was where it happened.

Darlene shook her head as if to shake away the unpleasant memories of last week from her mind. She started zipping up her uniform and began brushing her long dark brown hair; her fringe hid half her eyes which made it difficult for others to determine what she felt. She smirked; they were too ignorant and proud to bother anyway. After tying her hair up into a ponytail, she opened her bedroom door and walked out.

There was a feeling of severe displeasure that seemed to seep through the kitchen walls. Thinking of food sickened her making her stomach throb in pain. She poured herself a glass of milk and drank it in two full gulps but decided to leave the food left on the table untouched; she walked towards the bathroom to wash her face, she turned on the taps and placed her hands under the water but quickly retracted them because the water was too hot. She stared back at her reflection in the mirror; she had porcelain pale skin, with big brown eyes, sad eyes, filled with so much despair and sorrow with an aura of darkness surrounding her. Darlene gave her hair a quick but gentle pat down then exited the bathroom and walked out of the house.

Cadbury, her chauffer, had already started the engine of the black BMW, one of her father’s many prized possessions. Cadbury held open the door and she entered the car. Cadbury adjusted the mirror and his seat then began to drive her towards the dreaded location. Not bothering to look out the window, she leaned back into the seat and let out a soft exasperated sigh.

She began thinking of her life; dull and uneventful as the youngest child in the family. Although she had already turned 17, her parents continued to pay more attention towards her elder brother who was to get married soon. She cursed something unintelligible under her breath, to her parents, she did not exist. But she had become accustomed to the treatment and finally gave up on the attempt to gain her parents’ favour.

“And what about school?” the Little Voice interrupted the thoughts of her family,

“School is worse, school is evil, school is violent and painful”,
 Darlene replied to the Little Voice silently, “They hurt me last week and threatened me; they said if I tell on them, they would come back and hurt me even more”. She heard herself release a silent whimper at the last thought.

“But who would listen?” the Little Voice whispered,

“No one”, Darlene replied dismally.

As the BMW finally came to a halt so did her thoughts, she stepped out with her schoolbag. The other students were staring at her as usual. She heard vile and poisonous comments about her whispered and passed around as she walked towards her classroom. ”Bitch!” is what she heard one of the girls spat. She clenched her fists and grits her teeth together as the black ball of anger and hate within her had begun to rotate and twist. Reaching her desk, she sat by herself as usual at the back of the classroom and kept a grim look plastered onto her face.

The bell rang and lessons began. Her mind was not with her body; her eyes held a dreamlike look and her thoughts were far away. The teachers noticed this but ignored her as they always did. They didn’t care at all; she was the freak in everyone’s eyes, the different one, the abomination.

Throughout the day Darlene tried to stay in the shadows and out of sight, trying her best to avoid the crowd when hiding from the four girls she hated. She didn’t want to be cornered again like last week by Heather and her minions, Eva, Tammy and Amy; they had forced her to the back of the school where the old store room was. They knew no one else would be there; the place was completely isolated due to rumours of it being haunted.

Eva’s thick fingers were tight around Darlene’s neck; Amy was ready to punch her while Heather and Tammy watched the little show. Eva didn’t have the guts to kill her though; Darlene could see it in her squinty black eyes. She was afraid she would get caught; she knew that if anything happened Heather and the other girls would never cover up for her. They would walk away and pretend like nothing happened. So Eva let go of Darlene, threw her on the ground and kicked her hard in the stomach, Darlene let out yelp like a dog in pain. Darlene’s eyes were bloodshot because of the tears that were streaming down her red cheeks; so much pain she could feel her insides bruising already, but they were not done yet. Heather joined in and slapped her across the face. Darlene held her cheek as she felt it burn and her head ringing from the hard slap. She tried not to scream, tried to bite her lip, told herself to hang on.

“No, don’t cry! They want to see you cry!” she heard the Little Voice shout in her mind.

“Make them stop, please make them stop, please, please, it hurts!” Darlene’s mind screamed in reply.

“Heather that’s enough”, she heard Tammy spoke up. “You’ll get us in trouble.”

Heather spat at Darlene and gave her a warning. “Bitch, if you dare tell anyone, I promise you it’ll be much worse next time round.”

Darlene watched them as they walked away, her stomach still sore, one side of her face throbbed so badly she could hear the blood pumping, the rest of her body had been bruised and it was painful to just walk.

Another bell finally rang snapping Darlene out of her thoughts and day dreams; all the students had already scrambled out of their classrooms like pigs returning to their respective pens. All except Darlene, she stood up and slowly walked out, avoiding the other students to prevent from getting accidently or purposely knocked around. The black BMW and the driver were already there waiting for her. She swiftly entered the car then they started making their way back home. As her big brown eyes began to water she reached into her pocket and pulled out a half full pack of tissues and wiped her eyes. Arriving back to the enormous mansion which was more of a mausoleum than a home, she sped up the staircase and slammed her bedroom door shut and locked the door behind.

She let out a shout of anguish and a loud ear piercing scream which could easily cut into anyone’s heart. She felt the salty tears stream down her face in floods. Poor Darlene began punch the burgundy walls of her bedroom with so much rage and hate she started to create dents. She was in hysteria. Unsatisfied with punching the wall she slammed her entire body against the wall until all the strength and energy was drained out of her. She sat in the corner with her whole body shaking from exhaustion and the throbbing pain. Her heart was no longer racing and her mind was now clear. She looked down at her bleeding fists and up the dented wall with her eyes now expressionless. Darlene finally let out a sigh of relief and exhaustion which pushed her into another deep dark slumber dreading the prospect of the next day.