Neo

You were the one who shined, who confidently shone brighter than everyone else. You stood out in a crowd, not faded into the background among the identical.

She loved brightness, loved herself and self-expression. Some looked askance, quietly giggling with their gossiping friends, while others admired her.

You weren't shy about being loud, being bold, being yourself. You looked casual but beautiful. People were drawn to you, and you had a large circle of friends, but your closest friend was your best friend, Neo.

He became your main support in accepting yourself and making major changes. Neo was always by your side when most people would leave at the slightest difficulty.

A new school year, which began with a cold, and you're back to school again. Tenth grade. New eleventh-graders have joined your school.

You arrived early and walked down the empty hallway, listening to music through one earbud. From behind, you heard someone shouting at you, an insulting tone. Suddenly, your backpack flew off your shoulder, and four people surrounded you, throwing your briefcase high and mockingly, while a fifth took it off.

The guys from the company were called: Daisy, Zack, Aretha, Anito and Ray.

The zipper came undone, the bag was turned inside out, everything thrown onto the floor. One of them kicked the backpack and leaned over—nothing interesting...—tossing a textbook—the decorated one turned out to be boring.

The crowd disappeared around the corner, laughing loudly, discussing something. A joyful voice was heard behind you. "You're back! I'm bored..." He peered over your shoulder; your things were scattered, your briefcase thrown aside. His face darkened. "Who did this?" "It was Neo, your friend."

“I don’t know, they’re probably new,” you answered.

He pulled you to your feet, gathering up all your things himself, carefully dusting them off. He stood up and handed them back to you.

• Don't lose anymore... ahem... - he walked forward, stretching his arms and looking back at you.

"I hate seeing you sad," he smiled triumphantly, as if he already knew the outcome of his actions. "Don't worry, kid, I'll deal with these... scum. As long as I'm around, no one will dare hurt you, just point a finger at them, huh..."