The rain poured slowly and doggedly down, as if signifying her depression. It was a day of darkness and gloominess that made everyone feel down including her. The air was damp, and the streets were wet. In the corner of the classroom, a girl sat all by herself. She couldn’t contain her feelings as she just let the tears flow down her flushed cheeks one by one.

Her name was Holly and she was desperately calling out for help deep inside her. She needed comfort. She wanted a friend. Just one true friend would be more than enough.

The school bell rang which signaled everyone to take their break. It was time for break so obviously, everyone would be heading to the cafeteria, including Holly.

She passed the hallways, clutching her bag close to her. She wiped the excess tears away as she raised her head up high. She gathered all her confidence as she tried her best to avoid all the murmurs, gossips, and all the rumors she just heard that were all about her.

They called her names. They picked on her. They were so rude and disrespectful and she didn’t like being treated that way. Not one bit.

“Hey, you!” a guy shouted from behind. Holly was fully aware but she just ignored it and walked faster. “You’re a loser and nobody wants to be friends with you!” the boy continued to ramble on and on about her. She turned in one corner and immediately lost track of the shouting. She sighed and went inside the cafeteria.

Not much to her surprise, almost everybody was staring at her. Some were even glaring at her and eying her from head to toe. She kept her head down and gave everybody a faint smile. She knew it wouldn’t work but at least she tried, right?

She decided to sit at a table but the tables filled up quickly and she was left alone, just standing all by herself. She let out a sigh of annoyance. She knew this was going to happen.

She blinked a couple of times to hide her watery eyes. A group of girls were giggling and snickering while the other guys just laughed at her while pointing at her disgustedly. What did she ever do to them to receive this much hatred? Seriously, why? Why is this happening to her?

She lost her appetite a long while ago. She decided not to eat and she went straight to the door to head out of the school cafeteria. She made her decision. She was going to the school garden.

The school garden was the only place she could relax and have some time for herself. Whenever she’s there, her soul would just feel comfortable and it just soothes her mind. Her favorite place in the school garden was under the big oak tree which made a big shade and let her hide, making people completely unaware of her presence.

She sat under the big tree, and gave herself a weak smile. She felt safer. The ground was completely dry already and the green grass felt good against her subtle skin as she rested her head on the tree, grinning to herself. It was so nice here. No one would ever come here because it was ‘too dark’ for them. But for Holly, it suits her just fine.

She sighed once more. How many more times does she still have to sigh this day? She was completely tired of it already.

She stopped smiling. She remembered the time when Mike, her classmate, punched and kicked her two days ago. She didn’t fight back because she knew that if she did, she wouldn’t gain anything out of it. She immediately pulled up her sleeves. She saw black and blue bruises that were bigger than the last time she saw them. She gaped and pulled up her jeans up, too. They were like a copy paste version of what she just saw just now. They were big bruises that were