Whispers- Dave Baxter

The halls filled with gossiping teenagers as the bell rung, signaling the end of first period. Lockers banged shut one after another, shoes squeaked on the hard linoleum floors, and the smell of spring roamed the halls.

Su Soo Jin carried her books clutched to her chest as she made her way through the chaos. Her black framed glasses hang precariously on the bridge, just under the arch of her nose and with a free hand, she pushed them up when they slid down. She needed to get a new pair, the weight she'd lost has made them too loose for her face.

Pinches of pain peppered her shoulder as kids pushed past her to find their next classes; her small, delicate frame flailing in every direction. Finding her locker, Soo Jin twisted the combination lock to the three specified numbers and pulled it down. She put away her books while subtly eyeing herself in the mirror that she had placed inside her locker earlier. 

She looked sick. The hollows of her eyes were sunken in, her cheekbones were more pronounced and pointy than ever, her collarbone stuck out dangerously far, and her shoulders were choppy looking from lack of fat.

The last thing she was able to hold down, or wanted to hold down, was a few saltine crackers and even that she regretted. The medicine she was on disabled her from being able to eat certain foods. But because of her skinny state, nearly everything aside from water triggers her gag reflex.

Soo Jin's phone began to chirp with a soft, quiet ring and she pulled it from the pocket of her sweater. The screen displayed her mother's photo with a text underneath:

Come home straight away after school, love. The doctor is far and we can't be late. xx

She was right, Soo Jin figured. The only doctor that considered treating her had one office which so happened to be an hour and a half away from her home. 

It was a small office, large enough to house about twelve people with three rooms and a quaint waiting room. The magazines were always Soo Jin's favorite part of going. They had the best publishings that her family couldn't afford.

After closing her locker quietly unlike the rest of the students, Soo Jin slung her backpack over her shoulder and began her treck to gym class. But before she reached the main exit, she was met with a strong chest and broad shoulders. A pair of arms grabbed her at the waist and whipped her to the ground. The sudden shock of the fall ripped a sharp pain through her hips and she croaked quietly.

Hansol Vernon Chwe, the noutorious rich-boy and narcissist, stood above her with a smirk. He eyed Soo Jin's wardrobe and scoffed, "Did your mom pick those up special at the charity or did you pick them out yourself from the dumpster?"

Soo Jin's eyes fell to the ground, hurt by the poisonous insult being spat at her. The clothes she wore didn't fit her properly, partly because of her lack of weight, her shirt had a few stains on it and her shoes looked as if they had ran a million marathons. She knew her clothes were atrocious, but it was all her parents could afford. Her treatment had taken much of their savings and income.

Hansol, on the other hand, wore a cashmere, cream colored pullover, expensive looking watch, and black Doc Martens. He looked ravishing to Soo Jin, but she doesn't dare admit it out loud. To Hansol, Soo Jin looked like a street person he would spare a penny to on a corner of the city and he doesn't mind expressing that.

During her fall, Hansol noticed a pair of large glasses fly from the awkward girl's face and leaned down at her waist to grab them. In his hands he could tell the pair would never fit his own eyes and offered them back to Soo Jin. That is, until Soo Jin reached for them. Hansol laughed as he threw the glasses down the hallway and watched as they slid across the tiles.

Soo Jin's bottom lip pouted as she stifled sobs that she could feel coming on. Although the bullying and teasing was constant, she never got used to it. She watched on as Hansol opened his locker and clearly checked himself out in the reflective surface. He pinched his hair into place and slammed it shut.

"See you in gym, love and don't forget your glasses." Hansol chuckled, kicking Soo Jin's glasses down the hall once more.

It took a while before Soo Jin was able to get up from the hall floor. By the time she did, it was quiet and empty and the bell rung. She was late for gym. She softly grabbed her glasses from the floor, taking in the cracked lenses and bent frame. A few tears roamed her cheeks and she wiped them away. She couldn't show more weakness, she showed enough as it is.

Gym class was Hansol's favorite class of the day. The sports offered him a release and he never backed down from an opportunity to show off his athleticism. The air wad crisp and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. A great day for a game. Mr. Zo threw a football towards Hansom and he caught it impressively and easily.

"Today, we're playing football. Split up into teams and get to playing." He screamed after blowing his whistle. Everybody dividee into teams relatively quickly and they began a game. A small smirk found its way onto Hansol's face when he noticed his team were all football players and the opposing team was full of weak, inexperienced players.

After scoring three touchdowns, Hansol took a break on the bench. His chest heaved in and out and was drenched in sweat. He decided to strip off the thick tee and exposed his toned chest and abs to the entire class. He sat back with his arms outstretched and looked around the field. His eyes fell on a small figure sitting in the shade under a tree with a notepad and pencil in her lap.

"Yo, Mr. Zo!" Hansol called, "how come that little can sit out and do absolutely nothing?" This comment received nothing but an eye roll from the coach but earned much more from Soo Jin. She heard the absurd question and shoom her head. There was no reason Hansol needed to be so cruel to her. In front of her, her notepad laid with a sketch of Hansol in a rapping stance. She'd spent the majority of class drawing it, but now found herself gawking secretly at Hansol's sweaty abs.

The rest of the day passes slowly for both Hansol and Soo Jin until art class. While Soo Jin was polishing up her drawing of Hansol who was now wearing a hat so it is impossible to tell who he was, Hansol passed by with a pencil in his hand. Soo Jin didn't think much of it until the pencil in the muscular boy's hand dragged haphazardly across her drawing, creating an earthquake looking line through the middle.

This is it. Soo Jin's eyes swell with tears and she gathered her things chaotically. Papers flew every which way, she forgot a few pencils, and ran to the bathroom, crying along the way.

Hansol just watched as Soo Jin flew out of the classroom, proud of his rude and uncalled for behavior. The class stared at him questioningly and he scoffed, taking out his phone and looking at himself in the reflection taking in his beauty.

In the restroom, horrific cries escaped Soo Jin. Her lip quivered, her face turned a bright red, and her hands shook dangerously fast. Through her tear filled eyes, she saw her drawing of Hansol on the floor. She picked it up and flipped it over, all the while tears fell onto it. On the back in her messy handwriting it states:

To Hansol, maybe one day I'll be able to be cool enough. Maybe then you'll realize I'm not so different than you.

Xx Soo Jin.

She threw the picture back into her bag and cursed at herself. Why out of all people does she desire the attention and love of the one who tortures her repeatedly?

Soo Jin spend the rest of the day in the bathroom, wiping her tears, crying some more, and repeating the prior process. Hansol went to his daily classes and met with his group of other rich kids. They were all picked up in Hansol's father's private black Range Rover as the final bell rung for the day and peeled out of the parking lot, laughing obnoxiously.

The spring sun hit Soo Jin harshly as she exited the school. The rays stabbed her tender, cried out eyes and she squinted as she walked down the street to her home. Cars passed her one by one and the wind knocked her to the side occasionally. After a while, her eyes adjusted and she reached a large hill. Soo Jin eyed it and begun her small trek up it, but not twenty steps in, a dull ache pressed into her chest.

"Shít." Soo Jin mumbled and the pain worsened until screeches roared from her. Her heart pumped hard and fast, with each beat it sends white-hot pain throughout her entire body and she collapsed to the ground where she stayed until a passerby found her and called an ambulance.

Before the ambulance arrived and before unconsciousness found her, she looked through squinted eyes and saw a familiar black Range Rover passing by slowly. In the back seat, Hansol, who was now alone, looked at Soo Jin before driving off clearly uninterested in the latter's pain.

As the red and white flashed approach, darkness fell over Soo Jin as she gave in.