The classroom buzzed with laughter.

Students chatted excitedly as the first bell echoed through the hallway. Some were busy finishing homework, while others were planning what to do during lunch break.

In the middle of all the noise...

One girl sat quietly by the window.

Her name was Saru.

She was sixteen years old.

She had long, straight black hair that reached below her waist, warm brown skin, and a tiny beauty mark on her left cheek.

She wasn't the smartest student.

She wasn't the prettiest girl in school.

She wasn't popular either.

In fact...

Most people barely noticed she existed.

Saru preferred it that way.

She had learned a long time ago...

The less people noticed you, the less they could hurt you.

The teacher walked into the classroom.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning, ma'am."

The class began.

Mathematics.

English.

Chemistry.

Everything felt normal.

At least...

It looked normal from the outside.

Because inside...

Saru's heart had been carrying a weight for years.

When she was six years old...

She lost the person she loved the most.

Her mother.

She still remembered standing beside the hospital bed, holding her mother's hand with her tiny fingers.

"Mom..."

"When are we going home?"

There was no answer.

Only silence.

That was the last time she ever saw her mother's smile.

After the funeral...

Everything changed.

The house became quiet.

Too quiet.

Her father never recovered from losing his wife.

He buried himself in work.

Every morning, he left before Saru woke up.

Every night, he returned after she had fallen asleep.

Sometimes...

Days passed without them having a proper conversation.

Saru slowly started believing...

"Maybe Dad doesn't love me anymore."

She never knew...

He loved her more than anyone.

He simply didn't know how to live with his grief.

Fortunately...

Life had given Saru one last reason to smile.

Her grandmother.

Whenever she visited her grandmother's house, it felt like home again.

Her grandmother cooked her favorite meals.

Combed her long hair every morning.

Read bedtime stories every night.

Before sleeping, she would gently kiss Saru's forehead and whisper,

"Promise me one thing."

"No matter how difficult life becomes..."

"Never stop being kind."

Saru would always smile.

"I promise, Grandma."

But promises are difficult to keep...

When life keeps taking away the people you love.

When Saru turned thirteen...

Her grandmother passed away.

She stood quietly at the funeral.

Everyone around her cried.

Saru didn't.

Not because she wasn't heartbroken...

But because she had already cried too much as a child.

That night...

She hugged her grandmother's old shawl and silently stared at the ceiling until sunrise.

From that day onward...

She learned to hide every emotion behind a small smile.

Three years later...

She was now a tenth-grade student.

Most people thought she was shy.

Some thought she was arrogant.

The truth was much simpler.

She was scared.

Scared of getting close to people.

Scared of losing them again.

The lunch bell rang.

Students rushed out of the classroom.

Saru quietly picked up her lunch box and walked toward the school garden.

She liked eating alone beneath the old tree near the basketball court.

It was peaceful there.

No noise.

No questions.

No fake smiles.

As she sat down, she noticed something unusual.

A frightened first-year girl was surrounded by four senior girls.

"Give us your lunch."

One girl pushed her.

Another snatched her bag.

Her books fell onto the ground.

The little girl looked terrified.

Around them...

Dozens of students watched.

Nobody moved.

Nobody helped.

Saru looked away.

She told herself...

"Don't interfere."

"It isn't your problem."

Then...

She remembered her grandmother's words.

"Never stop being kind."

She slowly stood up.

Walked toward them.

And spoke in a calm voice.

"Leave her alone."

The girls turned around.

One of them laughed.

"And who exactly are you?"

Saru ignored the question.

She bent down.

Picked up the girl's books.

Brushed the dust off the covers.

Then handed them back with a gentle smile.

"It's okay."

The frightened girl nodded with tears in her eyes.

One of the bullies stepped closer.

"You think you're some kind of hero?"

Saru looked directly into her eyes.

"No."

"I just don't like people hurting someone weaker than them."

Silence.

For a few seconds...

Nobody spoke.

Then the leader smirked.

"Fine."

She leaned close enough for only Saru to hear.

"Congratulations."

"You just became our next target."

The girls walked away laughing.

The younger girl whispered,

"Thank you..."

Before running away.

Saru stood there alone.

A strange feeling settled inside her chest.

Something told her...

This wasn't over.

That evening...

She returned home.

Her father was already asleep on the sofa, exhausted after another long day at work.

A file still rested in his hands.

Saru quietly covered him with a blanket.

She smiled sadly.

"Good night, Dad."

There was no reply.

She walked into her room, opened her school diary, and placed her mother's old photograph inside.

Looking at it, she whispered,

"Mom..."

"I hope I did the right thing today."

She switched off the light.

Outside...

Rain began to fall.

The next morning...

Saru took a deep breath before entering her classroom.

She smiled to herself.

"Today will be better."

She slowly pushed the classroom door open.

The moment she stepped inside...

The entire class burst into laughter.

Some students covered their mouths.

Others pointed at her.

Confused...

Saru slowly looked toward the blackboard.

Her heartbeat stopped.

Written across it in huge black letters were the words—

WELCOME TO HELL, SARU.

Underneath the sentence...

Someone had drawn a smiling face with tears running down its cheeks.

Saru's fingers trembled.

Her breathing became uneven.

Behind her...

A cold voice whispered—

"This is only the beginning."

The classroom fell silent.

Saru stood frozen at the door.

Her eyes were fixed on the blackboard.

"WELCOME TO HELL, SARU."

The words were written in thick black marker.

Underneath them was a smiling face with tears running down its cheeks.

Laughter echoed through the classroom.

Some students whispered.

Others pointed at her.

Saru's fingers tightened around the strap of her school bag.

She wanted to ask...

"Who did this?"

But no words came out.

She slowly walked to her seat and quietly erased the blackboard.

No anger.

No tears.

Just silence.

"Who wrote this?"

The class teacher entered and looked around the room.

Nobody answered.

The students acted as if nothing had happened.

The teacher sighed.

"If I find out who did this, there will be consequences."

Everyone lowered their heads.

No one spoke.

Saru knew...

No one ever would.

The day passed slowly.

Whenever she answered a question in class, someone laughed.

Whenever she stood up, someone whispered her name.

She tried to ignore it.

"Maybe they'll stop tomorrow."

She wanted to believe that.

During lunch break, Saru opened her lunch box.

Before she could take her first bite...

A hand suddenly knocked the bottle over.

Water spilled all over her food.

The rice turned soggy.

The curry mixed with the water.

Someone laughed from behind.

"Oh no..."

"I think your lunch is crying."

The group burst into laughter.

Saru looked at her ruined lunch.

She quietly closed the lunch box.

"I'm not hungry," she whispered to herself.

She walked away without saying a single word.

As she sat alone under the old tree...

She remembered her grandmother.

"Never let the world change your kind heart."

Saru smiled weakly.

"I'll try, Grandma..."

Even though...

It was becoming harder every day.

After school...

She reached home.

The house was quiet as always.

Her father hadn't returned yet.

She cooked instant noodles for herself.

Finished her homework.

Cleaned the kitchen.

Then sat beside the window.

The rain had started again.

She stared outside for a long time.

Sometimes...

Silence hurt more than words.

It was almost midnight when the front door opened.

Her father finally came home.

He looked exhausted.

His tie was loose.

Dark circles surrounded his eyes.

Without saying a word, he walked toward his room.

"Dad..."

Saru called softly.

He stopped.

For a moment...

She thought he would finally talk to her.

Instead, he simply nodded.

"I'm tired."

Then he closed the bedroom door.

Saru stood there alone.

She smiled.

But this time...

Her smile disappeared almost immediately.

The next morning...

She reached school earlier than usual.

She wanted one peaceful morning.

But fate had other plans.

She opened her desk.

Inside...

She found dozens of torn paper pieces.

Each one had the same sentence written on it.

"Nobody wants you here."

Her hands began to shake.

She looked around the classroom.

Everyone was watching her.

Some smiled.

Some pretended not to notice.

At the back of the room...

The leader of the group slowly clapped her hands.

"Welcome to your new life, Saru."

The bell rang.

And for the first time...

Saru realized this wasn't a prank.

This was the beginning of something much worse.

The classroom felt unusually quiet.

Saru stood beside her desk, staring at the torn pieces of paper.

Each one carried the same cruel message.

"Nobody wants you here."

She quietly collected every piece and threw them into the trash.

Not a single tear fell.

She had learned long ago...

Crying only made people laugh harder.

Days passed.

The bullying became worse.

Someone hid her school bag.

Someone poured juice over her notebook.

Someone pushed her chair away just as she was about to sit.

The entire class laughed.

Even those who never bullied her...

Never tried to stop it.

Saru remained silent.

Every single day.

One afternoon...

The class was empty after lunch.

Only the four girls who hated Saru remained inside.

Their leader slowly walked toward her desk.

"So..."

"Still acting like the innocent girl?"

Saru ignored her.

She continued writing.

The girl suddenly grabbed her notebook and threw it onto the floor.

"You think you're better than us?"

Still...

Saru said nothing.

The leader smirked.

"I heard your mother died when you were little."

The classroom became silent.

Saru's hand stopped moving.

Another girl laughed.

"No wonder she left."

"Maybe she couldn't live with a daughter like you."

The girls burst into laughter.

One more voice joined in.

"If she were alive today..."

"She'd probably be ashamed of you."

Everything...

Went silent.

Saru slowly stood up.

Her hands were shaking.

Her breathing became heavy.

For years...

She had tolerated every insult.

Every joke.

Every humiliation.

But not this.

Never her mother.

The leader stepped closer.

"What?"

"Going to cry?"

Instead...

Saru grabbed her by the collar.

The girl's smile disappeared.

The classroom exploded into chaos.

"Let go of me!"

She pushed Saru.

Saru lost her balance.

Her eyes landed on a wooden classroom chair.

Without thinking...

She picked it up.

Everyone froze.

The leader's face turned pale.

"S-Saru..."

With all the pain she had buried for years...

She threw the chair.

CRASH!!

The chair slammed into the wall beside the girl.

The classroom window shattered into hundreds of pieces.

Glass scattered across the floor.

Students screamed.

Some ran outside.

Others stood frozen in fear.

For the first time...

Nobody laughed.

"What is going on here?!"

The class teacher rushed inside.

She looked around in complete shock.

Broken glass.

Students crying.

A chair lying on the floor.

And Saru...

Standing completely still.

Her hands were trembling.

She looked at the broken window.

As if she couldn't believe...

She had done it.

Thirty minutes later...

Saru sat outside the Principal's office.

Her head was lowered.

She hadn't spoken a single word.

Inside the office...

The teachers discussed the incident.

"This has gone too far."

"We need to call her guardian."

The Principal nodded.

"Call her father immediately."

Nearly an hour later...

A man wearing a black office suit hurried into the school.

His breathing was uneven.

His tie was loose.

He had clearly left work in a hurry.

"Where is my daughter?"

The receptionist pointed toward the Principal's office.

He walked in immediately.

The Principal stood up.

"Mr. Sharma..."

"Please, have a seat."

He looked through the glass window.

Outside...

He saw Saru sitting alone.

Head lowered.

Shoulders trembling.

For the first time in years...

He noticed...

How lonely his daughter looked.

— To Be Continued...