The girl in the wheelchair remained sitting in the mud, her uniform soaked, her hands trembling, and mud smeared across her cheek. In front of her, the red-haired boy was now silent, while the mud she had thrown slowly dripped from his face. The students who had been cheering and laughing moments earlier suddenly could not speak. They were still holding their phones, but little by little, they lowered them, as if only now realizing that this was no longer a simple prank. The girl slowly raised her head. Her eyes were no longer afraid. Her body hurt, her dignity had been shattered, but there was a strange coldness on her face. “You thought this was funny?” she asked softly. “You thought that because I’m in a wheelchair, I couldn’t do anything?” The red-haired boy swallowed hard, but still forced a smirk. “So what now? Are you going to call a teacher?” he mocked her. “Go ahead, report me. Let’s see who believes you.”
The girl did not answer right away. Instead, with trembling hands, she reached for the cellphone that had fallen near the edge of the muddy puddle. Her movements were slow, but every motion showed clear determination. When the red-haired boy saw this, he suddenly stepped closer. “Hey, what are you doing?” he shouted. “Give me that!” He tried to snatch the phone, but one girl from the group stepped back and yelled, “Stop it! We’ve gone too far!” The red-haired boy ignored her. But before he could touch the phone, the girl looked straight at him, cold and sharp. “Stay away,” she said. “If you come any closer, you’ll regret it even more.” He stopped. He did not know why, but there was a weight in her voice that he had not heard earlier. Slowly, the girl pressed the screen, called a number, and raised the phone to her ear while her breathing still trembled.
After only a few seconds, someone answered on the other end. The girl’s face suddenly softened, and for the first time, the pain in her voice broke through. “Papa…” she whispered, almost unable to speak through her tears. “They pushed me down the slope… I’m in the mud right now… I can’t get up…” The entire area behind the school suddenly fell silent. The word “Papa” sounded like a simple call, but the sadness and weight behind it made everyone stop. The students could not hear the man’s voice on the other end, but they saw how the girl’s expression changed. “I didn’t slip,” she added, crying but speaking clearly. “They pushed me. Everything is on video. Papa… I’m scared.” At that moment, the red-haired boy’s face suddenly turned pale. “Who are you talking to?” he asked, trying to sound brave, but his voice was already shaking. The girl slowly lowered the phone and looked at him. “My father,” she said. “The mayor.”
It was as if the air behind the school suddenly stopped. The students holding their phones almost all looked at each other at the same time. “She’s the mayor’s daughter?” one of them whispered. The red-haired boy stepped back, nearly slipping in the mud. “No… you’re lying,” he said, but the arrogance on his face was gone. “If you’re the mayor’s daughter, why do you study here? Why aren’t you in a private school?” The girl slowly looked at him, tearful but steady. “Because I wanted to live normally,” she answered. “But people like you prove that wherever you go, there are bullies when they think no one will fight back.” Suddenly, fast footsteps were heard from the top of the slope. A teacher, the guidance counselor, and a school security guard arrived. Behind them came the principal, clearly rushing. “Where is she?” the principal asked, breathless and nervous. “The mayor’s office just called me.”
The red-haired boy’s courage collapsed instantly. “Ma’am, it was just a joke,” he quickly said. “I didn’t mean it. We were just playing.” But before he could hide behind his excuse, one student raised a phone. “Ma’am… there’s a video. It clearly shows that he pushed her.” The principal stepped closer, took the phone, and as she watched the video, her face slowly turned cold. The footage clearly showed the push, the girl begging, the group laughing, and the wheelchair crashing into the mud. “Everyone involved,” the principal said heavily, “will have their parents called in. This video will be submitted to the mayor’s office and the school disciplinary board.” When he heard that, the red-haired boy almost cried. “Ma’am, please… my future will be ruined.” The teacher gently helped the girl while she still held the phone. Before she was taken away, she looked at the red-haired boy and spoke softly but clearly: “When you pushed me, you didn’t think about whether my life would be ruined. Now you’ll learn the price of hurting someone you thought was weak.” In the distance, a vehicle from the mayor’s office could be heard approaching. The red-haired boy was left beside the muddy puddle, head bowed, trembling, while the friends who had once laughed with him began to step away from him one by one.
