After reaching home, Florence immediately went to her bedroom, locked the door, and broke down in tears. An intense fear gripped her entire body. She felt herself growing weaker by the second, terrified at the thought of having to face those three cruel girls again. Every time the memory flashed in her mind, goosebumps broke out across her skin. How was she ever going to overcome this overwhelming dread? She couldn't focus on her studies, nor did she have the heart to talk to anyone. The fear had consumed her so completely that she believed if she dared to share the incident with her parents, those three bullies would find out and make her life ten times more miserable.
Desperate to let her feelings out, Florence pulled a random notebook from her desk drawer and grabbed a pen. Her hands trembled as she began writing down every single detail of what had happened on the terrible day she was bullied. Line after line, she poured her heartbreak, fear, and hopelessness onto the paper. At the end of the entry, she wrote in shaky letters: Someone please help me, God. I don't want to face this anymore. I don't want to go back to my school. I can't face that classroom or those girls. Everything reminds me of that horrible day.
Once she finished writing down everything she was feeling, a subtle sense of relief washed over her. Sharing her burden with the pages of her notebook made her chest feel just a little lighter. She stood up, went to her bathroom, and washed the tear stains from her face with cool water.
Shortly after she stepped back into her bedroom, her mother knocked gently on the door. "Florence, sweetheart, it's dinner time. Come join us at the table."
"Coming, Mom," Florence replied politely. She changed out of her clothes into a comfortable night suit and walked out to join her family.
Halfway through their quiet dinner, the loud chime of the doorbell rang through the flat. Florence's mother stood up to open the front door. Standing on the mat outside was Scarlett.
"Oh, come in, Scarlett!" Florence's mother welcomed her with a warm smile. "We were just having our dinner. Come and join us!"
Scarlett offered a polite smile. "No, thank you, Aunty. I just had my dinner."
Across the room at the dining table, Florence froze. A wave of extreme panic rushed through her veins, turning her face completely pale. She stared at Scarlett walking toward her, convinced that Scarlett had come to tell her parents everything that had happened at the mall earlier that day.
Scarlett stepped closer and offered a sweet, innocent smile. "Hi, Florence! How are you doing? Are you feeling any better?"
Florence swallowed hard, her heart hammering against her ribs. "Yes... I am good," she stammered with a mixture of fear and confusion. "Please have a seat, Scarlett."
Scarlett shook her head gently. "No, Florence, I won't stay long. I actually came to borrow your math notebook. I was trying to solve a question just now and got completely stuck. I wanted to look through your solution so I can figure out how to do it."
Hearing those words, an immense wave of relief washed over Florence. Scarlett wasn't here to spill her secret after all!
"Oh, of course, Scarlett," Florence said, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Let me quickly wash my hands, and I'll go get my notebook for you."
"No, don't get up!" Scarlett insisted sweetly. "Please finish your dinner. Just tell me where you kept your math notebook, and I can grab it myself."
"It's on my study desk in the corner of my room," Florence replied softly.
"Okay, I'll go check," Scarlett said, heading down the hallway.
A moment later, Scarlett walked out of Florence's bedroom holding the math notebook. She thanked Florence, said goodbye to her parents, and walked back up to her own flat.
As soon as Scarlett stepped into her apartment, she walked straight into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. Reaching into her pants pocket, she pulled out a piece of paper that was tightly folded into a small chunk.
A few minutes earlier, when Scarlett had stepped into Florence's bedroom to look for the math notebook, her eyes had caught sight of a half-open notebook lying on the bed with a pen tucked between its pages. Out of curiosity, Scarlett had opened the notebook to where the pen was resting. Reading the top few lines, she instantly realized that Florence had written down something deeply serious and painful. Knowing she couldn't stand there reading it without getting caught, Scarlett had quietly torn the page out, folded it up, and shoved it into her pocket before placing the notebook back in its exact position.
Now, standing alone in her room, Scarlett carefully unfolded the page. As her eyes scanned the desperate words written in Florence's handwriting, tears began to spill down Scarlett's cheeks. She was heartbroken to discover how much unbearable pain Florence had been carrying in secret, suffering all by herself.
Scarlett wiped her tears, her heart swelling with determination. She decided right then and there that she was going to help Florence, even if she had to do it without Florence knowing. Scarlett understood that Florence was far too terrified right now to ever speak the truth to anyone on her own.
Meanwhile, downstairs in her flat, Florence finished her dinner. She felt utterly exhausted, and her eyes burned from all the crying she had done throughout the day. Drowsiness quickly settled over her. She excused herself from the table, walked back to her bedroom, and put her math notebook away when Scarlett returned it—or rather, set her remaining books in order. Seeing her notebook on the bed, she closed it, tucked her blankets around herself, and fell fast asleep within minutes.
The next morning, Florence opened her eyes and was instantly hit with a heavy sense of dread. She desperately did not want to go to school. She began racking her brain, trying to think of an excuse she could make to stay home. But then she paused. Her parents were already suspicious of her sudden change in behavior over the past few days. If she made up an excuse to bunk school today, they would become even more worried and start asking probing questions. Fearing their suspicion more than the classroom, she decided it was safer to go to school after all.
She got out of bed, put on her school uniform, and began packing her school bag. As she gathered her textbooks, she opened the same notebook in which she had written her secret thoughts the night before.
Florence gasped, her blood running cold. The page was gone. Someone had torn it out!
She stared at the jagged edge of paper in pure terror. Who could have taken it? Was it Scarlett? Or had her parents found it and read her deepest secrets? Her heart raced wildly as she stood frozen in fear.
Suddenly, her mother's loud voice called out from the living room: "Florence! Come out here!"
Every single step Florence took toward the living room felt heavy with dread. She walked in with her head bowed, trembling as her mother looked at her with a strangely serious expression.
"Now you are hiding many things from me, Florence," her mother said sternly. "What, do you think you can hide something like this from your own mother?"
Overcome with fear, Florence's face crumpled into a panic. She stuttered nervously, "I... I'm so sorry, Mom! I was just about to—"
Before she could finish her sentence, her mother broke into a loud, joyful laugh. "Oh, my dear! Did you actually get scared? I was talking about this handmade gift!"
Her mother held up a beautifully drawn sketch of herself. "You did such a wonderful job sketching my portrait! Why were you hiding this from me? I found it inside one of your desk drawers while I was cleaning your room today!"
Florence let out a massive breath of relief, her heart finally slowing down. "Oh... yeah, Mom. I was going to show it to you, but I kept it hidden because I wanted to add a few more details before gifting it to you on your birthday."
Her mother pulled Florence close and kissed the top of her head affectionately. "Oh, my sweet little princess! You are growing up so fast, preparing surprises for your mom. Alright, come sit down and have your breakfast. You need to get ready so you can go to school with Scarlett."
Florence sat down at the dining table and looked around. "Mom, where is Dad? I haven't seen him all morning."
"He had to travel out of town early this morning for some urgent business work," her mother explained. "He will join us back home at dinner time."
A fresh wave of worry flickered in Florence's mind. What if her father was the one who had read her notes before leaving? Wanting to be sure, Florence asked gently, "Mom... did Dad ask about me or say anything before he left?"
Her mother paused and looked at her softly. "No, sweetie. Why are you asking?"
"Oh, no reason! Just asking casually, Mom," Florence replied quickly. "Let me eat my breakfast." Her mother smiled and served a warm plate of breakfast in front of her.
Meanwhile, up in her apartment, Scarlett was carefully putting a secret plan into motion. She was determined to expose the three bullies once and for all, without getting Florence into any trouble or putting her in danger.
She took out her smartphone and immediately switched it to flight mode. Since bringing phones to school was strictly forbidden, putting it on flight mode ensured it wouldn't ring or make any sound inside her bag. Scarlett knew that no teacher or parent would believe her words without concrete proof, and Florence was far too terrified to ever speak up for herself. Scarlett's plan was simple: whenever Florence went anywhere alone at school, Scarlett would follow her from a distance, hide in a corner, and record video evidence if those three girls tried to bully her again.
Scarlett slipped her phone deep into her school bag and walked down to Florence's flat. She rang the doorbell, and moments later, Florence pulled the door open. Scarlett acted completely normal, putting on a cheerful face as if she knew nothing about the bullying incident Florence had been hiding from everyone.
"Hi, Florence!" Scarlett greeted softly. "How are you? Are you ready? My dad is pulling the car out of the basement right now, so let's head down together."
"Yeah, sure," Florence said. "Let me just grab my school bag."
Florence picked up her bag, and the two girls walked out into the hallway toward the elevator. As they waited for the lift, Florence kept glancing nervously at Scarlett.
Scarlett noticed her staring and asked gently, "What happened, Florence? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay," Florence replied nervously. "I... I just wanted to ask you one thing."
"Yeah? Tell me, Florence."
Florence gathered her courage and asked, "When you went into my room yesterday... did you see any other notebook lying around?"
"Yes," Scarlett replied simply.
Florence's chest tightened. "Did you... did you tear any page out of it? Or read anything from it?"
Scarlett put on a look of total shock and confusion. "What? Tear a page or read something? What on earth are you saying, Florence? I just meant I saw a few of your other subject notebooks sitting on your desk! You told me your math notebook was in the corner, so I just grabbed that one and came straight back out."
Florence let out a long breath, her shoulders sagging in relief. "Oh... okay. I was just asking, don't mind me."
"No worries, Florence," Scarlett said, looking at her with concern. "Is everything fine? Why are you asking me this? Are you unable to find one of your notebooks?"
"No, nothing like that! Just asking casually," Florence said quickly.
Just then, the loud sound of a car horn echoed from the basement driveway below. The lift doors opened, and the girls hurried down to the car. They both climbed into the middle row of seats.
As the car pulled out onto the main road, Florence sat in absolute silence, her mind spiraling with panic. If Scarlett didn't take that page... then did Dad find it? Did Dad read everything before leaving town? Cold sweat broke out across her neck and forehead as she kept questioning herself.
Scarlett looked over from the seat beside her and noticed Florence trembling. "Are you okay, Florence?" she asked softly.
"Yeah... I'm okay," Florence muttered in a low, quiet voice.
Soon, they arrived at the school gates. Today, they were arriving a little later than their usual early schedule, though still well in time before the main bell.
As they stepped onto the school grounds, Scarlett's sharp eyes immediately spotted the three bully girls walking in their direction from down the hallway. Florence, whose eyes were fixed on the floor, had not seen them yet. They were only visible from Scarlett's angle.
Realizing this was the exact opportunity she needed, Scarlett made a quick decision. "Florence, I really need to use the washroom! Just wait right here for me, I'll be back in five minutes!"
"Okay," Florence agreed, stopping near the washroom hallway while Scarlett ran ahead.
Scarlett rushed into the washroom entrance, unzipping her bag in a frenzy. She grabbed her smartphone, opened the video camera, and positioned herself quietly behind the edge of the doorway, hiding behind the wall where no one could see her.
Outside in the hallway, Florence looked up—and her heart instantly plummeted into her stomach.
The three girls were walking straight toward her. Panic seized Florence's entire body. Her breathing turned shallow and fast, and cold sweat drenched her palms.
The three bullies spotted Florence standing all alone and immediately marched toward her with cruel smirks on their faces.
"Hello there, sweetie!" the lead girl mocked, bursting into loud, unpleasant laughter.
They surrounded Florence, stepping uncomfortably close. One of the girls roughly grabbed a fistful of Florence's hair and yanked it back, while another grabbed the collar of her shirt.
"Why are you standing here all by yourself?" the main girl sneered, laughing in her face. "Are you scared that we're going to lock you in the washroom again with no one around to save you?"
Tears immediately welled up in Florence's eyes and spilled down her cheeks. "Please leave me alone!" she wept, her voice trembling violently. "What did I do to you? Why are you troubling me?"
The lead bully stepped in closer, her voice turning sharp and aggressive. "Then try not to act so smart in front of us! What, do you think you're so special just because you're studious? From now on, you are going to carry our notebooks home every single day and do all our homework for us! And whenever you talk to us, you have to call us 'Madam'. You are not allowed to call us by our names. Is that clear to you?!"
The girl leaned down and shouted the final words directly into Florence's ear before forcefully shoving her back with both hands.
The violent push sent Florence flying backward. She lost her balance and crashed hard against the sharp frame of an open door, hitting her body forcefully before tumbling to the floor.
The three girls burst into loud, ruthless laughter, turning on their heels and strolling away without a second glance.
From behind the wall, Scarlett watched the entire horrific scene unfold, her hands shaking as she held her phone camera steady. Every instinct in her body had screamed at her to jump out and protect her friend, but she had forced herself to stay still and stay hidden, knowing that getting this undeniable video proof was the only permanent solution to end Florence's torment.
As soon as the bullies turned the corner, Scarlett stopped the recording, saved the video file, and bolted out from her hiding spot toward Florence.
Florence was lying on the floor, weeping uncontrollably in pain, a small trickle of blood appearing where her skin had hit the door frame.
Scarlett dropped to her knees and gently pulled Florence up into her arms. "Florence! I saw everything, and I recorded the whole thing on my phone!" Scarlett said, her voice trembling with a mix of tearful empathy and fierce anger. "Why are you suffering through this all alone? They are going to keep bullying you forever if you don't raise your voice now! I am right here with you, Florence. Please, you have to speak up for yourself so you can get rid of this nightmare! Otherwise, they are going to treat you even worse!"
Scarlett reached out and tenderly wiped the tears from Florence's blood-stained cheek.
"I know you're terrified, Florence," Scarlett continued firmly, her eyes burning with resolute strength. "I know you don't want to create any chaos, start any arguments, or get into fights. But look at what they are doing to you! They are hurting you every single day! Today they pushed you so hard that you hit the door and started bleeding! I am not listening to any excuses anymore, Florence. We are going straight to the nurse's office to get first aid for your wound, and then we are taking this video straight to the school counsellor. I refuse to stand by and watch you suffer like this ever again!"
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Thanks for reading!!!