Milestone High School is a dream school for many middle schoolers. A place where eighty percent of students achieve their exquisite goals of success in their endeavors into college, gaining fame for the school far and wide.
Brianna entered her assigned classroom, which was bustling and noisy. It's the last term, and the final years are almost wrapping up their final exams. A brew of various sorts of emotions filled the air as sighs of anxiety, whispers of fear, tears of both joy and sorrow... fill the air.
Amidst this, Brianna is brimming with radiant smiles, certainly brighter than usual.
"Bri?!, What happened?! You're happier than usual today," says a younger Brittney. "Don't tell me, is it what I'm thinking?"
Brianna nods happily, "Yeah, Revan asked me out."
"Really? Congrats." Brittney cheers her happily.
Revan Evans, one of the four most popular guys, and the guy that Brianna had a crush on, as well as many other girls who were practically drooling over him. Revan was a decently graded student, with his good looks and athletics standing out for him.
It's the beginning of Brianna's third year, and Revan, a second-year, average grade, highly good-looking and popular guy, who literally everyone has a crush on, asked her out.
In actuality, Brianna and Revan had already been friends for a long time since elementary school. They became neighbors when Revan and his single mom moved to their neighborhood, and he began attending the same school as her. Their mothers became close friends, and they started attending school together and playing together on weekends. Revan wasn't exactly the brightest bulb, so he had a lot of problems with his grades at school, and Brianna stepped up to help him out with his studies, making them grow closer. He was one of her biggest comforters at her dad's funeral and a huge support to her. That's how close they were until her first year of high school, when she and her mom moved away from the neighborhood. It was around this time that she realized her feelings towards him.
So eventually, bumping into him in high school, especially when he was held back a class and was now her junior, made her nervously anxious anytime she thought of having her crush in the same school as her. It made her clumsy when he tried to talk to her, and always made her uncomfortable seeing him around other girls.
But this same guy just asked her out, making her tummy fill with butterflies, and the world felt like a place with eternal happiness. They began dating, and the bliss continued for the next two terms.
Until her last term...
One Day, after school had closed for the day and most students had already gone home.
Brianna walks through the hall with Brittney and two of their other friends.
"Thank goodness, that test wasn't as hard as I thought it would be." One of the girls giggled.
"I know, right. I literally drowned myself in my books yesterday for this, and all the tough things I was expecting didn't even come out." Britney said with a sarcastic, slightly sad look on her face.
"Brittney!!, You studied?! All hell's finally gonna break loose. I never thought I'd see the day that Brittney studied without any external intervention." Brianna teases as she laughs.
When she locks eyes briefly with a familiar-looking girl with red, slightly swollen-looking eyes, who was trying to cover her face with a handkerchief, standing in front of an open locker. She turns her face away from her immediately, as if trying to avoid Brianna's notice.
"What do you mean by that?!" Brittney shoots back in a slightly annoyed but jovial tone.
"Uhm, guys..., I'll be right back, I just remembered, I forgot something," Brianna says, dismissing the others.
"Alright, I'll be waiting outside." Brittney says as she leaves with the two girls."
Brianna then approaches the girl, "Ah, I knew you looked familiar. You're Stacy, right?! From Class 2C."
Stacy nods slightly, keeping her face covered.
She then smiles, "I recognized you since you're Revan's classmate. But we've never spoken on one before."
Stacy stands there quietly as shivers run down her spine.
Brianna notices that her cheek is slightly bruised. "Stacy, can you tell me what happened? If it's a bully, we could easily get rid of them," Brianna whispers to her.
"It's nothing, Senior Bri, I just got scratched during Physical Ed and got overwhelmed with pain all of a sudden." She says as she removes the handkerchief, uncovers her face, and fakes a smile. Her swollen eyes, red face, and several scratches and bruises along her face, hands, and legs made it obvious to Brianna that she had been assaulted.
With this, Brianna leaned closer to her and whispered, "I know you're scared, Stacy, but you can talk to me. I'll help you in any way I can. Just tell me who did this to you."
Stacy coils up, trying to hold back, but eventually bursts into tears. "Senior, I really want to tell you, I'm really afraid because I don't think you're gonna believe me. You especially might not believe me." She says as she drops her head, crying in front of Brianna.
"Why wouldn't I believe you? Just tell me I'm right here for you." Brianna says with a hint of confusion in her tone.
Stacy raises her head to speak, "The reason I'm like this is because,..." She says while whimpering.
"What are you two talking about so quietly?" A purple-haired guy says as he comes from behind and hugs Brianna.
Stacy's eyes widen, and she shivers a bit at the sound of the voice she just heard. Instinctively, she uses her handkerchief to wipe her tears.
"Stacy?! Is that you?!, What are you still doing here?, I thought you said you had violin practice today."
She immediately straightens up and fakes a smile nervously, "So, it's just as I said before, I was just scratched during P.E Anyway, I'll be heading out now. Bye." She says, then walks away quickly, shutting her locker behind her.
Brianna sighs, "I'm pretty sure she wanted to say something." She thinks, then she turns to the guy behind her. "So, what are you still doing here?, Revan."