If you're still here, it's because you find this story entertaining—at least, I hope so! I managed to finish this chapter sooner since I had some free time. I hope you enjoy it.
But first... Have you ever felt like everything is in harmony and everyone is having fun, but then someone comes along to ruin it all? And to make it worse, you get blamed for everything? Then that person asks for forgiveness and leaves, but you don't feel happy—you just feel a deep sense of nostalgia.
If that hasn't happened to you, well, it happened to me.
Let's begin.
FOUR WEEKS LATER
ME: "Mom! Why didn't you wake me up? I'm going to be late for school!" — I yelled, my voice filled with worry.
MOTHER: "Why should I have to wake you up? You're the one who has to go, not me."
At school...
ME: "Whew! I finally made it. Just in time before they locked the gates."
Since I had accidentally cursed on the first day of school, I started making an effort to be obedient and do everything the teacher asked. Eventually, everyone forgot about that incident.
That day, my two friends, Dina and Sayuri, were absent. Since I was alone, I started talking to other classmates and made several new friends: Samir, Máximo, Keiko, Renzo, and Camila.
Because of how I acted on the first day, I didn't exactly fit in with the "perfect" kids. I ended up befriending the troublemakers—or as some called them, the "slackers" of the class. But to me, they were just my friends.
In that classroom, I was actually one of the smartest because I played the violin, which helped my brain develop. Although the accident had slowed down my skills a bit, I still had a great memory and intelligence. I didn't really care about the reputation of the people I hung out with.
ME: "Hey guys, want to play Tag?"
MY FRIENDS: "Sure! Let's play! Tag! You're it!"
After playing for 30 minutes, recess ended.
TEACHER: "Form groups of five to work on the workbook."
ME: "Oh no, there are six of us."
KEIKO: "Don't worry, Angello. My cousin Camila is going to work with her other friends."
ME: "Wow, she's your cousin? Cool. Let's solve these worksheets then."
I thought I would have to do all the work myself, but it turned out my friends were actually good at Language Arts; they were only struggling with Math. We finished the task in an instant, turning it in before any other team. The teacher was impressed by our perfect score and congratulated us. Everyone else was shocked.
THE NEXT DAY
Suddenly, everyone wanted to be my friend. They probably thought I was "slow" because of my accident, but after seeing my grades, they realized they were wrong. I just told them not to bother me and walked away.
That same day, I saw Dina and Sayuri again and went over to greet them.
ME: "Good morning, Dina! Why weren't you here yesterday? And you, Sayuri?"
DINA: "I overslept."
SAYURI: "I had the flu."
ME: "Oh, I see."
MY FRIENDS: "Angello! Come sit here!"
At that moment, I saw my two friends looking at me strangely.
THEM: "So, you made new friends?"
ME: "Yeah, I was bored yesterday, so I played with them and helped them with an assignment."
DINA: "And are you going to stay with them?"
ME: "Well, yeah."
THEM: "And what about us?"
ME: "Come join us! Join the group."
DINA: "Okay, that sounds fi—"
SAYURI: (Cutting Dina off) "No. Let's go, Dina."
Sayuri grabbed Dina's hand and pulled her away to another group. I didn't think much of it at the time.
THE TENSION RISES
Weeks passed, and I noticed they were resentful. They looked at me with contempt and anger. Seeing that look hurt my head—the sharp pain returned, reminding me of what happened with Kaori. I almost collapsed, but my new friends caught me.
I knew I had to do something, or I would lose them just like I lost Kaori. I tried to approach them several times over the next few days, but Sayuri was always on the defensive.
SAYURI: "What are you doing here? Go back to your friends and stop bothering us!" — She snapped at me.
I realized Sayuri was the one pushing me away, and Dina was just following her lead.
More weeks passed. I noticed Dina started hanging out with David, one of the most ill-mannered and aggressive boys in the class. I tried to talk to Dina again since Sayuri clearly hated me for some reason.
I don't know if David had a crush on Dina or what his deal was, but when he saw me approaching her, he started a fight. He began hitting me, but this time, I fought back. I ended up winning the fight.
We both had bruises, but since we only hit each other's bodies and not our faces, we didn't say a word to the teacher or our friends.
ME: "Listen, David. If you say anything to the teacher, I'll tell her you started it for no reason. Everyone will take my side because they know what you're like." — I threatened him.
DAVID: "Fine... I won't say anything. And I won't come near you again. Just stop hitting me." — He replied, sounding terrified.
ME: "It's a deal."
After that, many of my classmates stopped bothering me. David was considered the strongest, and I had taken him down.
THE TRUTH AND THE FAREWELL
I noticed Sayuri was absent for a whole week. On Sunday, I went to visit her at her house.
SAYURI: "Angello... I'm sorry for making Dina stop talking to you. It was because I saw you hit her that day in the hallway, and it made me so angry."
ME: "But... did Dina tell you what actually happened?"
SAYURI: "No... I never asked her."
I explained to her that it was an instinctive reaction because of the pain in my scar.
SAYURI: "Oh... I understand now. I'm so sorry for what I did. But I have to tell you something... In three weeks, I'm moving to Lima. I'm saying my goodbyes at school on Monday. I hope you can make things right with Dina."
ME: "I hope we meet again someday when we're grown up," I said sadly.
(Back then, cell phones weren't a thing; my parents didn't even have one. We only had a landline at home.)
During those last two weeks, I tried to reconcile with Dina, but she seemed to hate me even more than before. I realized she was only acting that way because Sayuri wasn't there to mediate. Eventually, I stopped trying and kept my distance.
When the day came for Sayuri to say goodbye...
"While she hugged me, I felt a part of my childhood leaving with her in that car toward Lima. I looked at Dina, hoping for a sign, but her silence hurt more than any of David's punches."
I understood then that nothing would ever be the same.
I hope you liked Chapter 4! Next Chapter coming soon.