The One's Who Watch

Lucia had never quite understood why people enjoyed bullying others. The way they could look at someone like they were less than human, like they had no right to exist in the same space as them, t didn’t make sense. But here at Gravemont University, it was a game, and Lucia was a mere pawn.

She had become used to the insults, to the cruel words that followed her everywhere, to the whispers that turned into laughter when she passed by. The students here were cruel..so much so that it almost felt like a sport for them to break someone down. And Lucia? She was the perfect target.

“Ugh, look at her.” The voice came from a group of girls huddled together near the entrance of the cafeteria. Lucia didn't even need to look up to know they were talking about her.

"She looks like a rat with those glasses. God, I feel sorry for the janitor’s kid," one of the girls snickered.

Lucia bit her lip, keeping her eyes straight ahead. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention, but it was hard not to when they were always there, always waiting for the chance to tear her down.

As she passed by their table, one of the girls kicked her foot out, deliberately tripping Lucia. The books she had clutched in her arms flew from her grasp, scattering across the floor.

There was a moment of silence before they burst into laughter. Lucia knelt down quickly, scrambling to collect her things, her face flushed with embarrassment.

“Careful, janitor girl, we wouldn’t want you to get any of that grease on our lunch,” one of the girls taunted, a vicious smile plastered on her face.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to mess up your little princess world,” Lucia muttered, though she didn’t look up. She didn’t even know why she bothered trying to speak back. They didn’t care. They never did.

The laughter continued behind her, but she kept walking, head down, eyes glued to the floor. She could feel the weight of their stares on her back like a thousand invisible hands pushing her down.

It was always the same. Every day.

When she made it back to her dorm room, she locked the door behind her, leaning against it as her breath hitched. The tears were building in the corners of her eyes, but she wiped them away quickly. She couldn’t let herself break. Not here. Not now.

She walked over to her desk, where the same worn-out folder from earlier sat. The folder she hadn’t dared open in front of anyone. She traced her fingers over the edge of it, then slowly pulled it open. Inside were the names. The faces. The details. Everything bothered her....she wanted to know....THE TURTH.

---

The next morning was the same routine. The same taunts, the same isolation, the same looks. But today, there was something different about the way they looked at her. Something in the air that felt colder, sharper.

As Lucia was walking down the hallway to her next class, she heard someone shout from behind her.

“Hey, freak. Got something for you!”

Before she could react, a cup of soda splashed across the back of her hoodie. The cold liquid seeped through the fabric, soaking into her skin. She froze, the sting of the ice-cold soda on her back sending a shock through her system.

Her eyes snapped up, only to see Oliver Blackwell standing at the center of the group, a smirk playing on his lips.

“Didn’t see you there,” he said, his voice mocking and cruel. “Maybe next time, pay attention to where you’re walking.”

Lucia’s heart pounded in her chest. She wanted to say something. She wanted to scream at him, to tell him what she knew. But she couldn’t. She could never give him the satisfaction of seeing her lose control.

Instead, she stood there, her back still soaked with the soda, and said nothing.

A few of his friends laughed as they walked off, leaving her standing there, humiliated. She didn’t even bother to wipe the drink from her back. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered anymore.

She just kept walking.

---

Her classes were a blur after that. Her eyes were glued to the floor, her mind spinning with everything that had happened. She couldn’t shake the feeling of Oliver’s eyes on her. The way he watched her, like she was some kind of puzzle he was trying to solve.

But there was no solution to her, was there?

Lucia didn’t know how long she sat in the library, staring at the textbook in front of her without reading a single word. Her mind was too full of everything that had happened. The bullying, the teasing, Oliver.

Why was he doing this? Why did he and his friends torment her?

She should have been used to it by now. She should have expected it. But it still hurt.

Lucia closed the textbook, pushing it away as she stood up to leave. She walked back to her dorm room in a daze, not even noticing when she passed by familiar faces.

The silence of her room greeted her as always. She locked the door behind her and collapsed onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

This wasn’t the life she wanted. She didn’t belong here, not with these people, not with this life. But she couldn’t leave. She had to stay.

She had to find out the truth.

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