'Unforeseen'

Chapter 6: Lois

Lois.

13 years ago.

I was severely bullied by my board mates to the point of one of the ladies attacked me due to wrong information she received or due to some gossip. This happened when I was studying in high school, 15 kilometers away from home.

At those time, I was 14 years old, and we recently moved from the big town to this primitive place, I didn't have someone to call friends except my family, in addition, I stopped going to school for one year because we don't have money to pay my tuition. So that year, I finally came to continue my study, with that hunger to make friends and companionship.

Due to our financial crisis, I only knew one way to impress my board mates and make them
my friends and that is to bring fruits, and root crops from our farm to our boarding house. Every week I made sure I can bring something.

My brother Rue and I will walk 6 kilometers carrying a sack with those things inside. I intend to impress and make friends starting with the one that lives with me. But things were never easy,  maybe that gesture create jealousy, or they are just mean people because instead of receiving a simple thank you, I received severe bullying, there were times that they shamed me because of old underwear, and I remember how I begged for them to give it back to me.

"Please, give that to me. I begged you, please"  but seems they enjoyed it more because I was begging.

"Come get it!" there are three of them tossing to and from my old yet cleaned underwear.

In the beginning, I tried to run and jump after it, trying to snatch it away from them but then I stopped because I realized that there was no hope in doing so.

This deed continues for months aside from their verbal bullying, I was also bullied physically until the day of the attack happened. When the lady started attacking me, I never fought back because I was raised to be patient and in everything bring it to the Lord.

I went home that weekend but I never mentioned what happened to me in the boarding house until the mother of the lady herself went to my mother to disclose everything.

So the next weekend when I arrived at our farm not yet in our house, my mother met me halfway, I was surprised to see her, because most of the time she just waited until I got home but this time she came when she saw me coming from afar.

"I need to talk to you," she said in a serious voice pulling me to our vegetable garden instead of leading me directly to the house.

When I saw her serious face, I felt so nervous, I had an idea that maybe they knew already what happened. And indeed I was right when I heard her next word;
"Why you didn't tell us?! why?"

I felt my body shook as I tried to gather my composure "Because I am scared"

"Scared of what? why are scared, Lois?" her face softened a little.

My tears started to flow from my eyes, though I was trying to hold them and at that exact moment the memories of the pain of those slaps, punches, and kicks the lady was giving me came fresh to my mind.
"Because I know father said never got into trouble, I know he will get mad once he knows that this happened! but it's not my fault ma, I just trusted some of them so much to my simple comments turned into big things"  This time I was sobbing, I was trying to make my mother understand, but deep inside me, I was so broken and scared. Scared to be reprimanded and scared of the spanking from my father because I know for sure that he also knew about it.

For a moment my mother just stared at me and then she embraced me tightly and said " Ohh, Lois, we are not mad at you, even your father cried when he knows about this. Vivian, the mother of Josie explained everything to me and even apologized for what her daughter did to you"