Cryptic Mysteries - by Vera Nick

Chapter 2 You know when you never asked for a romance movie, but life decides to cast you in one anyway? Then, halfway through, you realise it isn't just romance. It's also action. And horror. I definitely didn't ask to be helped that day. I already had a handkerchief. Actually, I had two. A red one and a blue one. So why did he have to play the hero? Life is strange. It always pretends it's handing you an apple, only for you to discover it's really a painted lemon. ...Wait. Lemons don't even look like apples. Never mind. You get the point. Refusing his help would've made an even bigger scene, so I accepted it. From that day on, Sally made it her personal mission to remind me that she existed. Movie bullies aren't all that different from real ones, except real bullies don't wait for the background music to start. Luckily, I'd become pretty good at adapting. Whenever I was locked inside a locker, I'd pull out the tiny torch I always carried so I could read while waiting for someone to let me out. Smelly prank? Extra-strength perfume. Hair covered in glue or some mystery goo? Soap. Food thrown on my uniform? Mud? Even the occasional period prank? I carried two spare uniforms in my bag. Preparation beats panic. At least... that's what I kept telling myself. Things were manageable. Until Sally discovered I lived only two blocks away. After that, weekends stopped feeling like weekends. I got exactly two peaceful ones after school resumed. Then the bullying followed me home. Most of the time it was just demands to do someone's homework or videos of me doing something embarrassing. Fortunately... or unfortunately... I was usually home alone. Dad was working. Mom was "at the office" At least, that's what she always said. I'd gotten used to the silence. Then one afternoon, while scrolling through my phone, I found a video of myself on Sally's social media page. It was from the day I climbed a tree to rescue my dog during a storm. His name is Lant. Well... His full name is Mr. Lazy Pants. Don't laugh. I honestly have no idea how he even managed to get stuck up there. Not because he's too big. Because he's lazy. Spectacularly lazy. If laziness were an Olympic sport, they'd refuse him entering cause legends weren't allowed, or he'd refuse to attend the competition because apparently walking to the stadium sounded exhausting. Names really do fit people... ...or dogs. Anyway, the wind that day was incredibly strong. A storm was clearly on its way, but there was Lant, lying on a branch as if he'd rented the place. So I climbed after him. Sally's caption under the video simply read: "What a psycho." Excuse me? I expected everyone in the comments to agree. Instead... The comments were almost the complete opposite. "That climb was insane!" "Did anyone else see that spin she did to avoid the falling branch?" Wait... They noticed that? I barely noticed it myself. Another person wrote, "That took serious courage. Most people would've stayed on the ground." Then my favourite comment appeared. "Craziness: 5%. Awesomeness: 95%." I couldn't help smiling. Maybe I wasn't completely hopeless after all. Then I saw Sally reply. Her response wasn't aimed at me. It was aimed at the person who had complimented me. She argued with them as if they'd personally insulted her. As if simply saying something nice about me somehow affected her entire being That... That was strange. For just a second, a ridiculous thought crossed my mind. Was she jealous?

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