The  Classroom  

“I   thought   school  was   a   fun   place.  Meet   a   lot   of  new   friends,   learn   about   a   lot   of   new   and  

exci:ng  things  that  the  world  has  to  offer.”

There  she  was,   si+ng  in  the  corner  of  classroom,  alone.  She  sat   in  the  le6  corner   of  the  class  

near   the  dusty   window.   She   felt   something  weird.   Maybe   the  air   that   did  not   feel  fresh.   Or  

maybe  the  sound  of  air-­‐condi>oner  that  was  humming  or  probably  the  worst  part  of  the  class,  

the  light.  It  was  dimmed  and  some>mes  it  flickered.  

Luna  was  a  15  year-­‐old  girl  who  had  a  long  black  straight  hair  with  a  pair  of  black  round  and  

sharp  eyes.  Her  skin  was  fair,  her  lips  were  small  and  thin.  Every  >me  she  came  to  school,   she  

was  always  in  dark  colored  a+re.  Either  it  was  black,  blood-­‐red,  dark  purple  or  when  she  was  in  

a  good  mood  she  would  put  on  a  liIle  grey  to  add  some  light.    

All  her   friends  were  talking  and  joking  around.  But   there  she  was,  all  alone.  No  one  wanted  to  

speak  to  her,  everyone  ignored  her.  At  first,  Luna  thought  it  was  normal  because  this  was  a  new  

class.  They   just  didn’t   know  her  and  that  was  why   they  looked  unfriendly.   Luna  tried  to  cheer  

herself  up  thinking  that  this  would  only  last  temporarily.

Ring!

The  bell  rang.  It  was  a  sign  for  lunch.  Everyone  was  rushing  out  of  their  classes,  trying  to  get  to  

the  canteen  soon.   So  did  Luna.   In  the  canteen,  she  had  to  eat  by  herself  and  this  was  not  the  

first   >me.  When  Luna  was  having  her   lunch,   Helen;   one  of  her   classmates  suddenly   stopped  

behind  her  and  shouted  “Hey,  look!  There’s  an  owl  in  our  school!”  Everyone  in  the  canteen  was  

laughing  at  her.

Helen  was  just  like  any  typical  schoolgirl  but  she  was  taller,  pre+er  and  richer.  She  had  one  liIle  

sister  named  Jenny.  She  was  very  protec>ve  of  her  liIle  sister  and  she  made  everybody  know  it.  

Everybody   was  scared  of   Helen   because   she  was  the  kind   of   girl  that   could  do   anything   to  

people  that  she  didn’t  like.

Luna  was  not  the  only  one  who  was  mocked  by  Helen  but  no  one  was  brave  enough  to  confront  

her.  Luna  thought  that  the  way  Helen  treated  her  was  too  much.  She  was  calling  her  with  funny  

names  “Luna  the  Owl”,   and  some>mes  when  they   bumped  each  other   in  the  school  corridor  

she  would  push  her   to  the  wall  and  made  her  drop  everything  she  was  carrying.  And  in  some  

other  >mes,  she  would  put  something  in  Luna’s  bag  that  was  so  irrita>ng.  

But  every  >me  Luna  built  a  plan  to  get  even,  she  realized  that  if  she  rebelled  against  her,  Helen  

could  treat   her   so  much  worse  than  she  already   did.  So  she  came  up  with  another   idea,   she  

would  hurt  someone  that  meant  a  lot  for  Helen,  her  liIle  sister,  Jenny.  

It  was  perfect  >ming.

In  school,  there  was  a  celebra>on  of  Chinese  New  Year.  It  was  mandatory  for  classes  to  decorate  

their   class  with   something   red   or   Chinese.   Lanterns  and  hong   baos   were  the  choices  of   all  

classes.  Every   places  was  filled  with  redness  and  paper.  On  that   day,   there  was  a  Lion  Dance  

performance  in  school  lobby.  Since  this  was  the  first  >me  for  most  of  the  students  to  watch  it,  

they  were  all  gathered  earlier  before  the  show  started.

Unlike  the  others,  Luna  was  hiding  from  the  crowds.  She  was  in  the  class  all  alone  when  Jenny  

came  in  to  the  class  and  was  looking  for  Helen.  And  there  it  was,  Luna  made  her  plan.  

“Did  you  see  Helen?”  Jenny  asked.  

“I  don’t  know.  But  I  can  look  for  her  if  you  want.  Just  wait  in  here.”  Luna  answered.

On  the  way   out,  Luna  was  holding  her   smile  and  her   smile  widened  when  she  reached  to  the  

door,  found  the  key  and  locked  the  class.  She  was  running  trying  to  disappear  before  anybody  

saw  what   she  did.  But  then,   she  went  passed  the  lab  and  it   gave  her  another   idea.  She  went  

inside  get  a  lighter  and  went  back  to  the  class  where  she  locked  Jenny.  Knowing  that  the  class  

was  full  of  decora>on  that  made  of  paper,  se+ng  up  fire  was  an  easy  job.

Suddenly,   there  was  a   scream.   But   nobody   heard   it   because  everybody   including   Luna  was  

enjoying  the  lion  dance.  When  it  was  over,  all  students  went  back  to  the  class.   And  that  was  

when  students  of  grade  9A  no>ced  that  there  was  a  fire  in  their  class!  Everybody  was  trying  to  

push  the  door  open  because  they  heard  a  voice  from  somebody  inside.  Helen  instantly  no>ced  

that  voice  and  went  hysterical  trying  to  open  the  door,  but  she  couldn’t.  Desperately,  she  broke  

the  window  and  got  inside  to  save  her  liIle  sister.  

But   it   was  too   late.   They   didn’t   make   it   to   the  door.   The  ceiling   fell  down   into   pieces  and  

suddenly  people  couldn’t  hear  any  voices  from  inside.    

And  that  was  when  Luna  smiled.