Cyrus and I became group partners.
It was the teacher's arrangement.
I was very happy.
But Cyrus was furious.
He didn't seem to want to see me.
Though I was glad, I didn't want to see Cyrus unhappy.
So I went to talk to the teacher.
But the teacher said there were no other empty groups in the class and asked me to make do with this one.
I wasn't forcing myself; in fact, I was secretly delighted.
But when I returned to the classroom, someone had painted my chair with various colors of paint, slashed the desk with a knife, and dumped my backpack on the floor, scattering books and pens everywhere, covered in footprints.
I knew who did it.
So I quietly returned to my seat, picked up my backpack, wiped away the footprints on my books with my hand, neatly put them back into my bag, then used a tissue dipped in water to clean off the paint from my chair. I fetched a new desk from the next classroom.
The desk was so heavy that I had to stop several times before I could bring it back.
Throughout, Cyrus sat at a nearby desk, leaning on the chair back watching me do all this.
Then he kicked over my desk and chair without any expression.
"Cyrus."
I called out to him softly.
"The teacher is coming, you'll get punished for doing this."
He seemed surprised by what I said, a momentary shock.
Then he jumped off the chair, stomped on my books a few more times, and left the classroom.
Well, sorry about that, books.
You got stepped on quite a bit.
I hope you can be as forgiving as I am and forgive Cyrus.
He's not a bad kid.
Our family turned him into a bad kid.
Mom found out that Cyrus and I were group partners.
She seemed to think of something, and her eyes welled up.
Mom is such a crybaby.
Every morning she would prepare two breakfasts, one for me and one for Cyrus.
I noticed that Cyrus's portion was always better than mine.
My fried egg was burnt, but his wasn't.
I had one boiled egg, but he had two.
Even his milk sometimes had more milliliters than mine.
Forget it.
I am a girl and should maintain her figure by eating less.
But I couldn't tell Mom that every day, the breakfast she got up early to prepare was being thrown into the trash by Cyrus.
So I named the trash can Cyrus.
That way, when Mom asked, I could say, "Cyrus finished your breakfast again today!"
I didn't want to upset Mom.
She didn't look good at all when her eyes redden from sadness.
But wasting food was really shameful.
So later on, I started eating both breakfasts by myself.
Eating until my belly felt like bursting, I had no energy for morning classes.
Well, during that time, I gained a few pounds.
Mom thought I was buying snacks secretly outside, which is why I gained weight.
She cut my allowance.
I was heartbroken, unable to buy the novels I wanted.
All because of Cyrus.
But then I remembered visiting Cyrus's house when we were little.
His dad used to cook for their family.
Now that his dad's gone, I wonder how Cyrus manages his breakfast.
Thinking about this made me stop being angry.
I just told Mom that Cyrus and I have been dieting recently and eating very little for breakfast.
Turns out Cyrus was always the top student in class.
But I accidentally took his prize.
I'm in a melancholy mood.
Cyrus will hate me even more now.
Sure enough, the classmate looked conflicted when handing me my certificate of merit.
When I got it, I realized someone had drawn several lines on it with a fountain pen, the ink had bled through, and the paper was torn.
Cyrus is such a petty person.
I did it by accident; I won't take prize anymore.
The teacher came to speak with Cyrus and me.
She questioned Cyrus about his actions.
Cyrus turned his head away and didn't answer.
Such a stubborn child.
I quickly held the teacher's hand and explained, "It wasn't Cyrus. I drew on it myself because of too much study pressure."
The teacher looked disbelieving.
I clung to her hand and pouted, "It really wasn't Cyrus. Please don't blame him."
In the end, she couldn't argue with me and let Cyrus go.
After Cyrus left, she held my hand earnestly and said, "Abby, if you're bullied, you must tell the teacher."
The class teacher is so nice, a hundred times better than Cyrus.
But I'm sorry, I still lied to such a wonderful teacher.
I couldn't tell her that Cyrus treats me badly because I owe him a lot.
...
By the way, I never took prize after that.
I've stayed firmly in second place!
Someone should praise me for giving up my chances to take award.
