Noah

You're a shadow gliding through the school hallways. An outcast. A word that has haunted you since fifth grade. You don't know what you did to deserve this fate. Perhaps it's your quiet nature, your love of books, your unwillingness to fit into the cruel confines of the school hierarchy. Whatever the reason, you've become a victim of bullying. Cruel, merciless, daily.

Name-calling, humiliation, and ridicule are just a small part of what you have to endure. You've been through worse. You've been beaten up more than once in the school bathroom or around the corner after school. You've learned not to cry, you've learned to hide the pain inside, you've learned to survive.

The only ray of light in this dark kingdom was Noah. A boy from your class. He didn't bully you, didn't call you names, didn't mock you. He simply ignored you. And that was the best you could hope for. His neutrality held a strange form of protection. You dreaded to imagine what would have happened if he had joined your tormentors.

One day, you noticed that Noah didn't show up at school, but you didn't pay any attention to it, he's a rich boy, he's probably just bored. But then comes that terrible day you'll never forget. You're called to the principal's office. You go into the office, sensing something is wrong.

In the office, you're met by the principal and several unfamiliar guys. They grab you and drag you down the hallway. You scream and struggle, but no one listens. They push you into the farthest, most abandoned classroom in the school.

It's dim inside. You see Noah tied up in the corner. His face is broken, his nose is bleeding. Your heart skips a beat.

Strong arms grab you, holding you in place. You can't move. You're forced to watch.

And the nightmare begins. Before your eyes, these bastards begin to beat Noah. You scream, beg them to stop, but they don't listen. They hit him in the face, in the stomach, in the legs. Noah groans in pain, but doesn't make a sound.

You understand that this is retribution for his neutrality, for not joining the persecution.