«Sometimes, injustice hits you so fast that it doesn't even give you time to defend yourself. They blame you for something you didn't do, you see others walking away believing a lie or another version of the story, and you get trapped in that silence where nobody wants to hear your truth».
12:00 AM
YO: Ahhh... Why can't I sleep? What time is it?
YO: And now tomorrow I go back to school... What's going to happen tomorrow?
YO: Calm down, nothing's going to happen, the worst thing would be for everyone to drift away from me... I doubt it, I don't think my friends would believe that... I hope.
YO: Ángel, wake up, you already know what's going to happen, everyone's going to distance themselves from you.
YO: No... Just shut up, that won't happen, let's think everything will be fine.
YO: Yeah, Ángel, exactly, think about that.
YO: Remember what you talked about... I need to stop arguing with myself.
(A FEW MINUTES LATER)
YO: Ugh, I still can't sleep... What can I do?
(KOCKS ON MY MOM'S DOOR)
YO: Mom, can I watch TV?
MADRE: No, go to sleep already.
YO: But mom...
MADRE: Go to sleep!
YO: Yes, yes, I'm going.
YO: Well, just close your eyes and sleep.
MONDAY MORNING
YO: Nope, why did I wake up early? I'm still sleepy, plus... Ah, the clock, how is it 5 am? Ash, well, better get up now.
(After getting up I went to breakfast, by that time my mom was surprised to see me up so early and served me breakfast, which was soy milk with bread and avocado. But since I finished quickly it was still early, around 6 am, so I stayed watching TV, then an hour later, at 7 am, I went to school)
AT SCHOOL:
YO: Ah, finally I'm here. When I get to the classroom they'll probably look at me weird.
YO: Don't make a scene.
(I ENTER THE CLASSROOM)
YO: Ah, well, the teacher hasn't even arrived yet... Well, at least I can choose where to sit.
YO: I think I'll sit in the back, since the only rule is whoever arrives first chooses their spot, I don't think anyone will mind.
(I put my face on the desk and covered myself with my arms, and analyzed a bunch of scenarios that could happen. In the end, I just kept thinking about one single thing: whatever happens, I would get out of all those possible situations and make everyone know the truth at any cost)
(That's how the minutes passed and the teacher arrived)
MISS: Good morning, little Ángel... Oh, it looks like you arrived before me, what a surprise.
YO: Teacher, can I sleep a little bit until it starts?
MISS: Alright, but... let's see, almost nobody knows this, to see if you were paying attention the first day: What is my name?
MISS: Everyone always calls me teacher, but the first day I introduced myself.
YO (THINKING): Uh oh... Now Ángel, calm down, come on, just remember... María, Teresa, Milagros, Cristina, or Dina... Oh, right, Dina is my friend, so uhhhh... Which one could it be? I'm not so sure.
MISS: Do you give up?
YO: Is it teacher María?
MISS: No... you have 2 chances left.
YO: TERESA?
MISS: Neither... Last one.
YO (THINKING): Come on Ángel, you have 2 people left: Milagros or Cristina... Choose one of the two... I know... Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a tiger by the toe... It landed on Milagros, please dear God let it be that one, if I answer wrong she's going to ask me and ask me things and right now I don't want to talk much. Come on Ángel, just go for it, hopefully that's it.
YO: Is your name Milagros?
MISS: Are you sure? I heard hesitation.
MISS: Yes... You are teacher Milagros.
MISS: And that is... Correct!
MISS: Very well, sleep a little bit until the rest arrive.
YO: Alright teacher, thank you.
YO (THINKING): The teacher is the only one who usually believes in me, that day she wasn't on anyone's side... Although I think she wasn't either, well, they didn't call her like that annoying kid called the principal directly, the teacher didn't show up to that meeting of my parents with the principal... Well, whatever, it already happened.
20 MINUTES LATER
MISS: Good morning Camila; good morning Lucero; good morning Xiomara; good morning Cairon; good morning Dairon... Fernandito, are you feeling better?
FERNANDO: Ti, miss.
YO (THINKING): I feel anger every time I hear his voice... It's annoying, because of him I went through a lot of things at home.
(Fernando walks past me)
FERNANDO: Good morning Ange... (cheerful voice)
YO: Just go away, don't bother me (cold voice).
MISS: Good morning Dina, and good morning Sayuri.
MISS: Very well students, let's start the devotion.
(After a while of doing the devotion, which consisted of going out to the courtyard, making a formation and saying the Lord's Prayer, the motto and the school anthem —if I remember correctly, the school number ended in 11026 or another number, I'm not quite sure, it happened a long time ago—, after finishing the devotion we went into the classroom)
(I went to my desk, which was in the right corner of the classroom, my friends were on the other side. In the following classes they didn't come near me, even though the teacher gave free time and what we did was easy: painting, an occasional math calculation and learning to read, anyway it was the basics since we were in kindergarten —what's more, I think I was a year older than the rest, or well, of my friends, I was 5 and Dina 4, Dairo 4 and Sayuri 4, but I was about to turn 5—).
(But every time I turned to look at my friends they would avoid my gaze and I saw at that moment that «Their silence spoke louder than words». Well, I didn't blame them entirely, if someone told me something about one of them I probably would have believed it... But I would have looked for the other person's opinion).
YO (THINKING): I wonder what things happened during these 3 days that I wasn't here... From what I see, everyone else doesn't even look at me, what's more, if I try to ask them for something or tell them something, they walk away.
(DING, DONG, DING... THE BELL RANG)
MISS: Very well, it's recess, you can go out.
(When the bell rang I left and sat on a bench where all of us used to sit, from there you could see the whole courtyard, we could see all the kids running. The moment I sat down, I saw how my friends followed Dairo somewhere else).
YO: Well, now I know those aren't friends, they prefer to walk away and ignore me... Apparently I don't matter to them, or well, whatever.
XIOMARA: Oh... Wow, I think we think alike.
YO: I was thinking out loud... And what do you mean?
XIOMARA: I'll tell you what happened those days you missed: that kid, the one who bothers everyone, spent all his time attached to that guy Fernando and that Dairo, and I don't know, from one moment to the next they started saying that you hit Fernando, and Fernando just told everyone who asked him "yes, yes, it was him". It seemed weird to me, since those guys didn't get along with that kid.
YO: Oh, wow... If I'm being honest, I expected it, that kid always bothers me and I hope my friends do it so they don't bother him and not because they're not on my side... Although I think from now on we won't have friends anymore.
YO: And why are you telling me all this?
XIOMARA: Because it already happened to me at another school, I was here recently, I came around last year.
XIOMARA: And since you only talk to your friends, you don't notice the rest.
YO: Well... That makes sense... I think you should stay away from me, or they'll talk about you.
XIOMARA: I don't care about that, until now I haven't had friends, it's hard for me to make friends and I think you and I are in the same boat.
YO: Yes, you're right, let's be friends... Oh, right, I forgot, your name is Xiomara, right?
XIOMARA: Seriously, you didn't even know who you were talking to?
YO: More or less, I thought it was you because I heard the teacher say your name.
XIOMARA: Hahaha...
YO: Why are you laughing?
XIOMARA: I don't know, maybe because my friend is a bit foolish.
YO: Hey, don't tell me that... It's just that I wasn't so sure, that's why I asked your name.
XIOMARA: Well... well... I think recess is about to end.
YO: THINK?
XIOMARA: Yup.
(DING, DING, DING)
DIRECTORA: Students, recess is over, go back to your classrooms.
XIOMARA: See?
YO: Well, you were right, let's go in before they close.
XIOMARA: Yes, let's go.