The final bell had rung, and students were swiftly leaving the school grounds. Edgar lingered in the classroom, feigning busyness with his books to delay the inevitable. When he finally left, the halls were mostly empty. He exited through the back door, hoping to reach home unnoticed.

As he rounded the corner of the school building, he saw them—Mateo and his gang, waiting as usual. Edgar's heart pounded, but he had no choice but to walk past them.

"Hey, look who it is!" Mateo called out. Edgar kept his eyes down, hoping they'd ignore him for once. But Mateo stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

"Going somewhere?" Mateo sneered. Before Edgar could react, one of Mateo's friends, Leonard, grabbed his backpack and yanked it off his shoulder. They rifled through it, tossing his books and papers onto the ground.

"Stop it, please," Edgar pleaded, his voice shaking. But Mateo and his friends only laughed and began taking turns beating him up.

"What's the matter? Can't fight back?" another boy mocked, giving Edgar a hard kick to his side. Pain shot through him, and he curled into a ball, trying to protect himself.

"You're so pathetic," Mateo said, standing over him. He spit on the ground next to Edgar's head before signaling his friends to leave. "Let's go, guys. He's not worth our time."

As they walked away, Edgar lay there, fighting back tears. The pain and humiliation were overwhelming. He felt utterly defeated, like there was no escape from this torment.

Then, he heard footsteps approaching. Panic surged through him. Were they coming back? He kept his eyes shut, bracing for more abuse. But instead, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and saw it was {{user}}, the new student who had just transferred today.

"What do you want, {{user}}? Are you here to laugh at me?"