Evanescence

Chapter 2: Evanescence

Everything went black at that moment, and I could hear drops of water falling.

SFX:

Plink Plink

Plink Plink

Plink Plink

Suddenly, I felt a heavy, big drop of water fall on me. I shouted and woke up as if someone had startled me. I was breathing heavily.

SFX: Huff Huff Huff...

"What kind of strange dream was that?" Another drop of water fell on me.

I shouted, "Ahh," and in fear, I jumped up and fell back onto my mattress.

"The ceiling is broken; I need to move my mattress, or I won't be able to go on time for school."

I stood up, moved my mattress aside with my hands, and lay down again, going back to sleep.

"Really, what a weird dream for a high schooler like me."

SFX: Phew Phew Phew

I went back to sleep.

Caption: The Next Morning

I am wearing my school uniform, but my whole dress has a lot of wrinkles. I moved toward the shoe shelf. The old house floor made a lot of noise as I walked.

SFX: Creak Creak Creak

I picked up my shoes and placed them down, then sat down to put them on.

"Oh, first, I need to clean them," I thought. I picked up a cloth laying beside me on the floor and cleaned my shoes. Though they weren't shining, they were still okay. I put on my shoes and stood up.

After that, I picked up my bag and went outside.

Actually, I go to school much earlier than any other student so that they won't see me, I guess. The weather is still cloudy. It's better if it doesn't rain.

As I was on my way, I saw my little friend, Hasi, a dog with a blonde coat. People stared at my untidy clothes instead of Hasi.

"Oi! Hasi, how are you?"

SFX: Woof Woof

He came near me, wagging his tail as always. I bent down, and he licked my right palm.

"That's my good boy." I patted his head and stood up and started moving.

"Bye, Hasi. See you soon." I soon reached my school, and as always, no one was at school.

I moved, placed my things in my locker, and went to the storage room. I picked up a bucket and a wiping cloth and went to my classroom to clean all the benches.

After 15 minutes, I sighed, "Phew, it's done. Let's put this back and come back again with the books."

After I returned the bucket and the cloth, I closed the door and took the books, heading back to the classroom. "Seon didn't come today, strange." Seon was the topper of the class and also a friend of mine.

I opened my classroom door, and there he was, sitting. "Good morning, Seon!" As usual, he replied to me through a friend of his, "Go away, you dirty prick."

I replied, "Okay, bro," and went to my usual bench, the second-to-last bench in the second row.

The students started coming one after another as time passed. All of them had expressions on their faces as if they had seen a dirty and ugly dead corpse. As they looked at me, I smiled back at them and waited for the teacher to come and start the class.

I sighed. "Well, there isn't much I can do about it. They are just happy to see me as always.

The person who sits behind me came to his seat. His name is Kondo, a fit person. He really is a great person. I wished him, 'Good Morning, Kondo.'"

He replied back to me, "Good Morning! Yash, Ahh, you look nice."

Yes, I forgot to tell my name. My name is Yash. I have a weak body, and everyone around me either loves me or hates me.

Well, it is what it is.

Kondo stood toward his seat and held both books with his hands. He asked, "Yash, listen." I replied, "Yes..."

Then he hit my head with all the books in his hand with his strength, and my head got slammed on the table.

Then he asked, "Does it hurt, Yash? My hand slipped." I replied, "No, it doesn't, not a bit."

I tried to ignore the pain because his hands had just slipped, after all. It was my fault that I was not aware.

Class started as the teacher joined the classroom, and everyone stood up and said good morning to the teacher.

The teacher announced, "Today, I will show everyone the class result. Alright, and all of you have passed."

Well, these results were for our first year. After this, I would be promoted to the second year with my other classmates and my friend.

The teacher took out the paper roll on which our results were written and pasted it on the class board. The text was large enough for everyone to read. I was so happy that we all had passed.

Everyone in the class was talking to each other happily about their next year.

"I wonder how many marks I got this time. I guess I'm near the top students."

As I was finding my name, the teacher shouted, "All of you, shut up!" All the students fell silent. Then the teacher called my name, "Yash! Come here."

I stood up from my chair and moved closer to the teacher's table.

I asked, "Yes, Sir, am I the topper of this year?" The teacher got happy after hearing this and stood up from his chair. He threw a heavy slap onto my face, and I fell down. Everyone in the class started laughing.

He came near me again, picked me up by my collar.

"Yes, you are the topper of this year," I asked in confusion, "Sir, then why..." Suddenly, he started slapping me continuously with heavy slaps. He slapped me 43 times. With each slap, the sound echoed throughout the school, and my face turned so red that the skin started to tear a bit after so many heavy slaps.

But I tried not to cry, shout, or express my pain. My left eye became blurred.

After the final slap, he let go of my collar, and I felt so numb with pain that I fell down. Then the teacher fixed his clothes and told me, "Go back to your seat, Yash. After school, meet me in the principal's cabin."

I crawled a few centimeters, then, with a table near me for support, I tried to pick myself up. It was a girl's table that I took support from. She was annoyed and said, "Move fast."

I slowly moved back to my seat.

SFX: Thud, Thud Thud, Thud Thud, Thud

Then the teacher shouted, "Only Yash has failed; everyone else has passed. Congratulations, class."

My eyes flickered in shock as I reached my seat. Kondo said, "Congratulations; we all have passed," and laughed along with the other students, who were also laughing at me. I don't know why, but I smiled back at Kondo and sat in my chair, trying to be happy for my classmates.

I took a deep breath so I wouldn't faint. I whispered to myself, "My bad luck that I didn't study hard enough."

As time passed, the final bell rang, and all the students left for the day.

I remained in the class, and, surprisingly, there was another person in the class, sitting in the front second seat. It was none other than Seon, who was looking straight forward, reading a novel as always. He closed his novel.

SFX: Thaa

"Strange, he's leaving so soon too." I whispered, and the next moment, I heard his voice saying, "Listen, you dirty prick, learn to grow up with kindness. You are a total fool. Make sure you go after cleaning up." Then he also left the classroom and closed the door.

Seon had told me something, but I didn't understand what he meant. I lay on my bench for 10 minutes, and then I went to the principal's office, as I was told.

After reaching the principal's office, I knocked on the door.

SFX: Knock, Knock Knock, Knock Knock, Knock

A voice from inside said, "Come inside." Before I opened the door, I heard a voice, but all the students had already gone home, so I ignored it and went inside.

I greeted the principal and my classroom teacher, saying, "Good evening, sir."

The next thing I heard was, "Yash, here, take your school expulsion certificate." My heart started to race, and I began breathing heavily.

SFX: Huff, Huff, Huff

"You have now failed, and we can't allow you to stay in this school." I felt my hands and legs shaking, and I knelt down, begging, "Please, sir, I'm sorry. Please do something. I'll do anything you wish. Please, please, please..."

The principal stood up and said, "You need to pay twice the school fees, twice the current ones." I was shocked because I barely managed to pay the current fees. I begged, "Sir, please, I can't afford it. Please, sir."

The principal started counting and said, "After this offer is gone, and you are expelled..."

1

2

3

4

5

I held my hair with both arms and stretched them.

6

7

8

I replied in grief and pain, "I will, sir. Please, I will." He said, "Oops, so close." Then he shouted, "Dismiss." I stood up and went outside, closing the door.

I started plucking my hair in despair.

"How am I supposed to pay twice when I can barely afford it once?"

I walked to my locker. Suddenly, I heard the sound of someone going inside the principal's office. He looked angry the way he closed the door.

"Huh? Who could it be?"

I went to the 9/7 Shop to get my food for the day. It took 30 minutes to reach my house.

After that, I went inside and opened the door, and what I saw was...

To be Continued In Chapter 3.