(PART ONE: The Yearning for a Normal Life.)

The young woman remained sitting, eyeing the window that she sat next two and stared outside aimlessly.

Class was in session, but with the day drawing to a close, she did not bother to pay attention to most of what the teacher was saying.

Then again, it was not like she wanted to return home anyway. Actually, she would rather find a way to stay overnight at the school grounds than head over to that place, making her one of the rare students who would prefer a day at school than staying at home.

Fourteen year-old Jolene Aurora kept her quiet thoughts to herself as she sat at the back of the class, not giving anyone else much attention.

She was a particularly quiet kid, and she already had a pretty bad reputation of one who was constantly bullied by a popular girl group on the opposite end of the class. It was never an easy thing to face those who mocked your personal life and would run into you after school periods and harass you constantly.

Even so, she consistently tried to keep her eyes off of them and remain silent, harboring her true feelings from everyone.

No true friends were made so far, but that was fine. There had to be other people like her that were probably doing just fine while living her life…if there were even people who were experiencing things that she was.

Suddenly, the bell rang, signalling the end of the last period, and the teacher had dismissed the class.

On a Friday afternoon, the spirits were high among the students, but Jolene's mood was the same as ever as she only thought about the long trip back home.

She stood up and sighed, before reaching for her bag.

"H-Hey, Jolene."

"...Huh?"

She flinched as she heard her name, and naturally raised her head as she stared at one of the most handsome boys in her class.

Wait, what?

Her face tightened as her heart skipped a beat, and she waited for what he had to say.

"So…my friend group was about to head out to karaoke, and well, we thought about bringing in some new people from outside the group. I was thinking….uh, maybe you would like to join us. So, what do you say?"

Her eyes widened, and then she began to stutter almost immediately.

"Oh, t-thanks for asking m-me. I would-"

Love to, she wanted to say, but her words were caught in her throat as her averted eyes caught sight of the harsh glare from one of the bullies.

"....Sorry, I….r-really gotta get home. T-Thank you, though."

"Oh…."

"Bye."

"Jolene, wai….ugh."

Ignoring his plea, she grabbed her bag and quickly exited, making a fast exit.

A normal life. A normal life that kids loved to live, spending time with the people they loved. That was the type of life that she yearned for, but she couldn't even…

I can't even have something as simple as that, she thought, feeling heat rising in her cheeks and an itching sensation welling up in her watered eyes.

She inhaled deeply and wiped her eyes with frustration, and began to head out onto the sidewalks on exiting the school compound.

From one terrible situation to another, she pondered, as she began to think about her home, and despite wanting to just leave everything that she knew and run away as far away as she could, her fear propelled her legs to keep moving in the direction that she knew all too well.

A knot in her stomach was tightening, and she winced as she nervously strutted on.

Then, she heard a sly giggle from behind her, and she almost jumped out of her skin while looking backwards.

"Well, well, looks like you finally noticed, huh, Jolene?"

Crap!

Her fear multiplied as she noticed a familiar group of girls walking cooly behind her. She had been so agitated and focused on her internal thoughts that she did not even hear their footsteps.

She gulped down saliva that was built inside, and gripped the hem of her skirt slightly with her right hand as one of the girls piped up:

"Let's have a little talk in the alley over there, shall we?"

***

(PART TWO: Why is it Still Raining?)

To put it simply, Jolene had gotten beat up in a nearby alley.

Noticing that she was 'trying to flirt' with her crush, the leader of the group made her apprentices hold her down while she slapped her, spit on her, kicked her in the chest, and punched her in the stomach, leaving her gasping for air as she slumped onto the ground, going limp.

"Maybe that will teach a piece of scum like you some manners!" her oppressor said with a scornful face. "Trash like you don't even deserve to live, so stop trying to act so high and mighty while going after someone's man, bitch."

Jolene coughed and groaned, and the group of girls simply laughed and mocked her before taking their leave.

She pushed herself up against the wall and stared upwards, looking at the dark clouds that formed above her.

"....Rain, huh?"

She smirked faintly and then wheezed from the pain.

….Maybe they're right.

With only that thought being formed in her mind, she hoisted herself upwards by using the wall as a crutch for her arm, and then slung her bag over her shoulder and kept moving despite the faintly noticeable bruise on her face.

Then after a few minutes of walking, a downpour of rain ensued.

…Great.

Quickly skipping over to a nearby closed store with a wooden roof that sheltered her from the rain, she fiddled with her pocket-sized umbrella in her bag, and whipped it out, but she decided not to open it.

Even if I try to use this umbrella, the intensity of this rain is a bit too much. I'll have to wait until it lessens, she concluded. Although, I'll have to explain to my mother that it was definitely the rain and not anything else that caused me to arrive late, and she'd be suspicious of me either way. Shit…

All of a sudden, she heard a faint sound close to her, and she quickly shifted her gaze sideways, eyeing a boy who looked ahead.

…

…

…

Wait, was he always here!? I didn't even recognize his presence! Creepy!

She deduced this unfamiliar boy to be at least ten or eleven years old, a bit younger than her. She quickly averted her eyes, not wanting to stare, but she also noticed his slender body and black hair.

Just an average looking guy.

A few minutes passed, but the volume of the rain did not fade away one bit, and Jolene let out an internal sigh.

Why is it still raining?

Naturally, she side-eyed the young boy next to her once more, and she flinched as their eyes met.

"U-Uh…"

"You look hurt."

"Huh?" she paused, and then touched her slightly swollen right cheek before relaxing her expression. "Oh, yeah. It's nothing."

"A pretty girl like you should not have injuries. Please be careful next time."

"S-Sure thi-wait, huh?"

Who…just who is this kid!?

She stared at him and blinked rapidly, but then she noticed his solemn expression.

"I don't like seeing people who seemingly live normal lives getting hurt like I do, so please…" he continued, before handing out a bandage to her, and she subconsciously took it with widened eyes finally realizing the tiny bruise marks by his neck, face, and arms.

This kid…about ten years old, all alone, with marks like this…

Her expression grew serious, and her left hand moved over to touch her scar on her stomach that was hidden by her school uniform.

Then, she handed over her umbrella.

"What…are you doing?" the boy asked with a tilted head, a bit confused.

"Take it, and go home to your parents.They must be worried that their son is out on his own like this. Parents can be scary when they are worried about you. Trust me, I know, so take it."

He exchanged glances with her and then his gaze went downwards at the umbrella, pondering about something. Then, without refusing or contesting her idea, he took it and opened it.

"When should I return it to you?"

"Keep it."

"....How will you get home? You don't seem much older than me."

"Hey, you ask way too many questions, you know. The rain finally seems to have calmed down just a bit, so I'll run through it."

"You'll get wet. We should sha-"

"N-No shit." she responded with a sigh. "Like I said, keep it. It will help with my excuse of being drenched in the rain so that I can wash up and stay alone in my room for the rest of the day."

".....Okay. Thank you."

The young boy remained expressionless, but he bowed slightly, and then turned to leave.

However, just as he was about to exit while Jolene also prepared to sash through the rain, he stopped, and then turned back to ask:

"What's your name?"

With the bandage on her cheek, Jolene responded instantly.

"Jolene."

"Nice name."

"Yours?"

"Lio is fine."

With that simple answer, the boy hurriedly left, and Jolene could not get to say a proper goodbye.

{TO BE CONTINUED, ARC 5.}

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