After Martha left the table, Max and Mia remained silent, not speaking a word to each other. The atmosphere around them was tense and awkward. Mia immediately regretted not following Martha to the bathroom.

Although the harsh words she was hearing around her were heart-piercing, those words weren't as devastating as sitting beside the one person who she loved so dearly, and the both of them acting like total strangers.

Max regretted not forcing Martha to stay back with them... It was really so awkward being left alone with his ex. Aish.

Several moments passed before he summoned up the courage to speak.

"Are you okay?" He asked in his cool voice, throwing a sideways glance at Mia.

The girl replied by nodding her head. Then she let out a small smile.

They both fell silent again.

Max bit hesitantly on his lip as he eyed her, "are you angry?" 

Mia pursed her lips. Again, she nodded her head in response.

Truth be told, she realized that she was no longer angry. Instead, she felt sad and empty.

Max knew the girl just lied. I mean, who wouldn't be full of anger and hatred after the her boyfriend suddenly broke up with her and got together with her best friend instead. Lie.

 The girl was only pretending to be non-chalant about the situation. 

"You can't blame Martha, or me, about it... We didn't plan for things to happen that way--it just happened. You need to let go of any anger you're feeling and move on, okay?" 

Mia's heart wrung and her eyes stung as those words pierced through her soul. She looked up from her trembling hands and turned in her chair to face Max--the boy she'd been in love with her whole life.

Was this still the same person? Saying those words effortlessly... like they were nothing? Such painful words...

Did he even ever love her at all? Had it all been some sort of... Mia felt her heart crushed. 

All this while, Martha was watching the two of them through a small window in annoyance. her whole body fumed with anger. What were they discussing? Was that girl trying to snatch her man? How dare her be so comfortable, talking to her man like that? 

She balled up her hands angrily. She'd teach her a lesson she'd never forget; one that would put that girl in her place forever.

It hadn't been easy securing Max and having him all to herself, and now, that bitch wanted to snatch him away from her? No way. 

Martha wasn't the only one feeling jealous right now, right in the far end of the cafeteria, a boy threw frequent glances at the cute the girl sitting beside her boyfriened. He felt sad, but there was absolutely nothing he could do than keep mute and watch the girl--like he'd always done. 

The bell soon rang and everyone in the cafeteria returned back to their classes. The rest of the day went uneventfully. 

Several hours later, school came to an end for the day. Students trooped out of school in different directions...

"Go ahead without me, Mia. I'm sorry, I have plans with Max--I'll see you later." 

When Mia had gone in search of Martha, so they could go back to the dorm together, the girl told her just that.

"Oh..."

Martha panicked, "I hope you don't mind."

Mia noticed her panic stricken face and quickly shook her head severally. "No. Not at all." She waved her hands in the air. 

Martha and Max were together now, so they should be free to do whatever it is that they'd like to do. They were now a couple. 

Mia forced out a small smile and waved at Martha. She then began to leave the school premises. 

What a life. Who would have thought that things would tuyrn out to be the way it was now? 

Lost deep in thought as she walked down the alley that led to the dorm, she didn't notice when a group of girls surrounded her. Judging from the school uniform threy were wearing, they were from Mia's school.

When Mia finally collected herself, she looked around, taking in her surroundings. When she saw the girls, she swallowed uneasily and her heartbeat quickened at once.

Of course, she knew them. This group of girls were known for their viciousness. They derived sheer joy in bullying--they wouldn't stop until their victim became completely lifeless. 

Seeing how they encircled her, Mia knew they were here for her. 

"P-pl-please..." Tears streamed down her face as she pleaded with them. 

Her plea fell on deaf ears. With swift movements, the gang of bullies attacked her. They beat her to pulp. By the time they were done, Mia was lying, lifeless, on the ground.

After beating the girl to her satisfaction, "this will continue to occur until you leave Max alone and let him return to Martha." Vivian, the gang leader, issued Mia a warning.

*As if Max was a thing of possession...

She gave the girl a final kick in the stomach before bouncing away with the rest of her girls. Mia howled loudly, writhing in pain.

All the onlookers--students from Mia's school--merely sneered and snickered at her. Actually, to the best of their knowledge, the girl deserved more than the beating she'd just received.

Some of them had even brought out their phones and recorded the beating from beginning to end. It would make a hot gist in school tomorrow. 

The crowd slowly dispersed little by little. Show was over. 

Mia remained unmoving on the ground. Her whole body felt like it was set on fire, but she had no strength to even wriggle in pain. The only thing moving on her body was tears slipping from her eyes.

 She'd been terribly battered. Her school uniform was completely ruined... She tried to manage and get up on her feet but it seemed impossible to do as she couldn't even move her hand. So, she just laid there on the ground, motionless.

She might end up sleeping in the alleyway till the next day as no one was willing to help. What a life. Wasn't she living the best life on earth?...

As if the heavens were on her side, "Mia?" she heard a very farmilair voice call her name. 

But she couldn't even move any part of her body, talk more her head, so as to see who it was that'd called her.

After moving closer to the person lying on the ground and confirming that it was indeed her elder sister, Vivian rushed to the girl's side with immediate effect. She hastily knelt on the ground. 

"What happened?--who did this to you?!" She was very angry. 

Although, she and Mia were half-sisters, she held Mia dearly to her heart. She did not joke with her at all. 

Mia was too weak to say a word, so Vivian gently helped her up from the ground. 

She picked also picked her sister's bag from the ground and then put Mia's arm around her neck. With difficulty, she began to help the girl to the dormitory.