"Maribella!" The teacher called.
I raised my hand. He saw it and nodded.
"It seems that everyone is here today. Okay class, we will be doing partner work today. We will be summarizing Falstaff's first speech from Henry IV. Do you want me to pick your partners for you?" He asked.
"NOOOOO!" The class shouted in unison.
"I guess I can trust each of you to pick your own partner." He said as he handed worksheets. "I expect you to be able to answer all of these questions."
I looked at the sheet and I filled in all of the answers. It was multiple choice. I have already read king Henry IV. It was a book I read last year in my English class.
"Hey you are working with me." This girl said as she approached me.
She grabbed my paper and started copying my answers. I tried to get it from her but she just glared at me. I turned away and let her use me becausse she scared me.
"These all better be right. I dont want to look like an idiot in like you."
I just sunk further into my chair. She tossed a crumbled piece of paper in my direction and chuckled as she walked away. I unraveled my worksheet and it had the word LOSER scribbled in the margins in pen. Why is this girl being so mean to me? I don't even know her.
"Class is over, hand me your sheets." The teacher said as I handed him mine and walked to my next class. I was the first one out of there. I did not want to see that girl again. I walked across the hall to history and set my books on the desk and waited for class to start.
"Maribella, is everything alright? You left class very quickly."Roma said.
I faced him. I smiled a big fake smile and nodded my head letting him know that I was okay. He doesn't need to be concerned with any of my issues.
-Time Skip to Lunch-
Roma and I walked to the lunch room. I had my fingers woven with his and was waking slightly behind him. We approached the lunch table and everyone waved to us. Feli, Luddy, Toni, Francis, Gil, and three other blond males were sitting at the table.
"Woah bros, who is the lady?" The blue eyed blond with glasses boomed. I flinched and hid further behind Roma.
"You are scaring her you bloody git!" The Green Eyed and Thick eyebrowed blond said.
"Guys maybe we should let Romano introduce her, eh?" The violet eyed blond said quietly.
"This is Maribella. She is a new student here. She just transferred yesterday. Maribella, this is Alfred, Arthur, and Mathew." Roma said. Each boy waved as their name was called.
I pulled out my phone and composed a message. 'Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you. I don't really speak so can I have your numbers so I can add you too my group message so I can keep up with conversations?' It read.
"Of course you can dudette." Alfred said.
We switched all of our numbers and swapped pictures. After all of that was done I sat down.
Roma handed me a fork and let me share his pasta with him. I love feli's pasta. He is really good at making it I thought to myself.
'Thankyou for sharing with me.' I typed to Roma.
"Any time." He said.
I blushed a little and excused myself so I could walk to my locker.
"Do you want me to go with you?" Roma asked.
'You are still eating. I don't want to rush you. I will be fine on my own.' I sent him.
"Okay but if you aren't back in five minutes I will come find you. I don't want you to get lost." He said. I just nodded and made my way to the lockers.
I found my locker and opened it. As the door opened a hundred notes fell onto the floor. I picked one up and fear it.
Dear whoever you are,
You think you are so special because you sit with the soccer team at lunch? You are nothing but a piece of foreign garbage. You should do everyone a favor and go drink some bleach. No one likes you anyway. The soccer team only lets you sit with them because they pity you. You are ugly and fat and a loner. You would be doing the world a favorite of you just died. You would definatley be taking up less needed space if you were underground, in a casket.
From, the minds of everyone at school.
I picked up a few of the other notes on the ground and read them over. They all pretty much said the same thing. Everyone wanted me to die. No one even likes me.
A few tears splashed onto the current note I was holding. I ran to the bathroom and right as I entered I found the girl who was my "partner" earlier.
"Eww, its that ugly foreign alien. The clothes you are wearing are way to pretty to be on that ugly deformed body. I am doing everyone a favorite by taking them." She said as her and her friends surrounded me.
Tears kept falling out of my eyes as they got closer.
"What are you going to do about it?" She asked.
I said nothing. They all started ripping and shredding my clothes. I was in tatters. There are bruises and scratches on my body.
She snickered and chuckled as she and her friends left. All of my tattered clothing was on the floor and I was left sitting there on the floor naked. Sobbing.
I hid in the last bathroom stall and quietly cried. Today is the worst day of my life. I cant even leave the bathroom because my clothes are gone. All that I have is my phone and the battery is dead. I knew I shouldn't have come to this school. I knew I should t have even tried to make friends. At every school the bullying follows me. No matter what I change about myself it always follows me. I cant do anything.
-Romano's POV-
Lunch is over. It has been five minutes since Maribella left to go to her locker. I can tell something is wrong. She would have been back by now.
"Hey guys, you can all go to class, I am going to find Maribella. If you see her tell her I am looking for her and to just meet me at our lockers at the end of next period." I said to everyone. They all nodded and went there separate ways.
I left the lunch room and started searching through all of the hallways. I made it to our lockers in case she was already airing there when I saw a huge pile of letters.
I picked one up and opened it. I scanned over every detail of the letter and my face heated up. This specific letter also had tears on it. Why would someone hurt her like this. She has never done anything to anyone. Why would all of these people be encouraging her suicide. Oh no! I have to fine her before she does anything to harm herself. The only private place I can think of for a girl to go when she is hurting is the bathroom. There are three different girls bathrooms.
I bolted to the closest bathroom. I entered it and started checking the stalls. I noticed there was a little blood on the floor and some blood on the last stall door. I stood there and knocked on the stall door.
-Maribella's POV-
I heard a person enter the bathroom. I quieted down my breathing and hoped that they wouldn't check this stall. Then footseteps stopped in front of my door. Oh no! They are going to hurt me.
Then I heard a knock.
"Are you alright?" I heard a male voice say. I knew that voice. It was Roma.
I got off of the toilet and slowly opened the stall door. My arms and hands were covering all of my female parts. I walked out with tears streaking my cheeks. He handed me his sweatshirt and his jeans. He was wearing a tshirt and shorts underneath all of that. I went back into the stall and put the clothes on.
When I had everything on as best as I could wear it I walked out. His clothes were big on me but they would have to do. Right after I came back out he pulled me into a hug and I went limp in his arms. He was completely supporting my body weight.
I started silently crying again onto his shoulder. He whispered words into my ears.
"Sshh everything is going to be okay. I am so sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone. I'm so so sorry maribella." He said.
I looked into his eyes and I just nodded my head. He picked me up and sat me on the bathroom sink. He grabbed some tissues and started wiping the tears from my face. I wasn't wearing makeup to school which made this a lot easier for him. He combed his fingers through my curls and brought me down off of the sink.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
I simply nodded my head and kept looking at the ground.
"I saw all of the bruises and scratches before I gave you my clothes. You are not okay, who did this to you?"
I just loomed at the ground and started to cry again. Tears rolled off my nose onto the floor. He is mad at me. He wants nothing to do with me.
"I didn't mean to make you upset. Please don't cry anymore. It breaks my heart to see those beautiful hazel, if you can even call them that, eyes filled with tears. Do you want me to help you gather your things and sign you out so we can go home?" He asked me.
I nodded my head and tried to walk on my own. I couldn't. My ankle was sprained.
"Here, I will give you a piggy back ride down to the office. We will visit the nurse, see the counselor, then talk to the principal and after all that is finished school will probably be over so we will go get our work from our teachers and if you still want to come see me play soccer you can? Or would you rather go home?" He asked me.
"I want to see you play." I said in a quiet strangled voice. He nodded and we walked down to the offices.
-Romano's POV-
I feel horrible. I cant leave her alone anymore. I don't want her to get hurt again. How could anyone do this to her? All of these thoughts ran through my head as we walked down to the nurses office. I felt wet hit my shoulder and knew she was in pain. I got to the nurses as quick as possible and burst through the door.
"I need to see the nurse ASAP!" I said as I entered the room.
I set maribella on the chair and talked to the nurse outside.
"What happened to her? It looks like she got attacked by a pack of wolves!" The nurse whisper screamed.
"She left the lunchroom to go to her locker and she didn't come back for awhile. I went looking for her and noticed a bunch of notes had fallen out of her locker. All of them were encouraging her to kill herself. I ran to the girls bathrooms and I found her in a stall. She was naked and covered in bruises and scratches. The clothes she had on earlier were in tatters on the floor. I gave her mine. Can you check her out and tell me ifbshe will be physically okay? I mean she may have broken her ankle." I say.
"Wow, okay make sure to see the guidance counselor as well." She says.
We both re enter the nurses office and the nurse begins checking maribella out.
"I am going to need you to remove your clothes." She says.
"I will go wait outside in the hall okay. I promise I will be just outside." I told her. She nodded.
I could here the harsh intakes of breath as she got checked out. After fifteen minutes the nurse came back out.
"She is mostly fine. Her ankle is only sprained. You should probably stay with her as much as possible because she is really spooked and you are the only thing that calms her down." The nurse told me.
"Thank you for checking her out. I am going to see the counselor now." I say.
"Good plan."
I grabbed maribellas hand and I picked her up. We made our way to the counselors office.
"Do I have to go in?" She asked in a shy and barely audible voice.
"If you want I can go in with you for moral support." I said.
"Would you?" She asked.
"Of course I would."
We walked in and took our seats in the chairs across from the counselor. Maribella was shaking and holding my hand tightly.
"Why are you two here today?" The guidance counselor asked.
"Maribella has a problem and would like to talk to you about it." I reply.
"Does she talk?" He asked.
"Well, no but do you have a pad of paper or a phone that she can text or type on?"
"Here I will give you my number and we can text each other." He said.
"Of course." I said.
I gave her my phone and she started texting the counselor.