Chapter 59 Bullies

Elena Garcia POV:

I walked up to the window and couldn't believe what I was seeing.

A girl was surrounded by a bunch of kids her age, and they were trying to rip her clothes off while she desperately held on, trying not to be stripped.

The bullies were laughing like it was the funniest thing ever, and one of them had her phone out, ready to record the whole thing.

"Don't move, Sophia!" one of the bullies sneered.

"Get away from her, you jerks!" Sophia yelled.

In the chaos, I saw her face. It was Sophia Wood, Nancy's sister.

I was so stunned I could barely think straight.

'How is she here? Nancy's still looking for her. What are these idiots doing to her?' I thought.

"Stop it! You disgusting creeps!" I shouted. The window was in my way, and I had two choices: go around or climb through it.

I didn't have time to waste, so I climbed in through the window and grabbed the milk bottle from my bag, ready to use it as a weapon.

It might've looked silly, but no one would want to get hit with a full milk bottle.

"Who the hell are you? Fuck off," a girl snapped at me.

"Sophia, is this your new friend? Why didn't you introduce us?" another one mocked.

"Oh my God! She's ruining our fun!" someone else whined.

The bullies looked me up and down, clearly unimpressed.

But they let go of Sophia. I guess they didn't want to risk getting milk all over them.

"Elena?" Sophia asked, her voice shaky.

She scrambled to her feet, turned her head to look at me, and then froze in disbelief when she realized it was me.

I moved in front of her, shielding her.

"It's me," I said, then turned to the bullies. "If you don't back off, I'm calling the cops!"

What they were doing was way beyond bullying; it was criminal.

If I hadn't stepped in, who knew what would've happened to Sophia.

When I mentioned the police, the bullies looked a bit scared, but they still tried to act tough. "We were just joking around with Sophia!"

"No joke looks like this. You guys are acting like the thugs from the neighborhood," I snapped.

That hit a nerve. Their faces twisted with anger.

"Don't compare us to those low-life scum!" one girl shouted.

They clearly hated being compared to the lower class. So arrogant.

In my old neighborhood, people might not have been rich, but they were kind.

The leader of the bullies stepped forward, arms crossed, giving me a smug look.

She seemed calmer and more dangerous than the rest.

"Who the hell are you, idiot? Sophia, tell her we're friends, and this is just a joke, right? You wouldn't call the cops over a joke, would you? You know what that means, right?" she said slowly.

I could feel Sophia tense up behind me.

'This is a threat! Who do they think they are?' I realized.

I smashed the milk bottle on the ground in front of them, and the sound of breaking glass made them scream. 

"Damn it! You crazy bitch!"

As I reached into my bag for something else, Sophia grabbed my sleeve. "Stop! Elena."

I turned to her, and her eyes were filled with panic.

Sophia looked at me, her eyes red, biting her lip. "We were just joking, Elena. They didn't hurt me."

"Sophia!" I said, shocked and heartbroken.

The bullies' faces lit up with arrogance. Hearing Sophia's words, they burst into laughter. "Stop playing hero. You're pathetic! But don't worry, soon you'll be just like Sophia, our little toy."

As the bullies left, their leader made sure to bump into my shoulder, knocking me to the ground.

Once it was just Sophia and me, I heard her let out a sigh of relief, followed by quiet sobbing.

Sophia cried as she walked over to help me up. "You did something stupid, getting involved in my mess."

"Who are they, Sophia? Why didn't you want to call the police?" I asked.

I stood up and saw how exhausted she looked. I rummaged through my pockets and found a handkerchief, which I handed to her.

Sophia thanked me and wiped her tears. She seemed hesitant to answer my question.

I didn't want to push her. People who got bullied often found it hard to talk about it, which was why bullies kept getting away with it.

Getting them to open up was like asking them to cut into their own wounds. I didn't want to do that.

So I decided to remind her about Nancy. "Nancy and I are in the same dorm. Because of the message you sent her earlier, she misunderstood something and has been crying. I suggested she call you, but she couldn't reach you. I think you should give her a call."

"No, her tears will make her allergic!" Sophia said urgently.

She looked anxious. She really cared about Nancy. She retrieved her phone from the nearby bushes. I guessed that was why she couldn't answer Nancy's calls. When Nancy called, Sophia was being bullied, and her phone had been thrown aside.

Sophia eagerly asked me where our dorm was.

After I told her, she didn't care about her disheveled state and rushed to Nancy's side.

"She always carries her medication, Sophia." I led her towards the dorm.

On the way, I tried to ask her again about what had just happened.

"Just like what you saw, I'm being bullied at school. It's terrible, and I don't want Nancy or my family to know about it. When she told me she got admitted into the same school and major as me, I freaked out and told her to leave," Sophia explained.

"But your words hurt Nancy deeply. She doesn't know anything and thinks you hate her," I reminded.

Sophia fell silent.

After a while, she said slowly, "I just want to protect her. If she knew I was being bullied, she would definitely confront those bullies to protect me. They'd love to have another target."

Sophia glanced at me. "Just like you."

"I won't let them bully me." I waved my fist.

Sophia looked at me and laughed, but then she became even sadder. "I thought the same, but it didn't work out for me."

She looked at me, her eyes shifting as if she was hesitating. "But you probably won't end up as bad as me. At least you and Sofia seem to get along on the surface, so they won't target Sofia's sister too much."

I sensed that the bullying Sophia faced might have something to do with Sofia.

I remembered hearing the bullies mention Laura's name earlier.

"Not really. If it's like what you said, they might target me even more because I'm Sofia's sister," I said.

I took a deep breath and told Sophia about Sofia's dislike for me, and I thanked her.

I thought back to the first party when she approached me, maybe to warn me about Sofia, but at that time, I still liked my perfect sister Sofia very much.

I told Sophia that whether I chose to help her or not, Sofia and her friends wouldn't leave me alone.

She lied in front of my parents and even had her friends humiliate me at the party held for her.

This surprised Sophia. I thought she might doubt me, but she didn't.

She just said, "She's always been good at that, just like I warned you at the party."

I had gained part of her trust.

"Now we're in the same boat. For the sake of our future at school, I think we should form an alliance," Sophia suggested.

Since we were allies, there should be no secrets.

Sophia told me why she was being targeted and why she didn't dare to call the police.