⏳ Six Years In The Future (The Flashback)
"Amy Voldek Duke! Get back here this instant!" my mother yelled.
"Yes, Mom?" I answered.
"Where were you?" she asked.
"I was at school, Mom," I replied.
"No, you weren't!" she fired back.
"Justin's mom said you were fighting with Justin again."
"Mom, he was the one who started it," I mumbled angrily.
"It's okay, my dear."
My mom pulled me into a hug, and her warmth comforted me.
Then, she played a video for me to watch.
The moment she pressed play, I was shocked to see Justin and me arguing.
The video captured the moment he yelled at me.
"Hindi kita mahal. Bakit hindi mo talaga maintindihan? Hindi kita mahal, Diyos ko! Puta ka, Amy. Grabe, kinamumuhian kita, Amy."
(I don't love you. Why can't you understand? I don't love you, my God! You're a bitch, Amy. Damn it, I hate you, Amy.)
😭💔
As those words replayed in my mind, everything came rushing back.
The pain. The lies. The memories.
But I wasn't going to let a boy ruin my future. 🥱💋
Especially not because he couldn't control himself.
But the funny thing was, I didn't even understand most of what he said. 😭🤣
Even my mom was confused.
"Sweetheart, what is he even saying?"
I didn't answer her. Instead, I tried my best to control my laughter.
One thing was for sure, though: I knew what "Hindi kita mahal" meant.
It meant "I don't love you."
And that was enough for me to understand the most important part.
(Returns to the Present) ⏱️
📚 Library Day
I
was strolling down the hallway with Kierra when I noticed a fight breaking out.
Even before we got there, I already knew who was involved.
And when we finally arrived, I was right.
It was Justin fighting one of the jocks, Lucas. But I was shocked to see Mendez on top of another jock—Lucas's brother, Tony—choking him.
Meanwhile, Justin was still punching Lucas, and everyone around them was placing bets on who would win.
Then, the students started cheering.
"Let's go, Justin! Let's go!"
"Let's go, Mendez! Let's go!"
Suddenly, we heard Justin yell, "Talk about my girl again, you little dipshit, and I will fucking end you!"
Nobody was stopping them.
The jocks were badly injured and begged Justin and Mendez to stop and let them go.
It was pure chaos, and if nobody else was going to stop it, then we would.
I glanced at Kierra, and she immediately understood what I was planning to do.
She nodded, and we both rushed forward.
I grabbed Justin and tried to pull him away from Lucas, while Kierra did the same with Mendez.
"Get off him!" I yelled.
Justin was still trying to get back to Lucas, his anger far from fading. I held on to him as tightly as I could, refusing to let him go.
Kierra was struggling to keep Mendez away from Tony, too.
Everyone immediately went silent and stared at us.
Then, a voice suddenly boomed through the hallway.
"What's going on here, people? There's still school! Get back to your classrooms now!"
The teacher sounded furious.
Without wasting another second, we hurried away.
Mr. Phill, Lucas and Tony's father, caught up with the jocks. However, by the time he arrived, we were already back in the classroom.
Lucas and Tony kept insisting that Justin had attacked them, but Mr. Phill didn't seem interested in hearing their side of the story.
Instead, he slapped Lucas so hard that Lucas stumbled and fell to the floor.
We were all shocked.
Tony immediately tried to help his brother, but their father kicked him away.
Lucas got up and rushed toward his little brother, tears filling his eyes as he glared at Mr. Phill.
But Mr. Phill didn't seem to care.
"Get into your classrooms and get out of my sight immediately!" he ordered.
Then, he noticed the students watching everything that had happened.
And just like that, his entire attitude changed.
He suddenly acted concerned and hurried to help Tony up.
However, Lucas pushed him away.
Mr. Phill simply smiled, but we all knew it wasn't a genuine smile.
He grabbed Lucas's arm and whispered something into his ear.
Lucas's expression darkened. He looked absolutely furious, but he eventually accepted his father's help.
The students began whispering among themselves, questioning Mr. Phill's character.
"Isn't he the nicest teacher we used to have back in third grade?" one student asked.
Mr. Phill turned toward us and gave us a fake smile.
Then, he pulled out a remote and pressed a button.
Immediately, the windows turned blurry.