Chapter 9
As finals approached, the pressure mounted, and Sherry became the hot topic of gossip.
Her new boyfriend was the top guy from a notorious vocational high school in the city.
Many people saw Sherry getting slapped in the restroom that day. She had acted nonchalant about it though.
But when she first started dating this boyfriend, she set up a grand scheme to confront the girl who had slapped her right at the school gate.
“Come alone, or do you want me to bring my friends?” Sherry asked, casually holding a cigarette.
The girl reached for her phone to call for help, but Sherry snatched it away and smashed it on the ground. “Are you pushing your luck?”
Sherry laughed, delivering two sharp slaps back at the girl.
The girl didn’t retaliate, allowing Sherry to have her way.
During that time, Sherry became well-known across nearby schools. It seemed like everyone recognized her.
Very few dared to mess with her, but that was mainly due to her tough-guy boyfriend.
So when Sherry got dumped, it was the day she faced consequences for her actions.
The girl she’d slapped in public was planning her revenge.
On the first day of finals, after taking two exams, I was waiting for my ride by the road when I heard malicious laughter coming from a nearby alley.
When I turned around, I saw a group of people gathered at the alley’s entrance, excitedly watching something unfold.
Sherry stood alone, surrounded by about eight or nine girls and boys. The girl who had slapped her was right in the middle.
“Hey, think you can take off your clothes?” One taunted.
Sherry had seemed unconcerned as she chewed gum until her face lost all color at that remark.
“You can hit me however you like, but if you even touch my clothes, I swear I’ll fight back.”
Just then, they grabbed her hair and slammed her toward a parked scooter. “Screw you! Who are you trying to scare?”
“Strip her! I want to see how she fights back.”
Two girls held Sherry down while the others got ready to tear her clothes off. Just then, Andre arrived.
The aller was in chaos. It was hard to see who was attacking whom.
didn’t care to stay and find out if Andre got the upper hand or if they managed to beat him down.
Just as I was about to turn back, I heard Sherry’s piercing scream. “Andre!”
Immediately followed by a heated argument.
“Are you insane? Why did you stab him?”
“Fuck! What do you want me to do if I couldn’t hold this man down?”
Before long, the usual bullies began to scatter.
More people gathered, leaning against the alley walls to get a peek inside.
Andre, pale-faced, collapsed into Sherry’s arms, blood soaking his abdomen and pooling on the ground.
Sherry was sobbing uncontrollably, trembling as she called for help. “Call an ambulance!!”
“Andre, please don’t scare me!”
“I’m sorry, I’ll listen to you from now on. Just don’t get hurt, okay?”
Andre was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, clearly in overwhelming pain and struggling to respond to Sherry, merely squeezing her hand gently.
Sherry’s eyes welled up with tears as she looked toward the crowd at the alley entrance. “Does anyone have a jacket they can lend me?”
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“My brother needs something to stop the bleeding…’
Her gaze locked onto me, with a pleading expression.
Andre’s eyes were half-closed, and he looked toward me too.
I tightened my coat around myself and turned to walk away.
The nearest ambulance was just a few minutes away. Besides, I wasn’t the only one wearing a jacket.
The next day was the exam, and as expected, Andre missed it. He had just been discharged from the hospital the day before the break.
The police were still investigating, and the school had to ask their usual questions. Even I, who’d only been waiting for a bus and had only seen a few minutes of the incident, was called in for questioning.
All of us bystanders were piled up at the door of the principal’s office, whispering amongst ourselves.
“Did they warn you?” one of them asked.
“Yeah…” came the reply.
D
“The guy who did it is rich. He said he had someone check the surveillance at the alley, but it’s impossible to see who did it.
As long as we all say we didn’t see anything, he can keep insisting he just meant to scare Andre with the knife, and that it was all just a chaotic mess-Andre ran into it on his own.”
“Plus, he threatened us, saying if we talked out of turn, he’d make sure we’d pay for it.”
At that moment, Sherry showed up, helping Andre along. The two clearly heard the conversation. Sherry’s eyes bulged with anger.
How can you guys be like this?”
The office door swung open, and the principal, without looking back, shouted, “One by one!”
