Elena's P.O.V.
School started. Everyone had caught the news of what had happened, which caused a heavy silence. There was even a ceremony in her name, honoring her for everything she had accomplished and done.
It was as if the school held a minute of silence, only that it lasted the entire day.
Today might have been beyond quiet, but it sure as hell has been the heaviest day I have ever experienced. For the first time in my life, I walked alone.
Lonelier than a highway, heavier than a rock. Yet no one saw the blood from my scars.
Students glanced at me, and I could feel each and every one of their looks. Some came even by and showed their condolences, but the majority just whispered and watched.
It was easy to conceal the bruises and injuries, but the mask, on the other hand, was the most unwieldy one. I held my head high when I faced the outside world, but I could feel it slip every now and then.
But then the lessons began, the teachers began to teach, and we were drowned in work and studies. At last, people left me alone.
Days went by and slowly converted into weeks. Through the changed time, I had only seen Emil once and that was at the morgue. The poor boy had collapsed before we could even step into the lifeless room, shedding tears before anyone else could. And at that moment, I knew I had to be strong for the both of us.
It was vital.
Adam tried to contact me, but I couldn't face him. Whenever we encountered in the hallway, I brushed him off with a comment about being late for class. And when he came by my house, I got Carl to send him away - without the wrestling team, of course.
After a while, I guess he gave up.
And as a result, things became more hectic. I got my mind to travel elsewhere thanks to the studies. Although my teacher found my work excellent, they still showed concern.
"You don't have to be here, Ms. Campbell. You are excused from this test." My chemistry teacher assuaged me, trying to be a helping hand at a time so dark
I refused, took the test, and - as Norwegians say it - 'bestod med glans'. Which meant that I passed the test with flying colors.
This became a routine after a while. I took detailed notes, studied weeks in beforehand, took the test, passed perfectly, and repeated the cycle.
Despite my shining grades, Carl did not like what I was doing. But it sent my mind somewhere else. It kept me sane and whole. It was the only thing I could do properly.
Thus, I quit soccer, horse riding, and piano and singing lessons. All my focus had to be on my studies.
It had to.
***
Ms. Foster required a documented resignation of the lessons. She returned to the new school year, which meant that Franny was not needed. However, the school leadership found his work remarkable enough to give him a job as a theater teacher.
I could imagine how revealed and happy it must have made Emil. And I was glad to know that some good news still existed in this world.
I knocked on the door to the music room and entered it right away. Just as I put a foot inside the soundproofed room, I was met with an unexpected scene; a desperate cry of command.
"Don't close the doo-"
And her voice was cut off by the door slamming shut, isolating us from the world.
"Annie?" To see the state she was in was a bigger surprise than finally meeting her face to face. I had almost forgotten how she looked like, but this was certainly not it.
Her red hair seemed to have lost its color, mirroring her pale, dull face. There were sleeping bags and dark circles under her tired eyes. I could not smell any perfume on her, and additionally, she was dressed in dirty clothes. Her sweater was stained, and her loose jeans were discolored.
I had never seen her like this. Ever. Annie was always so neat and a perfectionist. If one hair strand stood out, she would tame it right away, fixing it so it would blend into her neat looks.
But now, she was out of her character.
"Great, now you're stuck here too," she sighed, slumping down to the ground. "Did you at least bring your phone?"
"No, I left it in the locker." To tell the truth, I wasn't bothered by the fact that I was locked inside here. It didn't matter. What mattered, though, was answers. "Are you. . ." I trailed off, trying to find a better word to my query.
"Am I what?" So abruptly, Annie looked fearful. Her eyes were intense and alerted, and her chest rose heavy and fell deeply.
I took a step forward, "Are you okay?"
She sighed in relief, closing her eyes. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because you're acting so different," my answer turned her attention towards my orbs. The hue in her eyes was dipped in a taste of depression. She looked just as miserable and awful as the day in the theater room. "You're not rude and you're not commenting on my looks. You have been invisible - and that's not typical you. No one has barely seen you. Besides, you're wearing clothes that smell like they haven't been washed in a while. If there is one thing I know about you, Annie, it's the fact that you're a very tidy person."
Her gaze dropped a long time ago, and I wasn't sure what she was looking at, only that she didn't want to meet my face.
Perhaps my words were a bit too harsh? Maybe I was being the rude one?
I took another step forward, crouching down to her eye-level, to show her that I was on her side. When someone's hurting, it's important to stay on the same ground. If you look down or up at someone, you don't truly see what they are looking at.
Thus, a hierarchy will never work in a solace.
"So, I'm asking you, Annie," I started, trying to win eye-contact with her. "What happened?"
"Nothing happened!" She rose from the ground, breathing heavily as her nose started to run and her eyes turning glossy.
Annie looked away from me, closing her eyes and counting. She was dwindling the pace of her heart, letting it fall to a quiet level.
"I didn't mean to pry or anything, I just. . . I just wanted to make sure you are okay," I tried to let the tension die, to sift some lightness in the air. "Because you don't seem like it."
Oh, the hypocrisy.
Dead silence followed my words and lay in the air. Although I could sense that she wanted to say something - the faint movements on her lips gave it away - she didn't press anything out.
I studied her odd actions, trying to fathom her strange behavior. Through my hypothesis of what was to come, I was met with something I expected from a dream or a parallel universe - not this world or time.
"I'm sorry," Annie whispered, her face dripping with shame and guilt. Then she looked up, and with a loud voice, she spoke, "I am sorry, Elena."
It was her turn to be followed by a shadow of silence. All I could do was to remain silent and just stare. Just stare.
"I know the stuff I have said and done to you and others is unforgivable, inhumane and so awful. There is not a day that I don't regret every single thing. I'm just. . . I'm so sorry." Her eyes met mine, filled with heavy grief and anguish. "My actions are unforgettable and so terribly wrong in so many ways, and I don't blame you or the others that I have bullied for hating me. For wanting to hurt me in the same way I hurt you.
"I thought I had an excuse to do all of those harmful things, but in reality, I didn't have a single one. There is no excuse to bully someone, and I have realized that." The red-haired girl stopped to inhale air before her words could choke her. "I have realized what kind of a monster I was- or am."
"Annie," I chimed in, trying to stop her from beating herself up. "We're all evil sometimes, but it doesn't mean we're monsters. You are no different from me and the others, I promise you that."
Although she had been mean towards many people for years, she was far from a monster. I know what evil is, I've met wickedness too many times - and this girl was not it.
Watching her being so vulnerable and regretful, it made me realize that even your enemy is a human.
That the Devil is still an angel.
She shook her head, "No, Elena, you don't understand." Her glistening eyes met mine in a heavy encounter. "I am a monster. I tried to make myself feel better by making everyone else suffer. How can you not count that as the actions of evilness?"
I took a hold of her shoulders, strengthening the bond of communication between us so my words wouldn't fall off the bridge that we had built. "Because, Annie, you are a human being."
The red-haired girl laughed humorlessly, "Then I'm a terrible, terrible human."
I could not fathom why she was torturing herself like this, why she was pushing herself around the ring. Couldn't she see that she was hurting herself? "Annie, stop it. Stop saying such things. Why would you even-"
"Because, Elena," she cut me off, staring intensely. "I used you to hide a part of me that I didn't want to accept."
My eyes blinked repeatedly as I did not follow her words. "What are you talking about?"
Annie sighed deeply, her shoulders hanging low. "I owe you an explanation," she whispered weakly and wobbly. "And that you will have."
Before I could respond, she walked towards a large cabinet that was open.
"What are you doing?" I followed after her, watching her step inside the closet, which made the question mark flying over my head grow immensely.
Her orbs filtered nervousness and fear, "I'm showing you who I am." And with that said, she closed the closet.
What is happening? Nothing made sense anymore. Why were everything and everyone so different? It scared me, and I hated it. I hated the change.
After the long, silent seconds had finally passed by, the cabinet door opened slowly and carefully. And through the gap, Annie stepped shyly out of the closet.
She looked at my puzzled reaction but didn't say anything as if she knew that I would soon understand her riddle. I thought for a long time, trying to fathom her actions and words; getting a grip on the situation.
And then it hit me.
My widened eyes, filled with surprise, mirrored my hanging mouth, which was enough for the red-haired girl to understand that I solved her code.
A weak smile stretched across her lips, but it never reached her eyes. "The only reason why I picked on you more than the others, was because you were the only who fought back. I hated it. I despised you for fighting back, for insulting me whenever I did it. And it made me realize that. . . I was hating you, Elena - a girl."
She gulped, trying to get rid of the stone in her throat without success. Her voice became thicker with grief and regret. "And I thought that if I continued to bully, you could make me hate other girls, and I wouldn't be. . . you know. . ."
A pause followed her words, giving her time to compose herself. She shook her head before she re-attached our eye-contact, but only this time, tears threatened to leak. "But I was wrong, and I was in denial. I was scared and still am. I thought I could change who I am by hating you and other girls. God, I even hurt Adam just so I could. . ."
Her words died, and she hung her head in shame, the fire-red hair covering her fallen face.
When she looked up again, the tears had already spilled down, staining her cheeks. Her lips trembled like an earthquake that matched her brittle voice. "I was so selfish and stupid. I didn't even question my actions, and I never thought twice about what I was doing. Everything I did was an attempt to hide my true self. I just c-couldn't accept myself, my p-parents would never allow such thing, a-and-and I-"
And then she broke down.
Her words were cut off by her voice shattering, and you could hear the crack. It was absolutely heartbreaking.
Never did I ever think that I would pity my enemy and her heavy tears. I would never expect to see Annie, the bully, so vulnerable and broken.
Perhaps that's why I didn't even think twice or hesitate when I pulled her into a tight hug.
My hand stroked her untamed, fire-red hair, holding her close to me. Her arms were wrapped around me with all the strength of her emotions. She was clutching me with every little muscle in her fragile body.
When I felt the tears soaking my shirt - the silent screams crying for mercy - I found my final words to give Annie's soul some peace.
To give her heart something to beat for.
"I forgive you."
And that's when I finally realized. . .
She's truly gone.