That day, the sky was clear and cloudless. Sunlight shone softly through the leaves. There was no sign of trouble. Dinda walked to school with her backpack on her shoulders and the Chemistry assignment book she had finished revising the night before. The day should have been ordinary. But at this school, bad things always came without warning.
Chemistry class began at eight. Ms. Rita hurried in, carrying a thick folder and wearing an expression sharper than usual. Something was wrong.
“Who erased Group C’s lab results from the lab board?” she asked sternly, standing at the front of the classroom like a judge about to begin a trial.
The class fell silent. A few students exchanged glances. Then Arman raised his hand from the middle row.
“I saw Dinda enter the lab this morning, Ms. Rita,” he said calmly.
Dinda turned around quickly. Her heart pounded. “I... I only went to the teachers’ room, Ms. Rita. Not the lab.”
Arman shrugged and gave a small smile. “But I saw you from the hallway. You were holding a marker and erasing something.”
“That’s not true!” Her voice rose. “I never went in there!”
Ms. Rita gave her a sharp look. “You’re denying it? You were also the last one to turn in your assignment.”
“I went to get my homework from the Math teacher this morning, Ms. Rita,” Dinda answered quietly, trying to explain. “I only came back to class afterward.”
But Ms. Rita’s expression had already changed. Stiff and cold, she delivered the punishment with a blank face.
“You’re getting a zero this week, and next week you’ll have to repeat the lab by yourself.”
Dinda’s eyes widened, her breath caught, and her face went pale. Her mouth fell slightly open when she heard that she had received a ZERO. A number representing nothingness. No appreciation at all—only punishment. The light in her eyes dimmed as clear tears gathered.
The entire class was silent. Then a small laugh came from the back row. Dinda didn’t need to turn around to know who was laughing. For some reason, Cindy and her friends were here.
Cindy sat comfortably, covering her mouth as she giggled. Beside her, Liza watched with satisfaction. She even glanced toward Arman and gave him a small thumbs-up.
‘What are they doing here?’ Dinda wondered.
‘How can she freely access my class when it isn’t even her class period?’ Dinda raged inwardly, unable to accept it.
It seemed the school allowed its queen to do whatever she wanted. Her chest began to feel as though a huge stone were pressing down on it. She wanted to cry, but she had to hold it in.
She couldn’t let herself look weak, even though her heart felt shattered. She was determined to hold on until the bell rang for the next period.
All Dinda could do was lower her head and try to ease the tightness in her chest. There was no one to defend her. No room for argument.
The popular kids always won.
Dinda fled to the restroom at the end of the hallway. She locked herself in the farthest stall, sat on the closed toilet lid, and let her tears fall.
Her hands covered her face. Not because she was weak, but because she was too exhausted from carrying everything alone.
This wasn’t the first time they had attacked Dinda, but this accusation cut deeper. They hadn’t just dragged down her grade—they had damaged a reputation she hadn’t even had the chance to build. Another scar was carved into the wall of her heart.
Dinda felt completely shattered. She calmed herself while regulating her breathing. Her hands were still trembling with anger.
With slightly trembling hands, Dinda took a small blue-covered notebook from her bag.
It was the diary she had carried with her since moving to this city. The first page contained only one large word:
‘STRONG’
With shaking hands, she began to write:
‘Today I was falsely accused. In front of everyone. Again, by people who don’t even really know me. I don’t know why they hate me. But I do know one thing: if I cry in front of them, they win. So I write:’ ‘I'm Not Defeated Yet’
The sound of footsteps made her wary, but it turned out to be only a girl student who entered for a moment and then left.
After making sure it was safe, Dinda came out. She washed her face and stared at her reflection in the mirror.
Her eyes were swollen. Her lips were pressed into a stiff line. Whatever happened, she would keep holding herself together so she could still appear whole.
In the mirror’s reflection, she saw Cindy walking down the hallway. Her steps were arrogant, her bright white shoes impossible to miss, and her smile obviously forced.
“Yeah, Leo still doesn’t know. We might as well make it count. When he comes to the lab, we’ll put on a show. I want him to see for himself how that bookworm falls,” Cindy’s voice carried clearly as she spoke on her phone.
Dinda’s eyes widened and her face flushed. ‘So all of this was planned!’ her inner voice whispered.
Dinda’s body tensed. Both her hands clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
It wasn’t a coincidence. All of this had been planned.
In class, everything continued as if nothing had happened. No one cared. Rani was the only one who paid attention, sitting beside Dinda with a concerned expression.
“Hang in there, Din. Maybe you could talk to the school counselor?”
Dinda shook her head weakly. “What’s the point? They won’t believe me.”
Because she knew that was exactly how things were. Cindy was the daughter of a businessman who sponsored the student council.
Her parents had connections everywhere. And Dinda? She was just a village girl staying at her uncle’s house.
Dinda lowered her head over her notebook again, trying to copy down the Chemistry formulas. But the letters seemed to float and dance around meaninglessly.
Her head hurt.
Her soul was tired.
After school, the sky was overcast. Dinda waited for a public minibus at the bus stop, her thin jacket clinging to her body. A drizzle began to fall, and her hair started getting wet beneath the rain. The minibus still hadn’t arrived, and her body began to shiver.
Across the street, a black SUV stopped. Leo sat inside with Daren. The car window was slightly open. Dinda could see them laughing, completely at ease.
Leo glanced over briefly. Dinda’s empty gaze was fixed in the direction the minibus would come from. Leo quickly looked away.
Dinda stood frozen, her mind blank. She didn’t know whether Leo was part of Cindy’s plan. Only one thing was certain:
Leo had never defended her. Not even once.