What it's like to be at the bottom

After the elf healed everyone, the bell for the next class was already ringing. It felt like not even 30 minutes had passed, and it was already time to get moving.

'That was the quickest 1 hour and 30 minutes of my life.' Dragging myself up from the ground and getting a reassuring look from the nurse, I listened for my last class of the day.

[Proceed to magical theory 1-C after the break]

Hearing where I had to go, I also realised it was the second break of the day. The days seemed to consist of 4 classes a day, which I liked as it didn't feel like too much or too little.

'I need to find a place to hide; Lyra is probably not even at school anymore.' It sucked that I would have to find a secluded place, but the threat level was extremely high. So I quickly left the arena classroom and looked for a place away from prying eyes.

I also tried to avoid people, but with there being so many students, it was hard to find even a silent hallway. Most people I walked by gave me a disgusted look, and some were dirty, making me shiver.

However, eventually, after wandering around the hallways and exploring some of the outside parts of the school, I found a secluded area in the shade. It was surrounded by bushes and clearly, an inconvenient place to go, so I figured it would be safe.

'Hopefully, no one bothers me while I'm here; it's quite the nice spot I've found.' Only the sound of nature could be heard, which gave me a sense of safety and freedom. It was refreshing from the constant whispers amongst students saying how low of a human being I was.

It didn't make sense to me how things got like this, as all the teachers so far were accepting of my presence. There was a clear divide in how I was perceived, but I didn't think it would be to such a severe degree.

'I guess Lyra is proof that not all nobles are brainwashed, but why are so many of them so against me? What have I ever done to deserve such treatment? If anything, I should be praised for even making it into the academy. Well, then again, they will just accuse my mother of being a prostitute, just like before.' I ran through my head, asking the question of what could possibly be the cause of such mistreatment.

At this point, it was fate that I was meant to have such a shit life... Hang on, if this is a mirror of what happened in my high school, but just older.

'It's going to generally be the same, but now the reasons are just different. That would make sense since this is a different timeline, so things will be the same, but there will also be changes that I do not know. I mean, just look at my body; I am the woman of my dreams.'

'Okay, enough perving on myself; I need to think about what else happened in my past life.' Having gotten slightly distracted by my own thoughts, I quickly focused back on my train of thought while eating the rest of my food.

'We already have the rumours about my mother and April, but that's it. Caspian is a new one, so I should expect some new faces in this timeline. Now to what is yet to happen: we have Raja, who was the main guy that bullied me behind the school.' Thinking of more people that made my life hell, it occurred to me where I was and the person I just thought of.

'Shit! I need to leave.' Quickly finishing my food, I knew I was in trouble if I stayed any longer. I had picked a spot behind the school, and knowing the location I was in, this would be perfect for Raja to drag his victims to.

Rushing through some of the bushes, I would hit something that was akin to a wall. Falling back down to the ground, I shook my head and looked up to see what I had bumped into.

'No…' My heart sank as I realised that the person I ran into was the one I was trying to avoid. A tall male with dark skin stood over me, looking at me with a devilish grin.

"It looks like the prey is already here for me." Raja cracked his knuckles as he squatted down next to me.

"So what brings the peasant to such a quiet part of the school? Hoping to find a getaway since your lady friend won't be here?" Raja grabbed my hair and got extremely close to my face as he spoke.

My throat had locked up, unable to speak as the trauma came rushing back, and I knew what was going to happen.

"You're lucky it's just me today, but don't think you will have it easy." Raja stood up from the ground, lifting me up at the same time by the hair. I grabbed his arm, trying to lift myself up as my feet were unable to reach the ground.

"Pathetic." Seeing me struggle, Raja used wind magic to throw me up against the brick wall.

"Still won't even say a word." Raja began to get irritated, which only meant he would get more physical.

'Damn it, why won't my body move?' I wanted to run; I wanted to do something, but my body would not comply whatsoever.

"Look at you, scared for your life." Raja licked his lips, clearly enjoying the state I was in.

"P-please don't." Finally, words came out of my mouth, and although they were weak, they were better than nothing.

"Tch, since when do I listen to a peasant? You should know your place in this school by now, or do you need me to show you?" Ill intent was plastered all over his face as he looked down on me, and all I could do was close my eyes, hoping he would just leave.

"I'll take that as a yes." Without giving me any chance to respond, Raja began to hit me. I do not know for how long or what he exactly did, but all I know is that I curled into a ball, trying my best to resist the hits.

"Worthless trash shouldn't be at this school. This school should have never brought in that rule to allow anyone to attempt the exam; now we have you staining our nobility." Raja began to hurl insults at me, explaining the situation a little bit more. It seemed that only recently peasants were allowed to join.

Go me I guess, but to have a fate like this, I curse myself for being smart and getting into this school.

"All you peasants are just cannon fodder for the wars, so there is no point in teaching dead weight like you." The hits became more aggressive, and I held myself tighter, trying my best not to let out a sound. Surprisingly, the training from the previous class came in handy, but it still hurt like hell.

"Tch, a bitch that makes no noise; next time I will make sure you do." I felt kicks in my sides and my arms getting stomped on, but luckily they did not last much longer since he was quick to get bored. None of his friends were around making it less enjoyable for him, so once he got his fix, he left.

Opening up my eyes, I was glad to see that Raja had left—for now. Standing up and stretching out my body, I felt all my joints, specifically my ribs, ache like hell. Not to the point they were broken, but definitely some bruises.

Once I began moving a little, the pain started to subside, making it bearable to walk.

'I should go to the nurse... No, I don't want to go in for a second time. These are just bruises so it's fine.' It would have been easy just to get healed, but I didn't want to embarrass myself or make anyone worry.

I knew Raja's habits, so this should be the only time that this happens, hopefully.

*Ding* *Dong* *Ding* *Ding*

The bell echoed out, which was a relief, and thankfully I was able to walk, so making it to class was not a problem.

*

Arriving at class, which was set up like a lecture hall, I took a seat in the middle row so that I wasn't too far away. I also made sure to be at the end, expecting no one to sit next to me.

The room began to fill with students, with most of them avoiding me until there was only one spot left. A female student ended up next to me, but she made sure to sit as far away as she could.

The teacher came walking in and rushed to the desk while carrying a massive stack of books that were on the verge of falling over. It was amusing to see her struggle and almost drop the books, but she managed without dropping anything.

"Alright, class, it's time to understand how magic really works."