Acte 1 — Part 3

Hello, it's Léa.
Today, once again, I'm going to tell you what happened next.
I was still sitting on the bench, completely absorbed in my copy of Batman and Robin, Volume 4.
In my mind, everything was becoming real.
---
Batman: Robin! Léa! The Joker has escaped again!
Batman: Let's go!
Robin and Léa: Yes!
The Joker started his motorcycle and sped away.
I threw a Batarang.
It struck the rear wheel, and the motorcycle came to a stop.
Batman: Well done, Léa! You stopped the Joker!
I smiled.
For a few seconds, I had completely forgotten where I was.
---
Then reality caught up with me.
— Hahahaha!
I opened my eyes.
The girls from my class were standing there.
— How embarrassing! She's reading out loud!
— She actually thinks she's inside the comic book!
They burst out laughing.
I lowered my eyes toward my book.
I did my best not to listen to them.
But their words were so cruel...
Driiiing...
The bell rang.
I put my book away and returned to the classroom.
The teacher hadn't arrived yet.
As soon as I stepped through the door, one of the girls approached me.
Without warning...
Smack!
She slapped me in front of the entire class.
The boys watched the scene without intervening.
I stood there motionless, my cheek burning.
One question kept repeating itself in my mind.
Why is this happening to me?
I just want to live my life peacefully.
I just want to make friends.
I glanced toward Daniel.
He looked away too.
I didn't blame him.
The boys in the class bullied him as well.
He probably knew what it felt like to be afraid.
And that day, we were two students suffering in silence.
To be continued in the next chapter.