I Died When She Saved Me

Io Atkinson I blinked a few times, trying to adjust my vision to the light coming from the sun. I looked back at the calendar hanging on the wall, today is September 29, 2042, and it’s 6:43 am already. Even though my class starts at 9:30 am today, I need to wake my a*s up now. I need to clean my apartment, do the laundry, cook for myself, and prepare myself for going to school. I was only 14 years old when my mom was found dead in a dark alley. She was r***d and killed in not a very nice way. I remember how much I cried that time, that I lost the only person who ever loves me and stays by my side. And after my mother's burial, I never cried again. I never depend on other people again. I created a wall between me and the world. I distanced myself from other people. I worked so hard to be strong emotionally. And since that day that my mom died, I live for myself. I work in my free time, weekends, and even holidays. I never celebrated Christmas Eve, New Year Eve, even my own birthday again. I don’t see a reason for celebrating those days without my mother. I know she will get sad as she sees me act like this, but I can't help be okay if you're really not. And now, I just want to live independently and be an anatomist just like my mother. Grateful that my mother thinks about my future in advance, she insured my studies and save up for my college. And for my other necessities, I work for it. Don’t even bother to ask me about my so-called father, I no longer have, I never had because I already killed him in my mind since he left us when I was only 5 years old for another woman. We don’t need a useless man like that. He destroyed my life and my mother’s life. He was the one who deserves to be killed not my mother. He really is- I hate him with all my life.  I’m now in my 2nd year taking the Doctor of Medicine program. I’m tutoring students from my school, getting paid for making their assignments and finishing their projects, also I’m working at a fast-food restaurant. I already save up a lot because I've been doing this since I was 14 and now I'm 24, but working is now my habit. So I still work and never rest.  I learn how to live without depending on other people. I always do everything on my own. I don’t care about anyone else, just about myself, my work, and my studies. I only have one single friend since High School, but we rarely see each other because she's already working and me because of my own studies. But we still kept in touch with each other. She’s the only one who tried to understand me and kept trying to befriend me, no one dares to try to understand me as much as her.    The door made a clicking sound as I lock it and put my keys inside my bag. I never had a permanent home, I always switch and look for a better home which is closer to the school I’m attending so I won’t need to commute and be stuck in traffic. I hate wasting time. It's precious, more precious than gold. I brush my full bangs away from my hazel eyes as I looked up at the video playing as an advertisement playing on the big screen as I passed it. “This energy drink is nothing like other energy drinks. This energy drink will instantly make your strength tripled and will last for the whole day. So what are you waiting for? Buy ‘Neurons’ (brand name of the energy drink) to be a better person for today and in the future!” “The hell who’s going to believe that advertisement? That’s full of lies. There’s no energy drink who can instantly make you stronger just by drinking it. That’s pure nonsense. Only stupid people are going to believe that false advertisement.” I mumbled in a low voice on myself as I fasten my pace and plug my earphones on my ears to get rid of the sound of that nonsense advertisement. I walked in hurried steps but also careful not to get my all-white from tops to shoe uniform. As I walked inside the university onto my room, no one greets me. No one paid attention to me. I don’t have any friends here. No one’s talking to me just because they want to during break or lunch, just those students who need something from me. But I’m not bothered by that. I prefer my life to be dull, boring, quiet, and simple. I went to this school to study and graduate, not to make friends nor fall in love. And I’m sticking to my objective, to graduate and pursue my studies to be an anatomist. -- I propped my elbows and look at our professor sleepily. Seriously this professor is getting on my nerves. All he did was talk nonsense. He kept discussing terms that you can easily understand just by reading it in the book. He’s wasting my precious time. I already know about those terms and such. I never learn anything from him. Never did, never once. I sighed in relief when finally the bell rings that signaled for the class to end. My classmates didn’t even bother to wait for our professor to formally dismiss us and just walk out of the room without saying goodbye. Looks like I’m not the only who’s bored into his lessons. I walked out of our building without going to the restroom to retouch or waiting for someone for us to walk home together. I told you, I’m alone and I love it. A hand on my arm stopped me from walking. I looked back and saw Ethan, a guy from another class that kept bothering me and kept asking if he can court me. I turn down this guy like a thousand times already and he’s starting to piss me off now. I don’t know what he can’t understand to the words that he’s no f*****g have a chance on me. “What the f**k do you need again, Ethan?” I clenched my fist and pulled my arm on his grip. I sent him daggers and made a personal distance between us.  “Io, please go out with me.” I have enough of this. “What the f**k you can’t understand about the words I don’t have any single interest to you. There’s no way I would date a kind of guy like you. You’re just f*****g wasting your f*****g time and my f*****g time. So just f*****g get lost and never approach me again. Never ever again.” I didn’t even wait for him to reply, I can’t waste any more time, I told you it's precious.  I walked in hurried steps, trying to get as far as away from him. Grateful that he didn’t chase me or what. I just really hope that he will finally stop bothering me and leave my a*s alone. The fast-food that I’m working on was only a 10-minute walk away from our school. I can take a cab and arrive there for less than 5 minutes but I love walking and saving money so I’d rather not. At exactly 8:00, my shift was done and I’m getting myself ready to get home. It’s only a 7-minute walk away from my apartment, so I’d rather walk again. As I walk, I saw the advertisement again, being played on the big screen. Even though I can’t hear what it's saying because of my earphones I’m pretty sure what that man on the video is trying to say. He’s trying to sell that fake energy drink of them.  I wonder if it’s playing all day long. He sure is an i***t.   -- Tuesday. Sept 30, 2042. 6:30 am. Nothing new for me again. The same routine, it’s boring but I prefer it to be like this. I was about to plug my earphones again on my ears when I heard the same advertisement yesterday again. “This energy drink is nothing like other energy drinks. This energy drink will instantly make your strength tripled and will last for the whole day. So what are you waiting for? Buy ‘Neurons’ to be a better person for today and in the future!” Seriously, I wonder when this advertisement is going to get lost in my sight and in my ears.  I’m thankful to the guy who invented earphones. You’re a hero. A true hero of people like me who always want to shut the world from hearing them mumbled nothing but stupidness and lies. You save my ears from being an i***t.  My earphones plug out on one of my ears as someone bumps me with his broad shoulders and run fast away. The intensity of the bump he gave to me was enough to almost make me fell onto the ground and almost get hit by a car. Thankful that someone gets a grip on my waist and stops me from falling.   That guy, I’m going to f*****g kill him if I saw him again, he almost made me died and almost get my all-white uniform dirty. “Are you okay?” I looked back and saw a girl with her side bangs slightly obscuring my eyes from getting a view of her completely black eyes. The bottom part of her hair was dyed into dark red, which looks really good on her. She is absolutely beautiful and I never have seen someone as beautiful as her. Her beauty is enough to make you shut your mouth and never talk again.  “Miss?” She called me again which made me come back to my senses and release myself from her grip on my waist and made personal space for us. “Ah yeah, thank you for saving me. I really mean it.” For the first time in 10 years, my heart beats louder and faster again.  I thought I successfully freeze this stupid thing inside my chest, I guess I'm not.  “No worries. Just please take care next time.” The girl pet me on my head and smiled at me sweetly then walk away towards her friend or maybe boyfriend who called her by the name, Rylai. I was back into consciousness as I heard the advertisement again from that energy drink ‘Neurons’. Seriously? I plugged my earphones back on my ears and drag my feet towards the university.  On my way, I passed a few people, holding and drinking a green-colored energy drink in a bottle that has a brand name of ‘Neurons’. Seriously? Someone believe that f*****g false advertisement and bought that nonsense drinks? I bet, the population of idiots was getting larger. As I step inside the university, I caught a glimpse of that stupid guy, Ethan, again. I gave him a glare when I saw him walking towards me. Can’t he just give up? The whole day was boring, as usual. A whole bunch of nonsense professors discussing nonsense topics again. Why the university did hire these stupid people? On my way back home, I can’t stop myself from laughing as I saw a bunch of people holding and drinking that energy drink again. Wow, seriously? Another bunch of idiots. My attention was caught by two people arguing on the other side of the road. Their voices are pretty loud that it even beat my heavy metal rock playlist. They are shouting in front of each other's faces, probably showering each other with their disgusting saliva. I slow down my pace and observe them from afar. There are also a few people observing them, gossiping how stupid are them. They really look like they are getting closer to the possibility of strangling each other at any moment now.  I shifted my eyes to the road and decided to stop minding their business but I instantly shifted my eyes back to them as I heard someone squealed.  I saw the other guy, holding a knife and stabbing the other guy repeatedly. The other guy was trying to fight back, but the other guy was obviously stronger and he really looks like crazy. He's even laughing while thrusting his knife that was already full of blood to the other guy. He looks like he's enjoying every scream that the other guy did, it was pleasurable for him. No one even tried to stop the guy. Everyone was scared, even me because he looks like he no longer knows what he's doing.