Lavinia was about to crawl out from under the teacher's desk to surprise Mira as usual — with her childish, funny way that always brought laughter to everyone's hearts.
But…
what she heard while hiding wasn't funny.
It was a small dagger… slowly sinking into her chest.
Mira said, her voice dripping with poison:
> "Mikel is such a great guy… I don't understand why he hangs out with that annoying giraffe!"
Lavinia froze.
> "Giraffe…?"
Mira went on, amid the girls' laughter:
> "She's not even pretty… she acts weird, awkward, stupid… clumsy."
The place erupted in laughter.
Another girl added:
> "She doesn't deserve to hang out with you guys… Mikel is so popular, and so are you, and she's just annoying."
Then Mira threw the final bomb:
> "The only reason I got close to her was because I wanted to get close to Mikel. No matter how hard I tried to approach him, he kept rejecting me. So I used her to reach him — and I also wanted him to hate her."
Her words were like a slap across Lavinia's face.
She stiffened, her eyes blazing with anger.
She suddenly stepped out from her hiding spot, a mocking smile spreading across her face:
> "Haha… I'm annoying? Ugly? I don't know who was the one clinging to me like a snail, who used to cheer for me, and get jealous of everything I did?!"
A deadly silence fell.
The girls were stunned.
But Mira stood in the middle, a smug smile curling her lips:
> "Ah… so you heard us? Well… at least you heard the truth."
The other girls trembled at Lavinia's sudden appearance, as if they had never expected her to show up like that.
One of the girls grabbed Mira's shoulder and said:
> "Mira, I think… you should stop."
But Mira went on, reminding Lavinia of every mistake she had ever made, every moment of weakness, every slip…
> "Yeah, you're just a fool. I've always hated you…"
And suddenly—
Lavinia exploded.
She screamed:
> "You're right! I'm annoying! Stupid! Foolish! But at least… I'm not annoying, and a liar, and a hypocrite!"
She lunged at Mira, grabbing her hair and pulling her to the ground.
The girls rushed to stop her, but…
she knocked them down one by one.
She was a blaze of fire.
Punching one with her fist, kicking another with her leg.
She climbed on top of Mira and began striking her face, bruises swelling on Mira's cheeks as Lavinia shouted with every punch:
> "This… for trusting you! And this… for using me! And this… for lying to me…!"
---
Meanwhile, Mikel was with his friends by the stairs, laughing and talking about the upcoming match.
One of them asked:
> "Mikel, you're really amazing at playing! Tell me, how do you always win? What's the secret?"
Mikel smiled and raised his wrist.
> "The secret… is this bracelet."
It was a black sports bracelet, with the first letter of his name in white.
He kissed it lightly, looking at it as if it were a treasure.
His friend asked in surprise:
> "Who gave it to you?"
Mikel answered with a shy smile:
> "Someone… I love."
His friends shouted:
> "Whaaat? You're in love?!"
He laughed and nodded.
> "Of course."
One of them said:
> "If your fans find out, it'll be a disaster."
But suddenly—
A girl came running, screaming:
> "Help! Mikel! Please help us… Lavinia is going to kill Mira!"
The girl was in complete chaos, her hair a mess, breathing heavily...
Everything went silent.
Mikel ran as fast as he could, his friends following close behind, toward the classroom.
When he opened the door—
he froze.
Chaos.
The girls on the floor. The classroom looked like a battlefield. Chairs overturned, desks scattered across the ground…
And Lavinia, on top of Mira, hitting her hard.
He rushed toward her, grabbed her arm, and shouted:
> "Are you insane?! What are you doing?!"
But she pulled her arm free and screamed:
> "Ask them! They're the ones who started it!"
Mira, writhing on the floor, began to cry softly:
> "You did all this… just because I said… I love Mikel?"
Mikel froze, staring at Mira, shock filling his face.
The other girls started raising their voices, claiming that Lavinia was the one who attacked Mira first—out of jealousy.
Lavinia said:
> "Pffft… who's going to believe you? It's all lies!"
She looked at Mikel, pleading… searching his eyes for truth.
But he bit his lip, moved toward Mira, placed his hand on her swollen cheek, and said:
> "I'm sorry… for what Lavinia did to you."
Lavinia screamed, grabbing his arm:
> "Hey! Don't be a coward! Listen to me!"
But he cut her off, his eyes burning:
> "Shut up! How long will you keep causing trouble? You're always… like this!"
Silence.
She looked at him, her face pale, as if his words had stabbed her.
> "Always…?"
She let go of his arm and stepped back.
Every face around her turned dark in her eyes.
Every gaze felt like walls collapsing over her head.
---
It ended with her…
in the principal's office.
The sound of scolding filled the room.
The principal shouted in anger:
> "Lavinia, why can't you just stay calm… is that so hard for you?!"
She sat silent, head lowered, as if she couldn't hear a thing.
He continued:
> "Damn it, look at the mess you caused!"
> "Three days of suspension. Think about what you've done!"
---
She returned home, closed her bedroom door, and threw herself on the bed.
She stared at the ceiling, expressionless.
She thought:
> "Why, Mikel? Why did you do that?"
And a single tear fell, silent…
telling everything.