On my way home from being bullied at school, I found an unsigned notebook. I decided to use it as a diary, writing down the horrific bullying I was enduring. Suddenly, the notebook wrote a line back to me on its own. [Go to Lincoln High School and find Ryan Hayes. He will help you.] 1 July 26, 2009. Wednesday. Overcast. [Today, Chloe and Jessica shoved me onto broken glass. They forced me to kneel on it. They even pulled at my clothes and took a bunch of pictures. I cried and screamed in terror, but it was completely useless. It only made them more vicious. After all that torture, my voice was hoarse from crying, and there wasn't a single part of my body that didn't ache. I cried and told my parents, but they just said we're poor and they can't give me a better life. And that we can't afford to offend them because their families have a lot of money. They have their parents protecting them; even the teachers and the principal listen to them. Why don't I have anything? I don't want to keep being bullied like this. I want someone to protect me too.] I traced my fingers over the bloodstains and tear marks on the notebook. I put down my pen. My knees hurt like hell. My parents had put some ointment on them, but that hurt too. Suddenly, the notebook twitched. Then, a sentence materialized on the page. [Stop crying. Go to Lincoln High School, senior year, homeroom 3. Find Ryan Hayes. He can protect you.] I stared blankly at the words on the notebook. It wasn't a hallucination. The handwriting was bold and sharp; it looked like a guy's. I picked up my pen and wrote back a few words: [Who are you?] [You don't need to worry about who I am. Just go find Ryan Hayes. He will definitely help you.] [Oh right, it's 2009. Make sure you tell him one specific phrase.] [What phrase?] I asked. [Just tell him: 'I'm never eating cake again.'] I looked at that sentence, completely baffled. If it weren't for the physical pain constantly reminding me I was awake, I would have thought this was a dream. After that, no matter what I wrote, the notebook didn't reply anymore. 2 The next day, I got on the 952 city bus. I had the notebook in my backpack. This wasn't the route to my school. Because I wanted to go to Lincoln High and take a look. To try. When you're in absolute despair, no matter how slim the hope is, you'll do whatever it takes to grab onto it. The words in the notebook were my only hope right now. Before I left home, I slipped a small folding pocket knife into my backpack. Lincoln High wasn't too far from my school, Washington High. It was the best high school in the county. After getting off the bus, I walked right onto the Lincoln campus. Luckily, we were both high school students, and our styles of dress were similar enough that the security guard didn't stop me. I fumbled my way through the halls and found senior homeroom 3. "Who are you looking for?" A guy saw me standing outside the classroom door and asked curiously. I gripped the straps of my backpack, keeping my head down, and spoke timidly. "I'm looking for Ryan Hayes." "Ryan's not here. Come back another time, little girl!" Saying that, the guy was about to walk into the classroom, but I quickly grabbed him. "Wait... could you tell me where he is? It's an emergency." Seeing how anxious I was, the guy hesitated for a moment. "At this hour, I'm guessing Ryan pulled an all-nighter and hasn't slept yet. Try the diner on Main Street, just outside the school." Hearing this, I quickly bowed slightly. "Thank you." The guy immediately took a step back and waved his hands. "Hey, hey, no need for that." After thanking him, I followed his directions and found the place. There really was a long commercial street behind Lincoln High. It had everything. Walking down the street, looking at the people coming and going, I wanted to turn around and run away countless times. To just come here based on a magical notebook... it was incredibly impulsive. I even wondered if I was losing my mind. But every time I remembered them pulling my hair, dragging me into the boys' bathroom, those humiliating memories... my heart felt like it was being brutally ripped apart. I was already here... Even if the hope was minuscule, I had to try. I spotted the diner the guy mentioned on the corner. Several students in Lincoln High gear were sitting inside. In the corner sat a guy with dyed blond hair, looking like a total delinquent. I gripped the hem of my shirt and walked up to the group of students. "Excuse me... do you guys know Ryan Hayes?" The students paused. Just then, the delinquent in the corner suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes locking onto me. "What do you want with me?" 3 I froze instantly. This guy... wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt, had a tattoo peeking out on his neck, and a scar across the bridge of his nose. Even with what some might consider a disfiguring scar, this guy was still so good-looking it felt unfair. That scar actually just added a rugged, bad-boy edge to his look. But good looks aside. He didn't look like a student from a top-tier school like Lincoln High at all. Ryan leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, his expression flippant. Looking at him, he seemed exactly like what teachers would call... a lowlife thug. My first instinct was to turn and leave, but then I remembered the words in the notebook. Would he really help me? "Cat got your tongue?" Ryan took a bite of his food, then glanced up at me. "If you don't have anything to say, get lost. You're interrupting my breakfast." I bit my lip, walked over, and sat down right across from him. Under his scrutinizing gaze, I spoke, trembling. "I-I've been getting bullied. Someone told me I could ask you to help me..." "Tch." Before I could finish, Ryan let out a scoffing laugh. "You've got the wrong guy. Asking me for help? What idiot told you to come to me?" "Who at Lincoln High doesn't know that all I do is bully people?" "Go back and cut ties with whoever told you that. They're clearly messing with you." Hearing this, I bit my lip harder, thinking of the words in the notebook. "He said... to tell you one specific phrase, and then you would help me." "What phrase?" "He told me to tell you: 'I'm never eating cake again.'" After I said that sentence, Ryan's motion of eating suddenly stopped dead. Then he looked up, staring at me with icy eyes. I shrank back in fear. Just as I thought Ryan was going to hit me, he suddenly stood up and wiped his hands with a napkin. "Let's go." I was stunned. "Go where?" "Didn't you ask me to help you? I'll help you kill them, deal?" Ryan looked back at me. My scalp went numb. I frantically waved my hands. "I-I just want you to protect me a little... not kill them..." "Oh." Ryan nodded, and then raised his right arm. That's when I noticed he was wearing a watch on his wrist that looked like a woman's watch. "How do you want me to protect you? Act as your bodyguard, is that it?" Saying that, he suddenly looked back. Backlit by the sun, he broke into a grin. It was a really good-looking grin. I opened my mouth but couldn't get a single word out. 4 Ryan walked me to the front gate of Washington High. The moment I saw my school, my heart felt like it was being squeezed by a giant hand, hurting so much I couldn't breathe. "Wait for me. Just half a day." Ryan ruffled his hair, dropped that sentence, and turned to leave. I gritted my teeth, kept my head down, and walked into the school. The security guard at the gate gave me a look. "Finals are coming up soon. Stop hanging out with those thugs from outside." I didn't say anything. In the hallway, every classmate who brushed past me made the hairs on my arms stand up instantly. I was terrified of contact with anyone. When I walked into the classroom, the noise stopped abruptly. Chloe turned to look at me and let out a snort of laughter. "Wow, Maya Price, I thought you wouldn't dare show your face today!" Her laugh made my body instantly tense up, freezing me in place. Fear flooded my heart. "What are you standing at the door for? Get inside!" My homeroom teacher's voice came from behind me. I was shoved unexpectedly and stumbled into the classroom. The teacher warned us impatiently. "Finals are right around the corner! Stop wasting time on nonsense all day!" My seat was in the very back row. As soon as I sat down, Chloe turned around. She shot me a dark, chilling glare. I clearly saw her mouth the words. "Don't leave after school." She mouthed. ... I rubbed the edges of my textbook, watching the time tick by, minute by minute. With every second that passed, my heart sank a little deeper. The nightmare... was coming back. I pulled the notebook out of my backpack, looked at the words on it, and thought of Ryan. Would he really come back? Suddenly, the bell rang. School was out. The homeroom teacher gave one last warning, "Finals are almost here, I hope you all focus on your studies," and then walked out. Chloe stood up and turned to look at me. Ryan hadn't come. I thought despairingly. No one was going to protect me. 5 I was cornered against the wall by Chloe. "You little bitch, you told the teacher, didn't you?" Saying that, she kicked me hard in the stomach, and I collapsed onto the floor. The pain instantly made me break out in a cold sweat. "I... I didn't tell the teacher." "Bullshit." From behind Chloe, Jessica walked over, staring at me coldly. "If you didn't tell, why did the teacher call me into the office?" "You little bitch, didn't learn your lesson after we beat you yesterday, did you?" Jessica grabbed me by the hair. From the initial sharp pain to eventual numbness, I kneeled on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. They seemed to really enjoy seeing me with this expression. "Come on, scream louder!" As she spoke, Jessica pulled a black plastic bag out of her backpack. Laughing, she shook it in front of my terrified eyes. A fine, crunching sound came from inside. "Making you kneel yesterday didn't teach you a lesson, so today, you're going to eat it." I instantly realized what was happening. Inside that plastic bag was broken glass. "No!" I scrambled up from the floor and shoved Chloe, who was standing right in front of me, as hard as I could. Then I ran out like a madwoman. "You fucking bitch, you dare push me!" Before I could run out, a tremendous force yanked me from behind, dragging me back into the bathroom. "Run! Go ahead, keep running!" Jessica pried my mouth open, and Chloe opened the plastic bag, ready to pour it in. I squeezed my eyes shut in terror and despair. Praying that time would pass quickly. My body trembled, but the pain I expected never came. "You dare touch my person?" A familiar voice rang out. I instinctively opened my eyes, and through a blur of tears, I saw Ryan. He had dyed his hair back to black, was wearing his school uniform, and had a cigarette dangling from his lips. The next second, he crushed the cigarette butt against the wall. 6 I followed closely behind Ryan. The setting sun stretched his shadow out long. It made my panicked thoughts slowly settle down. My mind kept replaying the scene that just happened. After crushing his cigarette, he kicked Jessica straight into a bathroom stall. They all looked at Ryan in terror, not daring to make a sound. "From now on, don't touch... what's your name?" Ryan stopped mid-sentence and looked at me with frustration. I tremblingly said my name, "Maya Price." "From now on, don't touch Maya Price, got it?" Chloe and Jessica nodded in terror. Completely stripped of the arrogant cruelty they had shown while tormenting me. I felt a sudden sense of relief in my heart. It turned out they were also cowards who only picked on the weak. Suddenly, Ryan stopped walking in front of me, and I crashed awkwardly into his back. His solid back hit my bruises, making my nose sting with pain. "Watch where you're going, kid." Ryan turned around and gave me a helpless look. "Which way is your house?" I covered my nose and whispered, "Just dropping me off here is fine..." To be honest, I was still a bit afraid of Ryan. After all, he didn't look like someone you'd want to mess with, either. Even Chloe and her gang were terrified of him. I didn't want to jump out of one fire pit only to land in another. "Tch. Fine." Ryan turned around and looked at my face. "You ungrateful little thing. Wait here for a few minutes." After saying that, he turned and walked toward another intersection. I stood there with my backpack, feeling lost. People were coming and going on the long street, and I tried my best to press myself against the wall. "Are you a wallflower? Why are you hiding on the edges?" Ryan, holding a plastic pharmacy bag and breathing slightly heavily, walked over. "I was originally going to go to your house to put medicine on you, but since you're so scared, we'll just do it here." Saying that, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward a bench on the street. I nervously tried to pull my hand back. "I-I can do it myself..." "Do it yourself, my ass." Ryan glared back at me, gripping my wrist, and pressed me down onto the bench. He pulled antiseptic and cotton swabs out of the bag, dabbed one, and leaned in close. I instinctively shrank back, but he grabbed me. "What are you afraid of? I'm not going to hit you." Ryan leaned in close, applying the medicine to the bleeding corners of my mouth. I swallowed nervously, not daring to move. A faint scent of tobacco drifted into my nose. In the evening sunlight, his long eyelashes cast a shadow under his eyes. "Hiss..." The sting of the antiseptic made me gasp in pain. Ryan furrowed his brows. "Don't move." The sunlight fell on him, making him look incredibly handsome. I couldn't help but stare. "Alright. Don't get it wet when you go back, and put an ice pack on it." Ryan casually tossed the cotton swab into a trash can, then handed me the bag of medicine. "Go home." I stood up numbly and started walking toward my house. After walking for a while, just as I was about to turn the corner, I looked back. He was standing by a telephone pole, lighting a cigarette. The smoke obscured his face. "See you tomorrow!" Ryan seemed to know I was looking at him and waved at me. 7 I got home. My mom was cooking in the kitchen and heard the sound of me opening the door. "You're back. Dinner will be ready soon, just wait a minute." I turned my head, hiding my face behind my backpack. "Mom, I have to study. Just leave the food at my door." "Okay, study hard. Don't end up like me in the future, working from dawn to dusk..." I ran back to my room and closed the door. The world went quiet. I sat there for two minutes before pulling the notebook out of my backpack. Running my fingers over the pages, I remembered the three words Ryan had said. See you tomorrow. The anxiety in my heart seemed to suddenly smooth out. Opening the notebook, I was surprised to see a new line of text had appeared. [How did it go? Did he protect you?] I immediately picked up my pen and replied: [Thank you. He helped me fight off the people bullying me.] [Heh, that's good then.] After hesitating for a moment, I still wrote down my question on the paper. [Who exactly are you?] After a while, a line of text materialized on the paper. [Don't ask for my name. If you absolutely must know, then please call me Batman.] I seriously wrote down two words on the paper. [Thank you, Batman.] Thank you, notebook. Thank you... Ryan. No more writing appeared in the notebook. I opened my books and started doing the homework the teacher had assigned. The next morning, I brought some steamed buns my mom made from home. Not long after I got to school, the bell rang. To my confusion and relief, Chloe didn't come to school today. The homeroom teacher walked in, put her books on the podium, and clapped her hands on the desk. "We have a new student in our class today. Everyone, please welcome him." A few scattered claps rang out in the classroom. Obviously, everyone was curious about this. But a bold idea surfaced in my mind. The next second, a guy wearing a backpack and the school uniform walked in. "Introduce yourself," the homeroom teacher said. The guy lifted his head, scanned the classroom, and then locked eyes with me. Instantly. My heart uncontrollably hammered twice against my ribs. He flashed a rather handsome smile. "My name is Ryan Hayes." "We meet again."
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "406294", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel