"Damn you, I liked him first and now you're stealing him from me?!"
"Damn you too, idiot. He's the one chasing me. I don't even like him. You actually like that lice-faced guy? Ew, disgusting."
They blocked me at the school entrance. Three nasty girls, all gossip and no substance. Someone apparently saw me talking to her supposedly "boyfriend." I was just asking where the restroom was. Idiots.
"What did you say?!"
Damn it, she grabbed my hair. It hurt like hell.
"So you're really looking for trouble, huh?" I said. The pain from her grip tightened as she kept holding my hair. Suddenly, her two friends grabbed my arms so I couldn't fight back.
"If I ever see you talking to Jow again…" she sneered at me, "…I'll have you killed."
"Pweh!" I spat on her face. She tightened her grip on my hair even more.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
A teacher arrived. They immediately let go, acting like nothing happened.
The three of them went silent, so I spoke up.
"Ma'am, they cornered me because they think I'm flirting with her boyfriend. I just asked where the restroom was."
"Girls, come with me. We're going to the guidance office. Your parents will be called."
Those idiots started begging not to have their parents called. If they didn't show up, they'd be expelled. Well, I was safe since I wasn't caught fighting back. I was actually waiting for a teacher to pass by. After going to this school every day, of course I already know the routine.
One week later
A guy named Jow approached me.
I told him to stay away from me.
He said he just wanted to check on me after hearing what happened. (We're not classmates, he's from another building.)
I repeated that he should never come near me again. (He's ugly, I thought to myself.)
He apologized before leaving. Well, it wasn't really his fault. It was the fault of that obsessed girl.
"Eliz, are you busy? Can I ask you to do something?"
Tsk. Just because I'm not doing anything, they disturb my peace.
"Eliz…"
"Yeah, I'm coming." Damn, that's annoying.
"What is it?" I asked, slightly irritated. It was my classmate. They already know I'm moody, so my attitude wasn't new to them.
"Can you buy the things listed here? It's for the school festival. Here's the budget. If it's not enough, we'll just buy the rest later after we collect more contributions."
"Okay." I grabbed the paper and the money.
I saw a lollipop lying around, picked it up, and ate it without knowing who it belonged to.
"I'm heading out," I said.
"Okay, take care, Eliz."
I went to the bookstore near the school. It was pretty big, and almost everything on the list was available there.
When I got back to the classroom, I said I was going home. I didn't notice it was already 5 PM. I still had a long commute.
Then I remembered something someone told me the other day. Someone supposedly saw me in the school around 6 PM.
She asked, "Hey, what time did you go home last Tuesday?"I said, "3 PM. Why?"She replied, "Then who did I see in the classroom around 5 PM?"
I didn't react right away because I was shocked.
"Oh yeah, I went back because I forgot something and stayed for a bit," I lied.
I know what that was. A doppelganger.
I didn't want both of us to be scared, so I told her it was me, even though I knew it wasn't.
Well, I've had a premonition that I'm going to die one of these days anyway.
Damn it. So be it.
I don't even care anymore. If I die, then everything ends. I don't even know why I was born. School, then going home to a noisy, chaotic house. It's exhausting. Stressful. Suffocating. I can't breathe properly.
Sometimes I even think, if I didn't get to be born, then I wouldn't be here, right?
"Wait… I think I'm hungry. I'll stop by and get something to eat."
I went into a nearby food stall, bought a siopao and some water. When I stepped out…
"Wait… it feels like someone's following me."
I sped up my pace. Damn it, whoever was following me sped up too.
Damn it. Dead end.
Out of panic, I took random turns just to lose whoever was behind me.
"Miss… spare some change… please."
Fuck. He has a gun.
"My heart started pounding."
"I don't have any change," I said.
"Miss… just some change…"
Damn it, he pointed the gun at me.
I caught a glimpse of his face. He was high on drugs. His expression was blank, but the way he held the gun… anything could happen in an instant.
"Damn it, I said I don't have any!" I threw my wallet in front of him.
He picked it up and checked.
When he saw it was empty…
BOOM.
I collapsed.
The last thing I heard was the shell casing rolling on the concrete.