DROWNING
DON'T WAKE ME UP
Dhia's POV
I covered my mouth with both hands and held my breath.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps.
They were getting closer.
I pressed myself against the wall of the toilet stall, pulling my knees toward my chest. My whole body was trembling. I tried to control my breathing, but every breath felt too loud.
Please don't find me.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I couldn't fight them.
I had never been strong enough to fight back.
All I could do was hide.
A sob caught in my throat. I swallowed it quickly, pressing my palms tighter against my mouth as tears slipped down my cheeks.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The footsteps stopped.
My heart nearly stopped with them.
“Hey. Did you hear that?” a girl asked.
I froze.
“Sounds like someone's in here.”
My fingers tightened over my lips.
“There’s someone hiding from us,” another girl said with a laugh. “Erin, Bella. Check the stalls.”
“Fine.”
Bang!
The stall beside mine flew open.
“Empty.”
Bang!
Another door.
“Nothing here.”
The footsteps moved again.
Closer.
Closer.
I curled myself tighter.
Please go away.
Bang!
My stall door shook violently.
I nearly screamed.
I jumped to my feet and pushed against the door with both hands. The lock was in place, but I knew it wouldn't hold for long.
There were three of them.
There was only me.
“Oi! Come out!”
I stayed silent.
“What are you hiding for?”
Bang!
The door rattled.
“Come out, you slut!”
My chest tightened.
I lowered my head.
What had I ever done to them?
Why did they hate me so much?
“Are you deaf?”
Bang! Bang!
“Get out!”
I pushed harder against the door until my arms started to ache.
No.
I wasn't going out.
Not while they were waiting outside.
Then, suddenly—
Silence.
I stopped breathing.
I waited.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Nothing.
No footsteps.
No laughter.
No more kicking.
Maybe they're gone.
Slowly, I lowered my hands.
My breathing came out shaky.
I wiped my tears with the back of my hand and looked down at my school uniform. It was wrinkled from sitting there for so long. My ponytail had also come loose.
I tried to fix it.
I didn't want to look like this.
I just wanted to go home.
I reached for the lock.
Then I heard something above me.
A faint rustling sound.
I looked up.
My stomach dropped.
Erin was leaning over the top of the stall.
She was holding a large black garbage bag.
My eyes widened.
“Wait—”
Splash!
The contents of the bag poured over me.
I froze.
Dirty water ran down my face.
Bits of leftover food and rotten scraps clung to my hair and uniform.
For a moment, I couldn't even understand what had happened.
Then the smell hit me.
My stomach turned.
Laughter filled the bathroom.
They laughed so loudly their voices echoed off the tiled walls.
I slowly looked down at myself.
My hands were filthy.
My uniform was soaked.
My hair stuck to my face.
Something warm trickled down my forehead.
Blood.
My eyes burned.
I didn't want to cry.
But the tears came anyway.
“A slut like you belongs in the trash,” one of them said.
Another girl laughed.
“Maybe someone will finally want her after this.”
They burst into laughter again.
I stared at the floor.
Why?
Why did they enjoy hurting me?
Bang!
My stall door shook again.
“Next time someone tells you to come out, just come out,” another girl said with a mocking laugh. “Look at you. You even got a free bath.”
Their laughter grew louder.
I clenched my fists.
I wanted to scream at them.
I wanted to ask them what I had done.
I wanted to fight back.
But my body wouldn't move.
My throat wouldn't work.
I was scared.
Then—
Bang!
The bathroom entrance flew open.
“What the hell are you three doing?!”
The laughter stopped.
“Oh, crap.”
“Who reported us?”
A boy's voice echoed through the bathroom.
“You three!”
His voice was firm enough to silence them.
“Teacher Remi wants to see you in the principal's office. Now.”
Nobody answered.
“If you don't go, she'll come here herself.”
There was a long pause.
“Whatever.”
“Let's go.”
Their footsteps hurried toward the exit.
Then the bathroom fell silent again.
I stayed inside the stall.
I didn't trust it.
Not yet.
I waited.
Nothing.
A few seconds passed.
Then—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I flinched.
“Hey.”
It was the boy.
“Are you still in there?”
I didn't answer.
“They're gone,” he said. “You can come out now.”
I stared at the door.
My hands were still shaking.
Slowly, I unlocked it.
Click.
The door opened.
The boy standing outside immediately froze.
“Dhia?”
I lowered my head.
He knew me.
I knew his face too. I'd seen him around school plenty of times.
But we'd never actually talked.
“What happened to you?” he asked.
I said nothing.
His eyes moved over me.
My ruined uniform.
The garbage stuck to my clothes.
The blood on my forehead.
His expression changed.
“Did they do this?”
I shook my head.
It was a lie.
But I didn't want to talk about it.
I didn't want his pity.
I didn't want anyone looking at me.
I already felt disgusting.
I smelled horrible.
I looked horrible.
And now a boy was standing in front of me, seeing me at my worst.
I wanted to disappear.
He didn't ask again.
Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief.
He gently wiped a little dirt from my cheek.
I looked up.
He gave me a small smile.
“Hey. Don't look so miserable.”
I stared at him.
“You'll ruin your pretty face.”
I blinked.
I didn't know what to say.
Nobody had ever said something so casually kind to me after something like this.
He glanced toward the clock.
“School's already over.”
I looked at him.
“I'll tell Teacher Remi you weren't feeling well,” he continued. “I'll tell her that's why you missed class.”
He placed the handkerchief in my hand.
“Wait here, okay?”
“Where are you going?”
“I'll get you something to change into.”
Before I could say anything else, he turned and walked away.
I watched him disappear through the bathroom entrance.
Who was he?
And why was he helping me?
I looked down at the handkerchief.
It smelled clean.
Nothing like me.
Then the awful smell around me hit again.
My stomach twisted.
I covered my mouth.
“Oh no…”
I rushed toward the sink.
Bleurgh!
I threw up.
My whole body shook as I gripped the edge of the sink.
I coughed and tried to catch my breath.
Then I turned on the tap and rinsed my mouth.
I splashed water over my face, hoping it would somehow wash away the smell, the dirt, everything.
When I looked into the mirror, I barely recognized myself.
Messy hair.
Dirty face.
Blood running down my forehead.
Red, swollen eyes.
I looked exhausted.
I wiped my mouth.
Then I heard voices outside.
“Well, look at that.”
I froze.
“She’s throwing up now.”
Another girl laughed.
“Do you think she's pregnant?”
“Maybe.”
“How many months, I wonder?”
Their laughter filled the bathroom again.
“Wouldn't surprise me if she tried to get rid of it.”
“Who knows who she slept with this time?”
My hands slowly curled into fists.
“She's such a slut.”
I stared at the sink.
Don't cry.
Don't give them the satisfaction.
I heard footsteps behind me.
Before I could turn—
Someone grabbed my hair.
“Why are you so quiet now?”
My head was yanked backward.
I cried out.
“You were so brave earlier, weren't you?”
She pulled harder.
“What's wrong? Scared now?”
Bang!
My head slammed against the wall.
Pain exploded through my skull.
“Ah!”
I stumbled.
Before I could recover—
Bang!
Again.
Bang!
Again.
I couldn't fight them.
My hands reached for her arm, but I didn't have enough strength to push her away.
“Stop…”
My voice barely came out.
They laughed.
My head throbbed.
Warm blood ran down my face.
Please.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I can't do this anymore.
Then a loud voice cut through the bathroom.
“HEY! What the hell are you doing?!”
The hand in my hair disappeared.
The girls froze.
“Run!”
One of them shoved past the boy standing at the entrance.
The other followed.
They sprinted away.
The boy stumbled from the impact but caught himself.
I tried to stand straight.
My knees gave out.
“Whoa.”
He caught me before I hit the floor.
“Easy.”
I leaned against him, barely able to stay upright.
“You're hurt badly.”
I didn't answer.
“Come on.”
He helped me toward another stall.
Once inside, he handed me a black T-shirt and a pair of track pants.
“Here. Change into these.”
I stared at the clothes.
“Where did you get them?”
“Just change.”
He stepped outside.
I locked the door.
For a moment, I simply stood there.
Then I looked at my school uniform.
It was completely ruined.
I changed as quickly as I could.
“Um…”
I hesitated.
“Are you still there?”
“Yeah.”
His voice came from outside.
“You shouldn't stay here.”
“I know.”
“What if someone sees you?”
“It's fine.”
“But you're in the girls' bathroom.”
“I'll leave soon.”
I sighed.
“Can you wait at the school gate instead?”
There was a pause.
“Or you can just go home. I'll return your clothes.”
“It's okay.”
His voice was calm.
“I'll wait at the gate.”
Then he added,
“After that, we're going to the clinic.”
“What?”
“You're bleeding. That wound needs to be treated.”
I touched my forehead.
I'd almost forgotten about the pain.
Before I could argue, I heard his footsteps moving away.
“Don't take too long.”
His voice faded.
Then he was gone.
I stood there quietly.
For some reason, I felt a little safer.
Once I was ready, I left the bathroom.
I didn't go to the front gate.
Instead, I took the back exit.
I didn't want to cause him any more trouble.
He had already done more than enough.
After leaving the school grounds, I walked toward the river behind the school.
It was usually quiet there.
A few people were exercising along the path, but nobody paid attention to me.
I sat on a bench facing the water.
For the first time that day, nobody was shouting at me.
Nobody was laughing.
Nobody was touching me.
I stared at my hands.
They were still trembling.
A tear slipped down my cheek.
Then another.
Why was I so weak?
Why couldn't I defend myself?
Why did I always just stand there and let people hurt me?
I looked up at the sky.
The clouds drifted slowly overhead.
I didn't care about the blood on my face anymore.
I didn't care about the dirt on my clothes.
I didn't even care if anyone saw me.
I was tired.
So tired.
I closed my eyes.
If only there were a machine that could take me away from this time.
Somewhere far away from them.
Far away from the hatred.
Far away from everything.
I'd give anything for that chance.
Anything.
I just wanted to leave.
I wanted to rest.
Then—
“Help!”
My eyes snapped open.
I turned toward the river.
A little girl was struggling in the water.
“Help!”
She disappeared beneath the surface.
Then she came back up, coughing and waving her arms.
A bright-colored ball floated several feet away.
She must have fallen in while trying to reach it.
I didn't think.
I kicked off my shoes and ran straight into the river.
The cold water hit me hard.
I gasped but kept going.
“Hold on!”
The girl was crying.
“Help me!”
“I've got you!”
I reached her and grabbed her arm.
She immediately clung to me.
“Don't let go!”
“I won't.”
I wrapped one arm around her and swam toward the riverbank.
People were already gathering.
“Someone help them!”
“Get a rope!”
“Pull the girl out!”
I pushed the girl toward the people waiting at the edge.
“Take her!”
Two people grabbed her and pulled her onto the bank.
She was unconscious.
Everyone immediately gathered around her.
Someone checked her breathing.
Another person called for help.
I watched for a moment.
Then I noticed something.
The ball.
It was still floating.
And it was drifting farther away.
I stared at it.
Then I looked toward the little girl.
She had risked her life trying to get it.
Maybe I could at least return it.
I turned back.
I swam after the ball.
Just a little farther.
My fingers were almost touching it when—
My leg cramped.
I froze.
I tried to kick.
Nothing.
My leg wouldn't move.
“What…?”
Suddenly, my body dropped.
Something felt like it was pulling me down.
I tried to swim back up.
I couldn't.
Water rushed into my nose and mouth.
Panic took over.
My chest burned.
I tried to scream.
Nothing came out.
My head throbbed from the injury.
Everything around me became blurry.
The surface looked impossibly far away.
I reached for it.
My fingers moved through the water.
Nothing.
I was sinking.
Faster.
The sounds from above became distant.
Then I heard someone shouting.
“Hang on!”
Another voice screamed,
“Someone grab her!”
I tried.
I really did.
But I had no strength left.
My lungs burned.
My body felt heavy.
The light above me slowly disappeared.
I watched it fade.
The world became darker.
Darker.
Until there was nothing left.
No sound.
No light.
No pain.
Just darkness.
Dark—
just like my life had always felt.
And then—
nothing.
