Chapter 2

I curled up on the hard dorm bed at school all night.

The morning study session hadn't started yet. I'd just opened my textbook when the homeroom teacher called me to the office.

When I pushed open the door, Barbara was sitting in the chair across from the teacher.

Her shoulders were heaving, a tissue clutched in her hand, her eyes swollen like walnuts.

When she saw me enter, she immediately looked up, her eyes showing just the right amount of grievance and fear as she shrank behind the teacher.

"Alice, you're here."

The teacher's voice was cold as ice.

"Come here and tell me what you did to Barbara yesterday."

I stood at the door without moving.

Barbara began sobbing at just the right moment:

"Please don't force Alice. Yesterday she cornered me in the hallway and said I was a cuckoo in the nest, a bastard. She said she'd make sure I couldn't stay at this school. I... I was so scared."

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear, like small knives stabbing into me with precision.

The teacher's expression darkened further. He picked up his phone from the desk and made a call.

"I've already called your parents. They'll be here soon."

Before long, the office door was pushed open.

My parents walked in.

My dad's face was ashen. My mom was holding Barbara's hand, her eyes full of heartache.

Patterson's voice was filled with suppressed fury.

"What happened? Did Alice bully Barbara again?"

The teacher pushed up his glasses, his tone serious.

"According to Barbara's statement, Alice has repeatedly verbally abused and spread rumors about her on campus, even threatening to make her drop out."

"This kind of school bullying is absolutely intolerable at our school."

Patterson whipped his head toward me, the disappointment in his eyes almost drowning me.

"How could I have a daughter like you! Are you only satisfied when you've completely disgraced our family?"

I opened my mouth but could only produce fragmented breath sounds.

I raised my hand, my fingertips just about to form the gesture for "it wasn't me," when Patterson slapped me across the face.

The sharp crack echoed loudly.

My head jerked to the side, my ears ringing, my cheek burning with pain.

I stared at him in a daze, tears finally spilling over.

"You dare to cry?"

Patterson's voice was full of undisguised disgust.

"You did something wrong and you have the nerve to cry? I think you're deliberately acting pitiful to gain sympathy!"

Barbara beside him let out another sob, burying her head in Lucy's arms.

"Don't scold Alice anymore. I don't blame her."

Lucy shot me a cold glance.

"Born lowly, all you know is how to bully Barbara!"

The office door had been pushed open a crack at some point, with several classmates poking their heads in to look.

Whispered conversations came through clearly.

"So she really did bully Barbara..."

"She seems so quiet, never thought she'd be so vicious."

"I heard even her parents don't want her. No wonder she's so cruel."

Those words were like fine needles piercing my eardrums.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down.

I raised my hands again, signing "I didn't" in sign language.

But I'd only gotten halfway through the motion when the teacher interrupted me.

He frowned, his tone full of impatience.

"Alice, can you stop using these tricks to get attention? If you have something to say, say it. Stop playing these games!"

I froze, my fingertips suspended in midair.

So even my silent defense was just seen as a ploy for attention in their eyes.

Just then, the office door was gently pushed open.

A girl stood in the doorway, her voice weak as she spoke:

"She's not playing games... That's sign language."

Everyone turned to look at the girl in the doorway.

She kept her head down, her fingers clutching tightly at her clothes, but she still gathered her courage and added softly:

"I... I learned a little sign language. What she just said was 'I didn't.' And... she seems to be mute."