Chapter 1: The Last Day

The morning sky was gray, matching Mia Zeller's mood as she walked through the gates of Westbrook High School. Students laughed in groups around her, but none of those smiles were meant for her. She kept her head lowered, clutching the straps of her worn backpack as if it could protect her from what awaited inside.

For nearly two years, school had become a prison rather than a place of learning. Every hallway carried memories of humiliation. Every classroom reminded her that she didn't belong. The whispers always started the moment she appeared.

"Look, the charity case is here."

"Didn't she wear that same hoodie yesterday?"

"Her parents probably can't afford another one."

Mia ignored them. She had learned long ago that answering only made things worse.

Her family lived in a tiny apartment on the edge of the city. Her father worked long hours as a construction laborer while her mother cleaned offices until late at night. Every dollar they earned went toward rent, food, and Mia's education.

They always told her the same thing.

"Study hard, Mia. Education is the only thing no one can take away from you."

She believed them.

No matter how difficult life became, she studied until midnight every evening, hoping one day she could escape poverty and give her parents the peaceful life they deserved.

Unfortunately, someone else noticed her determination.

Xena Smith.

Beautiful.

Popular.

Rich.

And unbelievably cruel.

The first time Mia had scored higher than Xena on an important exam, everything changed. Rumors began spreading overnight. Anonymous messages appeared in Mia's locker. Her notebooks disappeared. Her lunch was thrown away almost every day.

Eventually, simple bullying became something much darker.

As Mia reached her classroom, she froze.

Her desk had been overturned.

Ink covered every page of her textbooks.

Someone had written one word across the front of her notebook in thick black marker.

"SLUT."

The classroom erupted with laughter.

"Looks good on you," someone mocked.

"Maybe now she'll stop pretending she's innocent."

Mia quietly picked up her books from the floor.

The teacher entered only moments later.

His eyes briefly landed on the destroyed desk before shifting away.

"Take your seats," he said as though nothing had happened.

Nobody was punished.

Nobody even apologized.

To them, Mia wasn't worth defending.

During lunch break, she escaped to the library.

It was the only place where silence still existed.

She opened her biology textbook and tried to focus.

Page after page.

Word after word.

Anything to keep her mind away from reality.

"There you are."

Her heart stopped.

She recognized that voice instantly.

Xena stood at the entrance of the library with four girls behind her.

Every one of them wore expensive uniforms perfectly tailored to fit.

Unlike Mia's faded clothes.

"Studying again?" Xena laughed.

"No wonder nobody likes you."

The librarian glanced toward them before quietly walking into another room.

Pretending not to notice.

Again.

"Leave me alone," Mia whispered.

"Aw... did everyone hear that?"

One of Xena's friends mocked her trembling voice.

"She told us to leave her alone."

The girls burst into laughter.

Xena grabbed Mia's textbook and threw it across the room.

"You're making us look bad by getting higher grades."

"I never wanted to compete with you," Mia said.

"Exactly."

"That's what makes it insulting."

Xena leaned closer until only inches separated them.

"Girls like you should know their place."

Without warning...

She slapped Mia across the face.

The sound echoed through the library.

No one intervened.

Mia lowered her head.

She refused to cry.

"Still acting tough?"

Xena smiled coldly.

"Let's continue this after school."

The warning sent fear racing through Mia's body.

She knew what that meant.

Every time Xena said those words, something terrible happened.

When the final bell rang, Mia waited nearly twenty minutes before leaving the classroom.

She hoped they had already gone home.

For one brief moment...

She believed she was safe.

"Grab her."

Hands seized her arms from behind.

A cloth covered her mouth before she could scream.

She was dragged toward an abandoned construction site behind the campus where no teachers ever came.

When the cloth was removed, Mia found herself surrounded.

Xena slowly walked forward wearing an elegant crimson dress beneath her school blazer.

She looked more like royalty than a student.

"Welcome," Xena said sweetly.

"I've prepared something special for you today."

One of the girls placed a large metal kettle onto the ground.

Steam escaped from the lid.

Mia immediately realized what was inside.

"Please..."

"Don't."

"I'm begging you."

Xena tilted her head.

"Did you beg when boys kept staring at you?"

"I never—"

"Liar!"

The kettle tipped.

Boiling water poured over Mia's right hand.

"AAAAAH!"

The pain was unimaginable.

Her skin blistered instantly.

She collapsed onto the muddy ground, screaming until her throat felt raw.

The girls laughed.

"Look at her!"

"She's crying!"

"Pathetic!"

Mia desperately crawled backward.

"Please stop..."

"Please..."

Instead, another kettle appeared.

This time...

The boiling water struck her shoulder and face.

Agony exploded through her body.

She couldn't even think.

Only scream.

"Such a waste," Xena said while examining Mia's bleeding face.

"You actually had a pretty face."

"Not anymore."

She pulled a small folding knife from her pocket.

The silver blade reflected the afternoon sunlight.

"Let's make sure nobody ever looks at you again."

Mia struggled violently.

The girls holding her laughed as she kicked helplessly.

"Stay still!"

The blade touched her cheek.

Then...

A burning line of pain.

Blood streamed down her face.

"Perfect," Xena whispered.

"Now you finally look like the trash you've always been."

Something inside Mia shattered.

Fear disappeared.

Only survival remained.

With every ounce of strength she had left, she slammed her head backward into the girl restraining her.

"Ow!"

The grip loosened.

Mia broke free.

Ignoring the pain tearing through her body, she ran.

Behind her, furious screams echoed.

"Catch her!"

"Don't let her escape!"

She sprinted across the construction site until she reached a massive excavation pit filled with rainwater nearly ten meters deep.

There was nowhere else to go.

Behind her...

Footsteps approached.

Xena stopped only a few meters away.

"What now?" she laughed.

"Planning to jump?"

"Go ahead."

"Nobody will miss a poor nobody like you."

"Your father is just a laborer."

"Your mother scrubs floors for strangers."

"People like you don't matter."

Every word struck harder than the knife.

Mia looked into the dark water below.

Her reflection stared back.

Her face was covered in blood.

Her uniform was soaked.

Her eyes held nothing except exhaustion.

She thought about her parents.

She thought about all the nights they had skipped dinner so she could eat.

She thought about every dream they had for her.

Tears rolled silently down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered.

"I couldn't become someone you would be proud of."

She slowly turned toward Xena.

Their eyes met one final time.

"I'll see you in hell," Mia said quietly.

Before anyone could react...

She stepped backward.

Her body disappeared over the edge.

"MIA!"

For the first time...

Xena's confident smile vanished.

A loud splash echoed through the empty construction site.

Crimson blood spread across the dark water like blooming roses.

The laughter stopped.

Silence consumed everyone.

Deep beneath the surface, Mia felt her consciousness fading.

The pain disappeared.

The fear disappeared.

Everything became quiet.

Her final thought echoed through the darkness.

"If there really is another life..."

"I'll make you pay for everything."