"Neyrene! Hurry up, you're going to be late for class." My mom shouted from her car.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!"
I quickly tied my shoelaces and went for the door.
Click.
My mom drove all the way across town to my school, Starlight High. Throughout the entire drive she didn't say much, but this was normal for her. My mom wasn't a very social person; only talking when she needed to.
We arrived at the school grounds where hordes of students rushed to class. I came down from the car, blowing a kiss to my mom as I followed the crowd.
Entering the school halls, my friend Jamie spotted me and rushed over to give me her usual morning hug.
"You won't believe what you missed, girl." She jumped up in excitement.
"Wh-What?"
"Arnold Scofield finally asked me out!" The excitement on her face couldn't be hidden.
'Arnold Scofield? The guy has been secretly stalking me for over a year now since I entered 12th grade.'
Although I pretended not to notice him for the sake of Jamie. The way she preaches about him every single day was infuriating.
"That's great!" I pretended to be amused.
"I know right! We're going on a date next week and I'm going to need you to help me pick a dress!"
"Oh-okay." I nodded in agreement and we walked to class.
School dragged out as usual, a blur of meaningless information that I probably won't use in the future.
There I sat, through hours of lectures, fidgeting with my glasses while others around me seemed so focused and invested in whatever activities the teacher brought upon us.
At some point the teachers never even bothered to question what I did in class, cause in the end I still get good grades and I wasn't even trying.
Lunch was bearable only because Jamie's constant chattering kept me distracted. She would go on and on about her weekend plans of shopping and doing girly stuff which I never found interesting, but I had to endure cause Jamie was the only real friend I had. Throughout my school life, she was the only one who had the courage to talk to an introvert like me.
Back in class, I watched the clock's hand move around the board, counting down the minutes until I could leave.
Ring…! Ring…!
The bell finally rang and relief washed over me.
Another day survived.
Going home, Jamie walked with me through the sideways of the road, gushing about her date with my stalker.
I listened, occasionally humming in response.
However, my mind was somewhere else, in the sanctuary waiting for me in my room.
We said our goodbyes at my front door. I rushed inside, went straight upstairs and closed my bedroom door.
In this life, there was only two things keeping me from going insane: Jamie, and… writing novels.
I was a little girl when I stumbled upon one of the books in my father's library. It was titled The Legend of the forgotten hero. The moment I opened it, I was teleported into another world, filled with magic, funny characters and a ruthless MC who spent all his time cultivating.
It took me five months, but after finishing the beautiful novel, I became a lover of stories.
Years passed and I read more and more books, becoming an avid reader in the process.
Now, at the age of seventeen, I write my own book. It was the only thing I fancy doing, the only thing I was addicted to.
I threw my bag onto my bed and sat down at my desk. I didn't even bother to change into my casual clothing, going straight for my notebook.
With intense focus I began to write, continuing the story from where I left off:
「 Three years passed. On the island of Grimoire, Nieves was able to walk and speak now. She scurried over to her father's room, took out his bow and arrow, then scurried back to the open field where she had set up a target dummy.
She took a few steps back, positioning her arms the same way her father does whenever he practiced shooting.
Although the bow was too big for her, she managed to hit the target anyway. Always.
Moments later, her father pulled up at the shore. Nieves spotted him and ran over to give him a hug.
"Father, did you get me any sweets from Portwood?"
James dropped her down and bent to a kneeling posture.
"No dear, I didn't get you any sweets..."
Hearing this, a sudden gloomy expression fell over Nieves's face.
"But I got you..." James reached into the boat, taking out a box, carefully wrapped.
"...your very own bow and arrow!"
Nieves's expression immediately turned to a smile, tears dropping down from her eyes.
"Yay! Thank you, father! I will treasure it!"
"You'd better." James lifted her up again, walking towards their little cottage.
"Let's go have dinner with mommy, shall we dinner with mommy, shall we?"
"Ok, father."
…
…
…
…
…
Five years passed in the blink of an eyes. Nieves was twelve years old and she had already grown into a skilled archer. She now went on hunting trips with her dad and his crew, occasionally.
One night, on a very chilly evening, Nieves woke up from her sleep due to the acrid smell of smoke. She leaned into her window to look outside.
The town was burning; everyone was running helter-skelter.
"Nieves! Get up!" Her father burst through the door with a bow in hand. "B-Bandits are here!"
"What's going on dear?" Her mother's voice came from the kitchen.
"No time to explain!" James grabbed Nieves's hand and ran out of the house. Her mother followed.
They reached the shore where a boat was moored, people pushing and shoving to get on board.
James hoisted her up into the boat where people were already cramming inside.
He and a few other men used all their might to push the boat offshore.
"Wait! Mother! Father!" Nieves screamed as she struggled to get off but the passengers held her back.
"It's ok dear, we'll get the next one!" Her mother shouted as she rushed over to the next boat going offshore.
Her mother stepped into the boat, relief on her face. She looked up at Nieves and then—
Clang!
A blade flashed.
The sword came from nowhere, arcing toward her mother's back. Her father spotted it in time to parry it away with his knife.
"Hurry Nina! Get on the boat!"
The bandit who threw the sword walked over to James.
"Kukuku~ you're a sharp one now, aren't ya?"
Drawing the second sword he held at his back, the bandit charged at James, swinging his blade recklessly.
"James!" Nina screamed as she got down from the boat, positioning her hands to use offensive magic.
Swoosh…!
"Now, now, we can't be having you use magic." A blurry figure appeared behind Nina. Following a sharp slicing sound. And then…
Thud!
Nina's head fell to the ground, and soon after, her body followed.
"…"
"N- n- n- n- NOOOOO!" James brought out his bow, placing five arrows on the string and released them, all aiming for that one man who was standing beside Nina's body.
Swish! Swish!
"Woah, woah, easy there." The man hopped backwards dodging every single arrow.
James ignored the bandit in front of him and charged for that one man, drawing out all eleven knives tucked in his belt.
He jumped high and threw all of them but just as they left his hands, a chant came from behind.
"By my power, move as I decree!"
Suddenly the blades stopped mid-air, all of them turned pointing towards James who was still falling.
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
All eleven blades stabbed James's heart as he coughed out blood and fell to the ground.
"NO!" Nieves shrieked, desperately trying to overpower the three boys who held her down. "PLEASE! LET ME HELP THEM!"
"Stop child! There's nothing you can do anymore." An old woman muttered, sprinkling a bit of her herbs from her bag on Nieves.
"No…" Nieves collapsed as she slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep.
The boat drifted into the river's fog, disappearing from the sight of the vicious bandits. 」
My pen suddenly stopped moving. I don't remember much after, all I saw was flashes of my mom raising me up and dumping me into my bed.
−−−
Ring…!
It was early morning, around 5:21 AM when the alarm woke me up.
Ch-cam…!
I removed the bedsheet and sat up, bracing myself for another boring day of school. I walked over to my desk to grab my hairbrush and noticed my notebook lying wide open.
'I must have fallen asleep again...' I thought as I took out my phone from my bag, glancing at the time.
⌜ ⌝
8:24AM [███░░] 56%
───────────────────────────
Tuesday, March 5, 2026
1 New Message
[Jamie] ✉
❛Arnold told me 'Good night' SQEEEE…. ❜
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⌞ ⌟
'Damn! I'm late.'
Knock! Knock!
"Neyrene, it's past 8, hurry up." My mom called from outside my room door.
I stormed to the bathroom, flinging my clothes around in the process.
After a while, I rushed to wear my school sports wear as today was Tuesday, the only day in the week where I get to bring my novel to school and pretend to be sick to avoid exhausting exercises.
I dashed out of the house, my mom giving me a kiss and a packaged lunch on my way out.
"Taxi!! Taxi!"
I boarded a taxi to cut my travel time from twenty minutes, if I was walking, to five minutes.
Shortly after, I arrived at school and noticed every student lining up at the bus, each answering to the teacher stationed there before they entered.
Out of curiosity, I went over to the teacher to find out what was happening.
"Sorry sir, may I ask why they're lining up?"
The teacher continued what he was doing but answered me in the process.
"Emm… yeah you go in." He pointed to a student then turned to me. "The principal announced an excursion today, so instead of the warm-up we're doing, we're going on a road trip!"
For some reason, the teacher also felt excited by the strange turn of events.
"Cough! Cough! Sir, can I stay in school today? I have a really bad cold." I brought out my usual excuse, hoping for the teacher to buy it.
"Hmm… ok, Nurse Grace isn't coming with us. You can go see her."
'Yes!' I quickly left his sight before he remembered the other days I made the same excuse. Having a face not many people can remember comes in handy sometimes.
On my way to the school's main building, I heard a familiar voice shouting my name from behind.
"Neyrene!"