When we got home that afternoon, the house felt different.
Heavy.
Like something had settled into the walls and refused to leave.
No one said much.
Dad sat at the small table with his old laptop, searching for jobs. The blue light from the screen reflected in his tired eyes as he scrolled endlessly.
David had heard everything.
He paced around the room earlier, fists clenched, anger radiating from him.
But his anger wasn’t directed at me.
It was for Clara’s parents.
“They can’t just treat people like that,” he muttered.
Dad only sighed.
“That’s the way the world works sometimes.”
And that was the truth none of us wanted to say out loud.
The poor always get stepped on.
And there is rarely anything we can do about it.
The next morning I went to school.
The moment I stepped into class, every head turned.
Whispers spread like wildfire.
I could feel their eyes crawling over my skin.
Some curious.
Some amused.
Some afraid.
Then I saw Clara.
She sat with her friends, a faint bruise still visible on her cheek.
She was smirking.
Like she had already won something I didn’t know about.
My eyes drifted to Steven.
For a moment, our gazes met.
He looked at me, expression blank.
Then he rolled his eyes and went back to talking with his friends, like I was nothing more than a passing annoyance.
The embarrassment burned.
Everyone had seen the fight.
Everyone knew.
But strangely…
A small part of me didn’t regret it.
Clara had humiliated my father.
And for once, she hadn’t walked away untouched.
The teacher walked in, and the murmuring slowly died down.
Classes began.
Days passed.
Dad eventually found another job.
This one paid better.
David was accepted into college. He wanted to become an engineer, and Dad promised he would make it happen no matter the cost.
Watching them made me feel hopeful.
For the first time in a long time, things seemed… calm.
But that calm made me uneasy.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I hated being too happy.
Because happiness never stayed long in my life.
Something always came to ruin it.
The day we got our math test results, I was nervous.
Math had never been my best subject.
But when the teacher placed my paper on my desk, I stared at the grade in disbelief.
B.
A real, solid B.
My chest filled with something warm.
Maybe my studying was finally paying off.
Maybe things really were changing.
School ended soon after, and I walked to the top floor of the building to get some air.
The wind brushed lightly against my face as I leaned against the railing.
Then I saw Clara.
She stood downstairs in the courtyard.
Looking straight at me.
The moment our eyes met, a chill ran down my spine.
Goosebumps rose on my arms.
Something about the way she stared…
It didn’t feel right.
Then footsteps sounded behind me.
I turned.
It was one of the girls Clara usually bullied.
Helen.
She looked nervous.
Her eyes were wide and strange.
Before I could say anything
She lunged at me.
Hard.
Her hands shoved my shoulders with sudden force.
For a split second, my body tilted toward the railing.
Instinct kicked in.
I stepped sideways.
Dodged.
And suddenly—
Helen was the one losing balance.
Her eyes widened in terror.
I grabbed for her arm.
But my fingers slipped.
Everything happened in seconds.
Her body disappeared over the edge.
And then—
A sickening thud.
Silence.
My heart stopped.
Slowly, trembling, I stepped toward the railing and looked down.
Helen lay on the ground below.
Blood spread around her head like a dark flower.
Screams erupted everywhere.
Students ran in every direction.
Teachers shouted.
Chaos swallowed the courtyard.
But I barely heard any of it.
Because one thought kept repeating in my head.
Helen tried to push me.
But when I looked down again
Clara was gone.
Vanished.
Like she had never been there.
And I stood frozen on that balcony, staring at the blood below, wondering one thing.
What just happened?
