Round Two - Teen Fiction, Ranked 10th

I kneel on the ground, looking at the tombstone forlornly. Taking a deep breath, I lay the bouquet of flowers before the tombstone.

It has been a year since my twin's death. Depression killed her.

She had been bullied for her entire life—no matter in real life or cyber. Nobody could stop it. I could've protected her from the bullies in her school; unfortunately, life has its own way to separate us. In addition, she got only me to help her, because no one wanted to be her friend lest they would be involved, teachers didn't care, our good-for-nothing elder sister wouldn't do much, our dad would be too busy making arguments with Grandma—which add insult to injury—and Mom, who is already tired defending Grandma, has a cancer she has to fight, so we didn't want her to worry. We kept this to ourselves.

To stop her cyber bullying, Etheal had deleted all her social media accounts and I had talked back to those bullies; but they would always find a way to get to her and their words haunted her in her sleep.

I've comforted her, stood up for her, and did everything I could to help her, but it was all futile. I was relieved she'd stayed strong and tried pulling through it.

Then, there was that one lucky day on her sophomore year when a boy named Leo moved to her school and befriended her. Although the bullying still went on and the boy knew that, he stayed with her all the time. He made her happy and forget all her worries; he would also protect her when he found her cornered. He made her life better; he was her light.

As time flew, they became closer and closer, until they were in a relationship. He was happy. Etheal was happy. And I was glad.

But life just had to turn things down.

Etheal saw Leo kissed another girl. That was the day when she did it. The day when I lost her.

Leo had apologized to me, saying that it was a misunderstanding, but I brushed off his words. I was mad at him. I am mad at him. Etheal wasn't stupid enough to misunderstand the scene; it must've been serious.

Either way, he broke her heart. And I'll never forgive him for that. He's lucky he's not in my school or I'd have him murdered already.

After saying a few words to my twin, I get up to my feet, brushing the memory away. I don't want to think of my acrimony against him, and I don't want to grief more.

With a last look at my twin's tombstone, I turn away, walking in the silent night.

I exhale a breath. I have to calm down and prepare for my nightmare tomorrow.

***

Gossip, gossip, gossip. That's all I hear every day hanging out with these two nudniks. Can't they just shut up already? How did I even end up being "friends" with them? I'm supposed to be sitting with those girls sitting in that blasted corner laughing like there is no tomorrow!

I glare at the table and discreetly grit my teeth, trying to calm my breathing as my so-called friends keep chitchatting some bad stuff and everything else I despise to hear.

How badly I want to shout at them or slam the table or spit those colorful words! But, no. I'm not confident in doing that; I'm a quiet, good girl who is tired getting her blood boiled—which sucks at this very moment.

"She wore this very short ripped pants—" Just as Sheila's words manage to find me in my crowd of thoughts, the bell rings, enunciating that lunch is over.

Oh, my goodness. I love you, my knight in shining armor! Yes, you, Bell! I'm talking to you—I need to get out of here before I completely lose myself.

I stand up at the same time when Sheila and Minara do. I glance at the table in the corner where my best friend—my ex-best friend—is sitting. None of them have moved from their seats.

I sigh. I've always known that Lisbon wanted to be friends with Sona, Laura and Xavy ever since she transferred here last year. But she became friends with me instead, evolving our friendship to best friends. I had believed that that will stay, even I had trusted her with my personal things; however, in the beginning of this school year, she ditched me over them.

And suddenly in a flash, I'm friends with Sheila and Minara, the people many hate. I don't even know how this happen. I don't hate them; I don't hate anyone—except for Leo. But I can't stand being with them. They gossip, talk about trends, and lie—everything I don't like to hear.

I want to escape from them, but I don't want them to hate me—they view me as their best friend. I want to tell Lisbon I want to join her group and ask why she left me, but I'm not confident enough. I've attempted to talk to her, but my feet would always plant themselves on the ground, locking me in place.

I have no one to support me like I used to. My dog, who gave me courage all the time, is dead. My twin sister, who I can share my secrets with, is dead. Leo, who I trusted, doesn't deserve my trust anymore. My best friend, who I can rely on, has an ex- on her title.

I'm all alone.

Well, I should be able to do that myself because I'm 16. Alas, I'm a weak one. Everything I heard from my family and some students that I'm quiet and they hate quiet people, or how every time I see my actions very foolish and humiliating, or how everyone underestimates my strength because I'm small, or how people like to tease me because of my quietness, or how I've never had a peaceful moment at home because of the arguments my dad often causes and all the shouts that happen, or how life is very cruel to me that leads me to hate my life and myself—they made me very insecure toward everything. As a result, my confidence I used to have disappeared with no trace.

It's surprising I'm still living today.

Without realizing it, I'm already standing in front of the door to my English class, both Sheila and Minara unseen. They are probably way behind me. I may be one of the short ones in my grade, but I can walk fast. Actually, my height is OK. I'm short among the students in my grade because I'm a year younger than all of them.

I open the door and find some of my English classmates already in their seats, but the teacher isn't here yet. Considering that she always comes in 10 minutes after the bell, she won't be here any time soon.

I get my phone out of my jacket's pocket with my black earphones already connected to it. I'm about to sit on my chair when the door slams open. Many heads snap to that direction to discover Minara is the perpetrator of peace. She's trying to catch her breath with her hands on her knees, her iPhone clutched in a hand. Her curly black hair that is tied into a low ponytail falls over her shoulder. Sheila stands behind her with her normal aspect.

When Minara looks up, she has a sort of shocked face. "Guys..." She straightens up; I turn a music on, its voice trapped in the earphones. "We'll have a transferee!" At that, I look up from my phone, having my full attention on her. I like having a new student.

"So sudden? Are you lying?" a boy—Jordan if I remember correctly—speaks our thoughts.

Minara gives him a weird look. "Why would I lie about this?"

Jordan shrugs. "It's sudden." But we all know he wants to say, You are nothing but a liar.

"When?" Karen, girlfriend of Jordan, asks.

"Tomorrow," Minara simply answers as she taps on her phone a few times. "I overheard him talking with Mr. Arno."

Not for long, I feel a vibration on my palm. I look at my phone to see a notification from our group's chat. Swiping the notification, I enter my pin code. An image was sent from Minara.

True to her word, it's a boy talking with the principal in the hall. From the zoomed image taken, I can see the boy has dark blonde hair with gray eyes. He has a built body and his posture screams confidence as he talks with his hands shoved in his jeans. I can say he's—

Snap out of it, Eth. What you should be thinking is: Why the tarnation did that nudnik take a picture of him!

When I hear gasps, I've heeded my answer.

"He is—"

I press my earphones against my ears.

I sigh. Can't my life just be better? But that boy seems agonizingly familiar...

***

The day went by normally, other than the ruckus everyone made with the news of the transfer student. I don't get what the big deal is.

After all my books are placed in my locker, I slam it shut and lock it.

I sigh. I really don't want to go home. The arguments will come later in the evening, but the shouts happen at any time as long as my elder sister is at home. They are shouts of impatience, which is why I hate it.

With my bag slung over my shoulder, I turn away from the lobby.

I'm walking down the hall when I see someone frozen on his spot.

"Ethera..."

Hearing my name, I snap my attention to the person in front of me, recognizing easily that he's the new student from his appearance of blonde hair and gray eyes.

I'm about to say hi when the familiarity grows clearer. When it does, I feel my eyes widen and I blink, making sure I'm seeing right. Once it's confirmed, my hands ball into fists and I glare at him as hatred overwhelm me.

What's he doing here?

"Leo."