I, Alan Albuquerque, am being bullied.
This isn't something recent—it's been going on for a long time... ever since I tried to rape a girl in my class.
No matter how much I begged them to stop, they just laughed and made things even worse.
Going to the teachers was useless—they wouldn't help.
On the contrary, they even said I deserved it.
It would've been fine if the abuse was limited to school...
But the worst was yet to come: my own family started looking at me with contempt, their words and actions turning into new instruments of pain.
That day, as I was leaving for home, I was stopped and dragged by force to the back of the school.
— "You really think that after trying to rape me, you can just go home whenever you want?!"
It was group bullying.
I was beaten and kicked countless times.
I could barely breathe.
Since I almost never had money, I sometimes skipped lunch, so the only thing coming out of my mouth was stomach acid mixed with blood.
After a while—maybe because they were tired of beating me—Yeda Silva, the main architect of this torment, grabbed my black hair and lifted my face as I coughed violently.
— "I'll torture you until I'm satisfied!"
A sharp knee strike hit me square in the face.
I felt blood trickling from my nose as my face throbbed with pain.
— "Yeda, maybe we should avoid the face. If the marks are too visible, it could draw unnecessary attention and cause problems for us."
— "It's fine. Everyone knows what this trash tried to do to me. No one cares about him—not even his own family, apparently. Just look at the state he's in..."
She replied, laughing.
— "After what he tried to do to her, this is still too little for him."
— "Hahaha! This is hilarious!"
Some flashy girls, Yeda's friends, started taking pictures of me with their phones.
Yeda seemed to have an idea.
A malicious grin spread across her face.
— "How about we take some even better pictures? How about... taking them when he's naked?"
— "Ah! Good idea! In that case, let's bring more people here."
— "Great, send a message to everyone you know!"
— "Huh?! W-wait...!"
— "Shut the hell up, you bastard!"
A kick landed right on my face.
Fabrício Teles, the biggest delinquent in school and Yeda's lackey, was responsible.
He and his group of psychopaths blindly did whatever she ordered.
My consciousness grew hazy.
I felt like I could pass out at any moment—but if that happened, I didn't know what they might do to me.
Still, I couldn't change anything, and more people called by Yeda were already gathering around me.
— "...You said if I came here, there'd be something fun... I never imagined I'd see this loser's face."
A cold voice spoke.
When I looked toward the voice, I saw two very similar siblings: Apollo Albuquerque and Alice Albuquerque.
My own siblings.
They were a year younger than me.
Whenever I ran into Apollo at school, he'd look at me with contempt.
He pretended not to know me.
Alice, on the other hand, was pure kindness and warmth.
The earthly incarnation of an angel—perhaps the only soul who still saw me as a human being, not as a worthless failure.
When her eyes met my pitiful state, there was a moment of shock—her pupils dilated, the light fading like a dying ember—before her face twisted into a mask of pain.
— "Huh? Apollo, do you know him?"
— "Well... I hate to admit it, but this trash is kind of my older brother... or at least, that's what he was supposed to be."
— "Older brother?! No way... Are you kidding me?!"
Yeda turned to me and let out a sharp laugh.
— "I swear I wasn't expecting that info. You guys know what he tried to do to me, right?"
— "Yeah! Don't worry—our whole family despises him for it."
— "Well... Clearly, you don't look alike!"
— "You know, it's just a blood relation. I couldn't care less about him."
— "Got it, got it... Alright. Let's have some fun."
Alice was frozen, her lips slightly parted in a silent scream, her body petrified by shock.
Fear and anguish for me flooded her heart, smothering any other feeling but rage.
By now, over twenty people were gathered around.
Yeda ordered Fabrício and his lackeys to start stripping off my clothes.
I resisted with all my strength, but after being beaten once more, they forced me into silence and stripped me nearly bare.
After an exhausting struggle, I managed to preserve only my pants—my last shred of dignity.
I was already at my limit, every breath an agonizing effort.
Yeda then laughed with a triumph that cut like a blade.
— "We've wasted enough time on this trash."
— "Hahaha!"
— "This is still too little for you!"
— "You should just die, you garbage!"
Words of scorn and mockery poured from all around me.
With regret and shame, I clenched my teeth and endured.
The sound of camera flashes echoed everywhere.
Then, Yeda announced:
— "Thanks for being here today! Well then, time for the final act!"
She looked at me and smiled like a psychopath.
— "Fabrício..."
A hard blow to my jaw knocked me out.
When I woke up, my head was resting on Alice's lap.
There was no one else around, and the moon shone lonely in the sky.
Checking my belongings, I realized they had stolen the little money I had.
My books were torn, and they had spilled muddy water on my clothes.
— "It's late... Why are you still here?"
Alice remained silent.
— "..."
Though I couldn't see her face, I knew she was crying—I felt the hot tears streaming down my neck as she leaned in to hug me from behind.
I lowered my head, crushed by the overwhelming weight of my powerlessness.
This was the cruel normality of my existence.