The Flowers Remember Chapter 2

[Yep, studied hard today!]

As if to prove it, he sent a photo of himself in the library.

In the picture, the boy wore a crisp white shirt, his eyes crinkling with a sunny smile. He stood by a bookshelf, looking studious and handsome, the very picture of a perfect gentleman.

It was all a beautiful, disgusting lie.

I was grateful I’d never sent him a photo of myself. Grateful he hadn't recognized me. It was the only reason I had the chance to see the real him.

I couldn't afford to miss class and fall behind, so I didn't dare stay home.

After the first period, Tiffany dragged me into the girls' bathroom. She and her friends cornered me by the sinks.

"Emily, I can't believe you still have the nerve to show your face. Tsk, tsk. I guess they didn't hit you hard enough last night."

"Haha, maybe she's just thick-skinned. She's so ugly and gross, if she wasn't shameless she would've killed herself by now!"

"No wonder her name is Emily. Sounds like 'lowly.' Lowly and tough as a pig!"

Her friends chimed in with a chorus of insults as one of them scooped up a bucket of filthy toilet water and dumped it over my head. The stench and the cold, wet feeling of it soaking through my clothes made me want to vomit.

"Tsk, tsk, Emily. You really are as ugly and filthy as a pig," Tiffany sneered.

She grabbed my hair, slapped me twice across the face, then washed her hands as if she'd touched something dirty before sauntering out.

I slid down the tiled wall and collapsed onto the floor, burying my face in my knees, fighting to hold back the tears.

Tiffany locked me in there for the entire morning. I wasn't let out until the lunch bell rang.

I thought that would be the end of it for the day.

But she wasn't finished.

For the rest of the week, my desk was constantly vandalized, my homework would mysteriously disappear. After a few times, the teachers stopped believing me.

Tiffany was a ghost haunting my every step, taking pleasure in my humiliation.

That evening, I stayed late at the library, hoping to avoid her on my way home.

It was no use. She was waiting for me at the entrance with her crew.

She knocked my thermos out of my hands. It clattered to the ground, and the coffee I'd brought to help me stay awake splashed all over my legs.

My new white pants were instantly stained.

I glared at her, furious. As I opened my mouth to speak, I caught Edmund Carter’s warning gaze from where he stood beside her, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his expression full of contempt.

"Tsk. Got a problem, Emily?" Tiffany shoved me, and I fell backward.

I landed right in the puddle of spilled coffee and dirt. The earthy, bitter smell was sickening.

Her friends erupted in laughter, mocking me, saying I looked like a pig wallowing in slop.

They even tried to force my face down into the puddle, to make me drink it.

My cheek was inches from the grimy floor when the librarian came to lock up.

"What are you all doing!"

Tiffany and her cronies finally let me go, turning to the librarian with fake, cheerful smiles. "We're just playing truth or dare with Emily!"

"Yeah, Emily lost, so she has to drink the coffee on the floor!"

"No, that's not true," I pleaded, shaking my head and looking desperately at the librarian. "Ma'am, they're forcing me."

The librarian frowned, about to speak, but Tiffany quickly cut in with a sycophantic grin. "Ma'am, don't listen to her. She's just trying to get out of the dare!"

"Yeah, Emily, don't be a sore loser! You lost, fair and square. Why are you tattling to the teacher?"

Tiffany twisted the truth, painting me as the bad guy.

Her friends all chimed in.

"Yeah, Emily, you're being so petty."

"It's just a game. You don't have to tell on us just because you don't want to do the dare!"

There were too many of them, and their stories all matched.

Predictably, the librarian believed them. She gave me a disapproving look, then turned to Tiffany. "Alright, that's enough. You're in school to learn, not to play these silly games."

And with that, the librarian left, clearly wanting nothing to do with it.

Tiffany looked down at me, her voice dripping with smug satisfaction. "See, Emily? They're all on my side. No one will ever believe you."

"Tattling to the teachers is useless. I have a hundred ways to get out of trouble. You, on the other hand, won't be so lucky."