Snow Dong, G7, RDF International School

There is always this little blossom outside of our school building. It is just the size of the tip of my pinky. In the morning, it greets the sun with its dazzling white petals, reflecting every inch of the light as white clouds float in the sky. The yellow nectar proudly protrudes from its puffy pouches, and the leaves are lush and green.

But when students streamed out of the school, the tiny blossom would be trampled. The once dazzling petals would be covered in streaks of mud, and the nectar dirty and the leaves turned to a dull, blackish green. Yet every morning I pass by, I could see the tiny blossom return to its liveliness again.

“Huh! You punk! Out of breath now?” A malicious voice shouted in my ear, drawing me back to reality. My body was covered in bruises and cuts; my ankle stung, and my lips split. I looked back at the gang. I was just about to retort when Rullien stepped out, blocking Samantha from delivering me another blow. “She’s not worth it,” Rullien’s voice was soft. Samantha gave me one last glare as she sashayed out of the classroom, and Rullien followed her, casting one last sympathetic glance my way.

I picked up my books scattered across the floor, grabbed my bag and walked out. It was raining. I stopped again where the tiny blossom usually lay. It was missing. I rushed to it, running my fingers across the grass, thinking that it might just be the rain blinding me, but no, not a trace of it, only two tiny dirty petals. Seeing this, my last line of defense crumbled.

“So, class, please give our new student a round of applause! Mr. Lupin!” The door flung open as a 13-year-old stepped in.

With a lollipop in his mouth, wearing a pair of jeans that looked no less than 1,000 dollars, the boy strode towards me and sat next to me on the right side as that was the only vacant seat. I kept my best distance from him, squashing against the wall.