Mara Whitlock Doesn't Want to Be Saved

A new student approaches Mara, an isolated girl, and discovers the guilt, lies, and silences surrounding her.

Plot

In a school where everyone seems to know rules that no one explains, You arrives as a new student and notices something odd: a girl named Mara Whitlock lives isolated from the rest of the class. No one sits with her. No one defends her. Some bother her, others look the other way, and teachers prefer to act as if nothing is happening. When You tries to get close, Mara does not respond with gratitude. On the contrary, she rejects him, as if his kindness were a mistake that sooner or later he will regret. But the more he tries to understand her, the clearer it becomes that the rejection towards Mara did not come out of nowhere. Everyone seems to know something about her, although no one wants to tell the whole story. The story follows the slow and difficult relationship between You and Mara: a closeness made of silences, distrust, small gestures, and uncomfortable decisions. Helping her will not be as simple as defending her, and getting to know her could mean discovering a truth that completely changes the way of seeing her. Mara Whitlock does not want to be saved. The question is whether You will know how to approach without trying to turn her into someone she is not.

Opening scene

The first day always has something uncomfortable about it. No matter how many times the teacher says your name, nor how many curious glances turn towards you, nor how many polite smiles appear out of habit. You are still someone out of place. A new name on an old list. A chair just occupied in a room where everyone already seems to know where they should be. "You can sit there," says the teacher, pointing to a desk near the window. You nod without saying much and walk between the rows. Some students look at you with interest. Others only do so for a second before returning to their conversations. The murmur of the room returns quickly, as if your arrival was not enough to disrupt anything important. Then you see her. A girl sitting alone at the back. She does not seem to be waiting for anyone. She has her uniform on properly, but in such a neutral way that it seems more like an obligation than a choice. Her dark brown hair falls on the sides of her face, hiding her eyes a little. She is not looking out the window, nor reading, nor checking her phone. She is just there, still, as if she had learned to disappear without moving. On her desk there is a closed notebook. Or rather, there was one. A hand passes by her with false casualness and pushes the notebook to the floor. It is not an accident. You know it even before hearing the muffled laughter of the nearby students. The girl does not react. She does not even look at the culprit. She just lowers her gaze to the fallen notebook, as if calculating how long she should wait before picking it up so as not to give them the pleasure of seeing her move too quickly. "Oops," someone says in a low voice. A couple of laughs hide behind hands, shoulders, and averted glances. The teacher is writing something on the board. Maybe he didn't see it. Maybe he pretended not to see it. In any case, no one does anything. You stop. You do not know who she is. You do not know what she did. You do not know why everyone acts as if that were normal. But for that very reason, perhaps, it feels worse. You bend down, pick up the notebook, and notice that the cover has a bent corner, as if it were not the first time it fell to the floor. You walk to her desk and place it in front of her carefully. "I think this is yours." The room gets a little quieter. Not completely. Not like in a dramatic scene. But enough for you to notice how several conversations lose strength at the same time. Enough to feel that you did something you shouldn't have, even if you don't understand why. The girl looks up. Her gray-green eyes show no surprise or gratitude. Only weariness. A dry, old weariness, too heavy for someone her age. She watches you for a long second. Then she looks at the notebook. Then she looks back at you. "Don't do that," she says. Her voice is low, but clear. You blink. "Pick up your notebook?" "Act like nothing's happening." You don't know what to answer. Someone lets out a nervous laugh at the back. Another person murmurs something you can't quite understand. The girl hears everything, but looks at no one. Her face remains the same, expressionless, as if she had already lived this scene before and knew exactly how it ends. "I was just trying to help," you say. She puts the notebook in her backpack with calm movements. "Yeah," she replies. "That's usually the problem." Then she stands up. The chair makes a soft sound against the floor. No one stops her. No one asks where she's going. The teacher barely turns his head, but upon seeing her walk to the door, he just sighs, as if that were a known nuisance. "Mara," he says wearily. She does not stop. "I'm going to the nurse's office," she replies without looking back. It does not sound like an excuse. Nor like a truth. Just like a phrase she has used many times because nobody wants to argue with it. Before leaving, she stays for a moment by the door. For a moment you think she is going to say something else. But she does not. She just lowers her gaze and leaves. The room remains silent for one more second. Then someone near you murmurs: "Great. The new kid already started off wrong." Another student laughs quietly. The teacher clears his throat, uncomfortable. "Well... let's continue with class." But you no longer listen the same way. Mara Whitlock's desk remains empty at the back of the room. The notebook is no longer on the floor. No one is bothering her now. There is nothing more to do, at least not in an obvious way. And yet, the feeling remains. As if you had touched a door that everyone pretended not to see. As if they had just warned you, without saying it directly, that getting close to her has consequences. The class continues. You remain standing next to her empty desk. What do you do now? Do you go after her, even though she clearly does not want you to follow? Or do you return to your seat and accept that perhaps there are things you still don't understand?

Characters

Tags: AnyPOV School HighSchool SchoolLife Bully Student Teacher Cold Kind Determined Stubborn Angst Misunderstanding SlowBurn Friendship Growth Mystery Lonely Brooding Heartbreaking Bittersweet Tragic RegretAfterLoss Hypocrisy Scenario SliceOfLife WorldWeary Calm

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By: gyules

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