Tryout day had arrived. Today was the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes; nothing I couldn’t handle. Tomorrow was 400 meters. On Wednesday I was doing the 800-meter run.

Coming out of the girls’ locker room, I straightened the hem of my shirt and took a deep breath. I wore a comfy, black T-shirt, black leggings, and my white sneakers. My hair was tied up into a high ponytail, like Barbie.

We all went out to the running track. The air was quite chilly, but the sun was strong enough to keep us warm. Coach North and Coach Hyde were waiting for us with a few other teachers, the latter being in charge of the boys’ team.

I looked over at the other team. I saw Rick among them, doing a few basic stretches. To my surprise, he caught my eye and waved to me, grabbing the attention of the other boys trying out. I hesitantly waved back, noticing another boy looking at me. He seemed familiar…

He watched me with a creepy smile, his gray eyes glinting. He pushed back his blond hair and stretched his well-built arms, showing off his physique. He finally turned away when he approached Coach Hyde, greeting him like an old friend.

I knew him… but where had I seen him?

Coach North blew his whistle, its’ high-pitched sound jumpstarting my heart. My hands shot up to my ears. “All right, girls, get in line, distance at arm’s length!” He clapped his hands.

I took a deep breath, trying to control my already-shaking limbs. We got in line and stretched out our arms to distance ourselves. I looked down the line, recognizing Roberta Crawley. She noticed me and smiled, waving.

“Welcome to track and field tryouts, girls,” said the coach. The other coach’s voice echoed from the other side. “Most of you have already been on this team in previous years, so you should know what to expect. New ones, I expect you to give your best during this tryout.” He blew his whistle again. I plugged my fingers in my ears, swallowing hard. “Let’s get to work!”

We all answered different questions about our experience in running and athletics with the coach and assistants. Afterwards, we did a bunch of stretches. Some of them made my legs sting a bit, and I could feel the bandages riding up, but it wasn’t anything too bad.

Coach North had us do a few sprints before the actual 100-meter run. So far, I was doing good. A few of the other girls— mostly freshmen— didn’t seem like the running type. The coaches separated us in groups of eight, calling us one by one.

“Diana Field?”

My stomach squeezed.

Seeing my reaction, the assistant pointed at the sixth group. “You’re with them.”

My mouth flapped. That wasn’t my name.

Coach North went over to her, whispering and pointing at the chart. She nodded and erased something, then wrote something over. “I’m sorry, Ms. Fi- um, Watson, that was my mistake,” she said.

“It’s okay,” I managed to say.

Hearing whispering around me, I noticed a lot of the other girls looking at me. Even some of the boys had heard, including Rick and that creepy guy.

This just got a whole lot worse.

Once everyone got into their groups, Coach North called us over, blowing his high-pitched whistle again.

Did it have to be that loud?

“Line up and dash. 100 meters. Minimum is 15-16 seconds. On your marks…”

We got in line, standing where the starting blocks would be.

“Get set…”

We got into running position. My muscles were poised to run, and I closed my eyes as I motivated my system to pump adrenaline.

“Go!” TWEET!

All of us sprinted off at once, our legs mechanically propelling our bodies forward. I instinctively envisioned one of my former foster parents chasing me.

There was that one time with the Perez family… though it was the cops that were chasing me. A girl was caught shoplifting at a convenience store, and because I was wearing a hooded black sweater like hers, they thought it was me. I was chased all the way to a diner, where I was held until they found the girl somewhere else. They then called Marco for me.

Marco was the only person I trusted. I knew that after that, I wouldn’t be able to escape.

I cleared the memories from my head. I needed to concentrate. Imagining the cops on my tail, my legs ran forward like a motor.

As we neared the finish line, I gradually slowed down until we came to a halt. I was already sweating, though not profusely, and my heart pounded in my head. I took deep, leveled breaths as I recovered.

Coach North came up to us, looking at his stopwatch. He smiled at us. “Good job. Most of you made it under 15 seconds.” The assistants followed, holding tablets and stylus pens.

“Who got here first?” a girl asked.

One of the assistants looked at his tablet. “That would be… Ms. Crawley. You got here in 11.8 seconds. Very good.”

She smiled, panting. No wonder she was the captain.

“And second place is… Diana Watson.”

I perked up. “Me?”

The assistant nodded. “12.5 seconds.”

I smiled. That was great! Roberta clapped for me.

We soon went back into the school to change. I tried to get ahead so I could find a good corner to change in. I didn’t need anyone seeing my legs.

“Good job.” Roberta patted my shoulder as we entered the locker room. “You looked like a runner when I saw you.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. You’re really fast. Hope you make the team.” She went towards the showers, pushing her sweaty hair back. Some of the other girls heard her, glaring at me as I continued into the room.

I took off my shirt, shivering slightly. I would probably have to change into my pants in the bathroom like before. There were too many eyes here.

Cold hands touched my bare shoulders. I flinched, turning suddenly, and leaned against the lockers. Two girls were standing in front of me. “Whoa, calm down,” one of them laughed.

“Oh… s-sorry.”

“Hey, we just wanted to congratulate you,” the girl said sweetly, though I could really hear the fakeness in her voice. “You did really great out there. It’s good that you came back.”

“Thanks.” I turned back to my locker.

“Everyone thinks you’ll be on the team,” the second girl said. “It’s obvious. You’re Coach North’s favorite.”

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“I’m not his favorite,” I said.

“We heard you were. He always complimented you when you went to P.E.”

“I guess I’m just fast.”

“We actually like to do a test to see how fast everyone really is. That way we keep being one of the best teams, you know?” The first girl smiled. My stomach lurched. “So we thought, are you really as fast as you seemed out there?”

Goosebumps wracked my skin as a harrowing feeling shrouded over me. My surroundings seemed to darken. “What do you mean?” I asked fearfully.

“Like, are you fast enough to get out of this?” She reached for my wrist. I tried pulling out of her grip, but the other girl also latched onto my arm. “Okay, she’s not,” the other girl laughed. They started dragging me along.

“What are you doing?” I asked. I tried pulling away, but my limbs were locking in place and my brain was short-circuiting.

“Hey, girls, Amy 2 wants to talk to her boyfriend,” the first girl laughed. Some of the other girls noticed the commotion and joined in while most of them ignored us.

“S-stop…” My voice was hoarse. I couldn’t speak or move. I could only let them lead me through the locker room.

“She looks a bit pale. You want some water?” Water splashed into my face. I coughed instinctively, even though none of it went down my airways. My ears started ringing and the voices grew more echoic. “Welcome to the team, ghost girl.”

I was suddenly pushed down on a hard surface, hands locked around my arms. I could feel something— a marker— writing something on my arm. A light blinded me when I was flipped over, feeling someone write something on my forehead.

I grunted as I was pulled up to my feet again, dragged through a doorway. Boys’ voices started mingling with the girls’. I couldn’t understand what they were saying. It was as if they were speaking another language.

“Long time no see,” I heard a boy say. My distorted vision turned, my stomach lurching at the nauseating feeling. That boy’s face smiled back at me.

Lucas… his name was Lucas. He was that guy…

My ears popped. I groaned in pain, clutching my ears. The sound around me became clearer. I looked around, realizing where I was.

The boys’ locker room.

My body seized up in panic as I looked around at the various men staring and smiling at me. Shivering, I realized my shirt was… in my locker.

“You look a little lost, Amy- oh, sorry. Diana.” Lucas leaned on his knees, eyeing me pathetically. “You want to visit your boyfriend?”

I was shaking. I couldn’t move my feet. No matter how much my brain shouted for me to get out of there, I couldn’t.

“You’re a skinny little thing.” Lucas’ gray eyes roved over me. He smirked condescendingly. “Amy was hotter. Eh, I guess Amy 2 will have to do, right?” Laughter erupted.

I glanced to my right, seeing the door to the indoor gym. I turned and bolted, my arms crossed over my body. Four girls stood there, one of them pointing a phone at me. Their mouths were open wide in screeching laughter.

Lucas followed me outside, his smirk ever present. “Come on, ghost, don’t leave so soon.”

I tried going inside the girls’ room, but the others barred my entrance. “What’s going on here?” I heard someone say. One of the girls shoved me hard enough to get me off balance. A pair of hands caught me under the shoulders.

“You alright, Field?” Lucas smiled at me again. I wanted to smack it off his face so much, but my body had gone limp. He was touching me.

It was like I wasn’t even in my body. As if I was just watching from outside. I wasn’t in control at all. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t…

I couldn’t do anything.

“What’s the matter with her?” a girl asked. Her face appeared and she waved a hand in front of my eyes. “Ghost girl? Hello?”

“Leave her alone. Right. Now.”

“Bro, it’s a joke, relax.”

“She’s overreacting.”

“Hey, Thatcher, you got your girlfriend back!” I was dragged backwards, back into the men’s locker room. I felt like a corpse, unable to control anything around me.

I was dropped on the floor. The cold tiles made my muscles twitch. I shrunk into a cocoon, my arms covering my head and my legs folding in. At least my legs were still covered.

“Lucas! Stop-” The girl’s voice was drowned out by many voices, the noise getting louder and louder.

“Thatcher! We found your-” A groan followed, then a bang on the lockers near me. The sound made me flinch. The noise increased. Bangs and grunts and screams. I covered my ears and squeezed my eyes shut. I just wanted it all to stop.

I finally opened my eyes. Between the various silhouettes trapping me in, I saw a girl… a few years younger than me. She wore a shirt and a torn, wrinkled skirt, bruises and cuts all over her face and body. Her whitish-blond hair was a mess. She took a deep breath and screamed something, but I couldn’t hear her. I could only read her lips.

“DO SOMETHING!”

“Diana, are you-” Hands touched me again.

I flinched, this time finding my voice, and shut my eyes again. I screamed at the top of my lungs. Curses and exclamations erupted around me. I continued screaming until I had no air left in my lungs.

“Diana! It’s… i-it’s okay. It’s me, Roberta. It’s okay. I’m not gonna hurt you.” I could hear someone else cursing and yelling, the volume frightening me.

“YOU SHOULD ALL BE IN A MENTAL ASYLUM! ALL OF YOU ARE SICK, DISGUSTING, TWISTED PIECES OF-”

“Rick, okay, calm down! Stop.”

The blackness never faded away. I wasn’t going to open my eyes. I didn’t want to. I was too scared.

A pair of arms suddenly tucked under my back and knees and hoisted me up from the ground. I stayed in a cocoon as we moved forward. After a few moments, I was set down on the floor against the wall. Slowly, I opened my eyes as warm hands cupped my face. I could still hear my voice screaming in my ears, though I wasn’t making a sound.

“… you okay? Can you hear me?”

My eyes focused on another familiar face. His hazel eyes were wide.

“R-Rick?” I said, my voice failing.

“You okay? Are you hurt?”

I moved my arms and unfolded my legs. They were stiff, trembling still, but I was regaining more control. I didn’t feel any pain. “I… I don’t think so.” Water covered my face and chest, my bra wet. My eyes were stinging with tears.

“We should take her to the principal’s office,” said Roberta. She stood next to Rick.

“We should call the police. That was sick.” Rick’s voice had a venomous bite to it.

“Principal first.”

I wasn’t even sure what happened. They were… what were they even doing?

Looking down at my arm, I noticed the black marker written on my skin, covering my scars. I stared at the words. Only two words, but cruel ones. I shivered, realizing once again that I was in my bra. I quickly covered my chest from Rick.

“Come on, Diana.” Roberta took my hands, gently pulling me to my feet. “Go to the bathroom, okay? I’ll get your shirt.” My legs were still a little shaky, but I was able to feel them again. I held on to Roberta’s shoulder for support.

“I’m going to Principal Ryan’s office.” Rick was also shirtless, I realized, and sported a busted lip. His words just barely registered in my head.

The principal…

“Wait, no! Don’t,” I quickly said, stopping Rick as he turned to the locker room.

“What?”

“D-don’t tell her. Don’t tell anyone. Please.”

“Diana, they legit just assaulted you. We can’t just-”

“Please, it’s not going to fix anything.”

“Yes, it will, we just have to-”

I let go of Roberta, wobbling on my unstable legs. I clung to Rick’s bare shoulders. “Rick, please. Don’t. They can’t know, no one can know, they won’t ever leave me alone and then…” My hyperventilation saved me from blabbing.

“Whoa, okay. Okay.” He rubbed my arms comfortingly. “Relax. Breathe.”

I let go of him when Roberta supported me. With teary eyes, I made one last plead. “Please… I know it sounds stupid, but you can’t say anything. It’ll only get worse. Please.”

He gazed at me for what felt like an eternity. A strange shimmer glinted in his hazel eyes, which closed as he sighed. “Alright. We won’t.”

“What?!” Roberta exclaimed. “We can’t just let this go!”

“You don’t understand,” I told her. “They can’t know. Please. If they do…” I swallowed. “Th- they’ll- this is what they want, this is what they’re waiting for-”

“Okay, okay, we won’t. We won’t.” She put her hands on my shoulders. “Try to breathe. I’m sorry this happened to you.” She held me up as we slowly walked down the hallway.

Going into the bathroom, I saw ‘EVIL WITCH’ written on my forehead in black ink. There were other writings on my cheeks and chin, as well. ‘UGLY’, ‘SKELETON’, and other choice words were among them.

I turned away, going into a stall. Outside, Roberta sighed. “I’m so sorry, Diana. I… when I got out of the shower, I…” I cried as silently as possible. Noticing other words on my other arm, I tried to wipe them off, but the ink was permanent.

“They were so horrible…” she continued, her voice cracking. “God, I just… I can’t get over this. They were so… are you sure you don’t want to say anything?”

“N-no. No.” I shook my head. “Please.”

“We don’t have to say it was you. There’s a lot of freshmen trying out. We’ll just say you didn’t want to disclose your identity. Please, this is sick. We can’t just… let it go.”

I swallowed. “You can do that?”

“Yeah, we just have to say who it was. They took videos, so there’s proof.”

They took videos?

That was it. They were going to send me to a hospital, or another group home. They were going to lock me up and strap me down.

“We’ll make sure they don’t know it was you, okay? They can’t force you to say anything. I just don’t want them to get away with it.”

She would never understand. No one cared, anyway. Punishment, no punishment. It wouldn’t change anything.

“I’ll go get your shirt, okay?” she said. “I really am so sorry.” I heard her leave.

I waited a few seconds, then opened the stall door. Going up to the mirror, I read every word scrawled on my skin. Ugly. Loser. Pathetic. Stupid. Weak. Skinny. Waste. Trash.

Useless.

Yeah. I was useless. No one loved me. No one cared. No one wanted me.

My skin reddened as I scrubbed soap and water on the ink. I heard myself crying, but I didn’t want to cry. It made me so mad. I was so weak and selfish. So pathetic. So disgusting. I was always alone.

… I was alone.

I looked around. Maybe I could escape here somehow? She was coming back, though.

I shifted, looking outside. I could just run. There were stairs near here. I could bolt to the roof. I was fast enough. They wouldn’t catch me in time, would they?

My feet were heavy as I approached the door. The window was closing. I would follow the message left on my arm. I would do what they wanted. After all, I wanted it too, didn’t I?

Roberta came with my shirt. She stopped, a bit surprised, then tried to smile, failing. “Hey. Here’s your shirt.” She gave it to me. “Let’s get you cleaned up, okay?”