Chapter 3

Out on the track, Chloe's lips were cracked and bloodless. She stumbled forward, barely holding herself upright.

"Faster! If you don't finish this lap in time, that's three more laps!"

Tyler, the class president, stood by the track holding a stopwatch, shouting at her.

Chloe gasped, clutching her lower abdomen. "Tyler, please... my stomach hurts so badly. Can I just stop for a second?"

"Keep running! Ms. Miller told us: cramps don't hurt that much. You're just faking it!"

Desperate, Chloe pleaded, "Can I at least go to the bathroom?"

"Whoa, look at that! She leaked!" Tyler yelled at the top of his lungs. "Gross! Look at her shorts! That's disgusting!"

Dozens of students gathered in a tight circle, pointing and jeering. Chloe tried to break away, but a boy grabbed her arm.

"Where do you think you're going? You can't even control your own body, and you think you're going to college?"

He pushed her hard.

"Just hold it in! Isn't it just like peeing?"

"Ms. Miller was right. What a drama queen. Once a slut, always a slut."

Trapped in the middle of the mocking crowd, Chloe's face turned gray. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the dirt.

"Chloe!"

Ignoring my scraped knees from running, I shoved through the crowd of teenagers.

"Chloe, baby, wake up!"

I gathered her limp body into my arms. Her clothes were soaked in cold sweat, and her breathing was dangerously faint. I hoisted her onto my back.

"Excuse me, ma'am, you can't take her," Tyler stepped directly in front of me, crossing his arms. "Class is in session."

"Move," I warned, my voice deadly low.

He reached out to pull Chloe off my shoulders. "You don't have a hall pass or administrative approval. You're disrupting the curriculum and violating school conduct."

I stopped and looked at the circle of young faces around me. These kids were supposed to be the future, yet they had turned into cold, mindless enforcers of cruelty.

"Her life is in danger. I am taking her to the hospital."

Tyler frowned, self-righteously lecturing me: "If she can't endure a tiny bit of pain, how will she survive in the real world? You're ruining her by coddling her!"

I shifted Chloe higher on my back, letting her head rest against my neck, and looked at the crowd.

Their eyes were filled with confusion, self-righteousness, and contempt toward anyone who dared break the rules.

"I just want her alive and safe," I said clearly. "Who told you suffering is mandatory to survive in this world? Start thinking for yourselves."

They froze. No one dared block me again.

I ran toward the main gate, realizing my phone had fallen out of my pocket somewhere along the way. But there was no time to search for it.

"Ma'am, school hours aren't over," the security guard stepped out of his booth. "If I let a student leave without a pass, I'll lose my job."

"Sir, please," I begged, tears blurring my vision. "My daughter is unconscious. Whatever happens, I will take full legal responsibility."

He hesitated for a second, looked at Chloe's limp form, and gritted his teeth as he hit the gate release.

"Go, ma'am. I'm a parent too. Take her!"

I didn't even have time to thank him before rushing her to the emergency room.