Now, dear readers... Here is my take on "how to deal with bullies".
Number one, know what they are weak to. Keep that in mind.
Number two, if they bully you, bully them back. If they ask what you thought you were doing, say the more they did it first, the more you will do in return. So if they valued their peace, they better slow it down.
Number three, embarrass them. And remember to ruin the evidence later on. You don't want them at your back.
Number four, ask them why they hate you. If they have no answer, say "thank you for your time. I will ask again tomorrow."
Number five... Have a sharp tongue.
And those are all the tips I know that has saved me so far... But don't trust them of course. I had insurance. You probably don't.
Alright, now where was I?
Oh right...
Sasha's reaction was hilarious. "Really?" She smiled.
"Yes. What else? I am good at reading psychology," I answered back, clasping my hands behind my back.
She thought for a while, tapping her chin. Then, "fine, let's go. I have a few things to talk with you anyways."
I smiled, walking towards the cafeteria doorways. My head ached at the thought of what I was about to do.
Our steps carried through the field towards the dormitory halls. I slowly let out a sigh, shoving my hands into my hoodie pockets.
"So... How is your nose?" I asked, looking away, refusing to look at her face.
"It is healing," she answered swiftly.
"Look, forget about what happened in the cafeteria."
"I already did."
"No, the entire thing."
"Yes, I did."
"..."
"..."
Slowly, I climbed the stairs leading to the third floor. It turned out that she lived one door next to me. The only block seperating us was Helio's room.
That guy is just full on suspicious. I don't know what is up with him anymore.
She pulled out her door keys. But before she could click it in—
Slam!
—I pushed her to the wall. Pinning her there with my hands on either sides of the shoulders.
"Are you just going to leave like that?" I asked.
"Like... What?"
I leaned a little forward, tracing my right index finger along her jaw. "That. I told you I wanted to have private conversation with you."
Rule one, know your bully's weakness.
This girl here, has a thing for strong, dangerous woman.
Though I am not a full grown woman... She was one person who I dared to pick a fight with—and won.
"Y-yes? W-what did you want to t-talk about?"
See that stutter? I have gotten into her mind.
"Nothing... Honestly." I whispered, rubbing my thumb along her cheeks.
Ew... What was I doing?
"Then... Why are you..."
"I just feel like it..." No I did not!
"Are you sure about that?"
"...No."
"Then?"
"Why are you so behind me?" I asked, finally dropping my mask. I pulled my hands back, but still pinned her to the wall. "You tend to switch victims right after another, and not go back to the previous for a really long time."
She stood there, completely baffled. "So... You knew...?"
"I got the gist of it," I answered back, watching her flushed face cool down a bit. "I also wanted to know what poison you out there. If it wasn't a poison... It must have been a medicine."
She immediately lifted her gaze back at me. "But you said—"
"That you didn't seem suspicious?" My lips curved into a knowing smirk. "Seriously, come on! Someone you fight with and try to kill after five days, you can't just expect them to let you go, you know?"
"Didn't you say you had something to discuss with me in private?" She gritted her teeth.
"Yes. I am already talking to you about it," I said, twirling my finger along her hair strands. "You were quite uncomfortable speaking about it in the cafeteria in front of so many people... So I made it easier for you."
"You really think—" she tried to argue.
"I don't think... I know. And if you don't want to accept my offer of being nice to you right now, then I can pull you back to the dining area and expose you completely..."
"No, this will be fine then."
"Good. Now," I pulled her hair a bit. "Speak, before the offer runs out."
She gasped at the tug, then paused to stare at my face for a short while. I wasn't yielding. So she broke down anyways.
"Alright, fine!" She let out a sigh, crossing her arms in front of her while glaring up at me with a hint of pink dusting her ears. "I didn't poison you... I tried to divert your full attention to me..."
"..." I think I could hear crickets cricking somewhere far.
"You... What?" I repeated, my eyes widening in shock.
"You weren't speaking to me for five whole days! So I used a spell of mine to get your full, undivided attention..."
So basically...
"You tried to use a love spell on me?!" I yelled, my face turning red in pure embarrassment and... Whatever I just did.
"Can you blame me?! You won't even look at my direction!"
"Of course I won't! You think I would even thinking about you after that fight?!"
"I thought so!"
"What is wrong with—"
"Listen to me! You idiot!" She grabbed my collar, pulling me forward. Yikes... I know right?
But more than that... why did she just call me an 'idiot'?
Who gave her the audacity to?!
"Did you just call me an idiot?" I asked, out loud. My pupils literal pinpricks. "Like... After I had a literal investigation run under your name, you still think I am a dumbass?"
"I said listen!" She yanked me forward.
First, she ruins my ego by calling me a name. Now, she is trying to act like she has the situation under her control. Alright, let me see where she takes this to.
"I read that novel."
"The what?"
"The story," she cleared. "Dying in a Battlefield?"
What did I just hear?
"From where? And how much?" I asked, pulling away from her grip a bit. If she can prove how much she knew, then I could use her to continue the story until it is safe for Nada to pull it forward.
A sacrifice was needed one way or the other, and Sasha made a good one. It means I won't need to involve myself much in the future.
"But I read another volume of it."
"What do you mean? There is a sequel?" The confusion was loud, as you might have noticed.
"Yes. There are three volumes in total. One of them reached you. The other reached me," she explained. "The third one... You know who..."
Yes. I did.
"You mean... The protagonist herself. My cousin, Nada."
"Yeah. I bet you knew since you once recommended it to her naively."
"..." True. I was only eight back then, and I found the twisted story as something I could prank her with. Never did I know that about seven years later, I or she would be living in-between the pages.
"In your version of it, you see mostly Nada's story. The main protagonist viewpoint. In my volume, I get your viewpoint. I saw your death and what happened when you were gone. In hers—"
"In hers—she is the protagonist again. But she is going through the backstory and other character backgrounds. It had more explanations." I answered for her.
"Yes, exactly. In total, there were three exclusively written volumes. And the ones who it reached are you, me, and the main character herself. Now I will leave you to judge... The author says you are a very smart person who can solve small mysterious like this incredibly fast."
So there were really more plot into this. Like I knew, this story was a puzzle piece that linked two other volumes to form the entire story.
I had a feeling it has sequels, when I and Nada were debating about the plots one weekend morning. We were simply talking about our younger days and we were thirteen back then. After she said that, I realized that "yeah... Her explaination of the plot really did link to my part of the plot."
I came home that day, opening my laptop and decided to go through all book reviews website I could find. Most people said this was a sold out copy and only those with the copies would know what it is about. Then there was also written;
"The author personally said that this book had two more sequels and all of them combined would complete the story. And through out the entire collection, there will only be three books in total."
It made me even more curious. Firstly, there were characters with my name and Nada's name into it. Secondly, it was exclusive and had no back-ups—neither a warranty. Thirdly, even after reading the entire volume—back and forth—five times, I couldn't make out what was happening.
With Nada's help, I could barely make out for what happened to me. I knew I came from a prestigeous family, but the author also said that I wished to run away frequently.
That made sense, only a bit. Because at the end of Aefia's arc, she says that she wanted so bad to turn her life around after running away... But demise met her one way or the other. And that she couldn't find out why Nada was doing this even after knowing Aefia in full.
It explains why... Aefia was protective of Nada from the start of the story.
Because she really wanted her favorite person to teach her how to smile again, even after giving up her entire body for slavery to the story's main villain.
Hah! Whatever...
Eight-year-old me must have been traumatized... Though I don't remember anymore. My memory of reading it for the first time... Is very vague.
But I do recall flipping the pages between my death back and forth... To find an answer to something...
However, now that I finally solved the mystery...
"If you know what happened to me, then you know that I am honestly afraid of following the story anymore," I asked, hanging my head low. The wall on either sides of her, now became my support.
"I do... That is why I asked for your undivided attention..."
I lifted my head.
"You are my favorite character, that is why."
My eyes shone. But I surpressed it, straightening up. "That doesn't change the fact that you still tried to stab me on the cafeteria floor down there."
My hand were slowly reaching out to her neck, in case she was planning something.
"Knowing you from the story... You were already aware of the blade. Even if it were a split second. I deliberately slowed down, because I was testing how different you were from the plot," she explained.
My hand paused mid-air. "Really?" I smiled, "how different am I then?"
"Very..." She answered, looking away. "Though, if you want to know the plot of the last volume, I can tell you that."
My face immediately lit up. I could tell I was already exhausted from the injury and all, but I wasn't going to give up on knowing the remainder of the story.
I was never a frequent reader in my life... I only picked up books that made reading it enjoyable.
And Dying in a Battlefield... Was like solving a mystery in real-life.
I crave to know the answer to what I have been waiting my entire life to know...
Her thumb climbed up to rub along the edges of her bandaged nose.
"Spill it Sasha..." I whispered. I was desperate to know the ending. I was desperate to know mytrue ending.
"Well... You didn't die..." She answered. "You survived by—"
"What do you honestly think you are doing...? Did you injure a part of your brain when you hit your head?" A familiar voice echoed, and a hand grabbed my wrist at the same time.
I turned around...
That sunny pest ruined my only chance to knowing what actually happens next.
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First Draft: 29.10.2025
Rewritten: 17.08.2026