[CONTENTID1]PROLOGUE[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]The loud laughter of students from this school erupted at the exact moment when the final bell for the day rang.

Quietly picking up my bags, I darted towards the door and out of the classroom, my destination being the safe premises of my home.

"MiRan!" yelled an idly familiar voice of the one person who was somehow a friend to me. "There're people ganging up on one of the first year boys!" she exclaimed, pointing her finger at the scene outside the window.

Though her face carried a worried expression, one glance at her eyes told me that she actually enjoyed the current occurences. Pupils widening, she could barely hold in her ill-mannered smile.

Simply looking at her horrifyingly twisted face made me cringe and take a small step back. "What's the fun in ganging up on somebody? That's called cruelty. I'm going home." I stated bluntly and her face twisted even more. This time it was something between a sneer and disbelief.

"It's one of those fights which we have to attend in order to raise our reputation. It would be good if we could stand in the front, so that more people would be able to see me." she started to ramble, her head tilted to the side and a finger to her lips. She probably hasn't yet realised, but at this point in her one-sided conversation, she already brought all the attention to herself, forgetting to include me.

The matter was laughable, really.

"Are you listening to me, MiRan?" she asked, her hand waving in front of my face. "Come quickly, before the fight doesn't end!" she gasped and taking my wrist into her hand she ran towards the back grounds of our school, where no outsider eyes could catch a glimpse of what's happening inside.

This was a place loved by many violators, because teachers barely spared a glance to this corner, and it was often left unattended. Currently, in the center of that same garden, a small circle of students has gathered. Cheers and wolf-whistles erupting from their mouths sounded far worse than any street jargon I have heard.

The one thing I knew for sure about conventions such as these is that nothing good would come out of it.

Injuries. Blood. Distrust. The poor boy won't ever lift his face again just to see into somebody's eyes. Because he will know what may be the consequences. He will stay as a quiet mouse in his own gray corner, surrounded by dust. He will simply be a bystander. Just like me.

Close your eyes, MiRan, and you won't see. Don't breathe, and the smell will disappear. Mask your face, and they won't notice your wavering emotions.

Ignorance was the key to pass the harsh three years of high-school, but to achieve such a thing... You couldn't possibly be a human. So that's why there's only a cover of ignorance on my face. Behind it lies the untouched and fragile seventeen-year-old that wants to enjoy her life to the fullest.

"MiRan, are you going?" asked the same familiar voice that brought me here. I shook my head with my eyes still closed. I couldn't trust my voice to stay strong, and this was the only option for an answer. I heard her scoff, walking away afterwards.

Letting out a big sigh that I was holding in the whole time, I took sneaky peeks around me, just to make sure that there was not a soul around the back grounds.

Throwing my school bag to the side, I crouche