Emilee was discharged from the hospital sooner than expected. But just a few days after she was discharged, Emilee's mother stormed over to Sonia's house, her anger scowling like untamed Dou qi.At first, it was a loud, angry bang on the door that echoed through the house.
"Who's there?" Sonia's voice rang out, her curiosity piqued. She opened the door only to be met with Emilee's mother standing by the door, her face twisted in a scowl, and Emilee looking like a wretched, wet puppy, her eyes cast downward.
"Good morning, ma," Sonia greeted, happy to see Emilee despite her downcast appearance, but got no reply from Emilee's mother or Emilee herself. Her mother gazed at her angrily, her eyes flashing with indignation, and walked into the house with her shoulder pushing Sonia away from the door. Emilee followed suit, her movements slow and reluctant.
Sonia's parents were sitting in the living room, busy talking, when they walked in. They hadn't even had a chance to say anything when Emilee's mother began to unleash a torrent of words. "I have come to warn your daughter," she spat, her voice venomous.
"That bully of a child. How dare she take my daughter to work at a restaurant when she knows she's not fine. She's having heart issues, for God's sake!"
"Ma, please, can you at least have a seat and let's hear these children out?" Sonia's father interjected, trying to calm the situation. But Emilee's mother was beyond reason.
"What do I expect from the daughter of a poor, jobless drunkard?" she sneered. "She has been bullying my daughter. Or Emilee, am I wrong?" She faced Emilee, who was silent and shaky, her eyes welling up with tears. "Did she force you to go to the restaurant or not? Did she collect money from you or not?"
"Yes, she did," Emilee said, her voice barely above a whisper, as tears streamed down her face. Sonia, who had been standing at a corner, watching the drama unfold, stepped forward to defend herself.
"Me, bully you, Emilee? Emilee, you're my friend, for crying out loud! I didn't even know she had heart issues. If I knew, I wouldn't have allowed her to follow me."
"Emmy, you don't have to lie here," Sonia said, her voice laced with sadness. "You know deep down in you that I didn't know about your ailment. No matter how much I asked, you would never tell me." Sonia said, walking up to Emilee, but before she could continue, Emilee's mother slapped her, the sound echoing through the room. Sonia held her cheek, stunned. "You see... she's trying to stop her from saying the truth," Emilee's mother taunted, her voice dripping with malice as she pointed at Sonia.
Sonia's mother, whom her husband had been trying to calm down, sprang up like a cobra ready to strike. Her eyes blazed with fury as she retorted, "How dare you slap my daughter?" Her voice trembled with anger, and her words cut through the air like a knife. "You should scold this little liar instead. I know my daughter too well! You just barge in out of nowhere to pour out these foul words on my family. How dare you?" Her face was red with rage, and her hands were clenched into fists.Her husband tried to intervene, but she was beyond reason.
"I will leave you to your poor husband and daughter," Emilee's spat. "You can at least remain wretched forever." With that, she walked her daughter to the door, her shoulders squared and her head held high. But the last words from Sonia's mother hit her like a rock: "You can as well leave with your sick daughter too." Emilee's mother was taken aback, her anger momentarily replaced by shock. She was unable to respond, her mouth hanging open in stunned silence. She dragged Emilee, who was staring at Sonia in tears, out of the house.
As soon as the door closed, Sonia's mother turned to her and fumed, "You! Come here. What's this nonsense?" Her voice was stern, and her eyes flashed with anger. "Mother, you should know I can never do that," Sonia protested, but her mother's anger only intensified. "Get out of my sight this instant!" she barked, her voice echoing through the house. Sonia's father intervened, "Honey, take it easy with her," but Sonia's mother was beyond reason.
Sonia walked into her room slowly, feeling as though she had been struck by thunder. She couldn't understand where she had gone wrong. Just a few days ago, she and Emilee were fine, laughing and joking together. Everything was going well, and she had thought their friendship was strong. She sat down at her reading table, her mind racing with thoughts and questions. She was convinced that Emilee would never lie to her. She decided to wait a day to see if Emilee would call and explain herself, but a whole day passed without a call. She tried calling Emilee, but the calls wouldn't go through.
The next day, before anyone else woke up, Sonia had already dressed up and left the house. She was determined to clear up the misunderstanding and get to the bottom of things. Her mother woke up and went to check on her in her room, but she wasn't there, nor was her schoolbag. "Honey, have you seen Sonia this morning?" she asked her husband, who was yawning while holding onto his crutches. "No, you know how stubborn she is," he replied, shaking his head. "She should be careful with me these days. Let me prepare your breakfast." Sonia's mother walked to the kitchen, trying to hide her worry. She wondered where Sonia could be and what she was doing.
Sonia was the first to arrive at school, hoping that Emilee would attend classes since it was her last day at the school. She sat alone in the classroom, her head resting on her desk, and her bag lying lifelessly beside her. The classroom was quiet, except for the occasional sound of birds chirping outside. Before she knew it, almost all her classmates had arrived, but Emilee was nowhere to be seen. The first class started, and Emilee still hadn't arrived.
It wasn't until after the first class that Emilee walked in, looking gloomy. Her eyes were sunken, and her face was pale. She walked to her seat and sat down gently, as if she was afraid of making any noise. As the teacher hadn't entered the class yet, everyone was chatting with their friends. Some even had a whole group of friends in the class, and they were all showing each other something on their phones. Sonia walked up to Emilee and sat on her desk.
"Hey, Emmy," she said softly, trying to sound friendly and non-threatening.
"What the hell is wrong?" She raised her voicem
Emilee's response was unexpected. She stood up suddenly, her face twisted in annoyance, and barked at Sonia, "Look, Emmy! It is not up to that..." Sonia stood up, dumbfounded, with her jaw dropped. She tried to compose herself and she drew Emmy more closer. "Leave me alone! Are you not tired of bullying me? Who the hell are you?" Emilee screamed, drawing the attention of the entire class. They started videoing the scene with curiosity all over their faces.
"Hey, Emmy, you have to calm down here, please," Sonia pleaded, trying to reason with her friend. But Emilee was beyond reason. "Don't tell me to calm down! You're such a bully. You've been doing this for a long time"
"What?"
"Sonia please sto..p" Her voice fades as she slumped on the floor
The whole class shouted and one of them ran to Emilee and checked her pulse.
"No pulse"
The entire class stared in confusion and anxiety. The girl felt her breath by placing her finger by her nose . She turned to Sonia who was jittery all over and with the girl's look, her eyes poured out oceans of water. The girl then turned her gaze to the whole class.
"She's dead!"
"You killed her!" The whole class shouted
Sonia felt lost . It all felt like hallucinations. She knew it can't be real. She staggered to her desk, took her bag and walked out. She bumped into their teacher by the door but she didn't wait.