Daisy's Victory

• Sayed Hussainizada, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2010

12:45 pm; Wednesday,
The bustling crowd of pupils rushed to grab the weekly specials, momentarily after the school bell rang for lunch. Amongst them, Demonica, a girl of beauty and intrigue and diabolically unpredictable, stood, motionless-having no clue what to buy. Her eyes strayed towards the row of fresh salad sandwiches, yet drifted to the tempting fried chickens; she stood there immersed in thought. “Which one would be easier to steal?” She tried to plan for a free lunch again.
“BLOCKHEAD TWITS!!” bellowed Demonica, as she walked past Daisy, who hungrily dug into the salad sandwich. Daisy and her friend, Amber were sitting on the silver bench under the shelter-isolated.
“It may be a testament of her ignorant attitude towards others, that she does not have friends, except Amber of-course, her ONLY friend”, exaggerated Demonica, talking with her group of cronies who all laughed sarcastically and made silly faces at Daisy and Amber as they walked past them.
“What’s wrong with Demonica”? Amber murmured to Daisy with a trembling voice, as soon as Demonica and her friends ran to annoy others. “She is always mean to us” she continued, “We can be friends and have fun together, you know. Why does she have to annoy and pick on us?” She started to mumble faster, secretly to Daisy. In response to her friend’s queries, Daisy stared back, clueless, then continued with her half-eaten sandwich.
Daisy was deep in thought, staring in space, bereaved in glumness. “Perhaps, the swelling bruise on her forehead was hurting” Amber assumed. Daisy is always picked on, just because she is slightly different from the others. Demonica is the usual bully and agonises Daisy to the extreme-everyday.
“We don’t …we …we…don’t want f...ff…friends like her, A…Amber” Daisy agitatedly muttered with a sense of urgency in her voice and rage in her heart, after she finished her lunch.

4.50 pm; Wednesday
Anger and egotism masked Demonica in pride, as she swiftly intercepted Daisy on her way home in the gloomy Carter Street, near the post office. Daisy sweltered in panic and trembled in fear as she grasped the post card that her divorced mother had sent for her fourteenth birthday. She tried to alter her way home. She wanted to go home without a bruise on her face for once, but her decision took too long. The thin fragile Daisy now faced the heartless bully. Demonica lit her cigarette and blew it on to Daisy’s face.
“Do ya’ want me mark another bruise on your face, you twit? What are ya’ holdin’. Give it to me.” Demonica threatened Daisy and snatched the post card out of Daisy’s hands. The dark smoke of Demonica’s cigarette surrounded Daisy as she was being humiliated in privacy.
Demonica stamped the post card with a cigarette mark and tossed it to the ground.
“I … umm. I… d…don’t w...wa…ant to argue with you, D…Demonica! Le…Leave me alone” Daisy retorted harshly. “YOU ARE TELLING’ IN ME OFF? YOU B---H!!” Demonica screamed loudly with frustration, and started bashing Daisy with no mercy. She threw punches on her face, kicking her to the ground, without letting her clarify herself.
Blood rushing down her nose, Daisy tried to wipe it with her school uniform. She picked up the marked post card, and limping her way back home, she started her usual journey, crying in pain.

9:10 am; Thursday
“What happened to your nose?” Amber asked impatiently, searching for the reasons of her friend’s broken nose.
Daisy shook her head, to indicate that everything was fine.
“You are hiding something from me. Tell me the truth. Believe in me, Daisy!” She further inquired, investigating the cause.
“P…Promise me that you w…won’t tell any…one,” pleaded Daisy. “I won’t. I promise.” She reassured.
“It was D…Demoni…nica, who did this.” whispered Daisy
“What? Did you say that Demonica has bashed you?” She questioned as she was overwhelmed in fear and overshadowed by antagonism.
“Yes!” Daisy innocently mumbled when tears drops formed in her sorrowful eyes. Amber was feeling sorry for the pain her friend was going through and was irritated by the fact that there was someone out there preying on her life.
“You should stand up for yourself, Daisy”, Amber advised. “You should talk to your dad or may be take the actions yourself!”, she recommended with an unremitting pace. But Daisy would not listen to me. Her conscience was too firm, her heart too empathetic and her mind too leisurely, to react to this unceasing delinquency.

3:50 pm; Thursday
Putting on a brave face, Daisy waited for Dominica on Carter Street, where she always got assaulted. As Dominica got out of her house, Daisy intercepted her way. Dominica’s reaction to this was almost comical. She nearly tumbled over the rock in her way.
“What, um…what are you doin’ here, Daisy?” murmured Dominica in a trembling voice, as she saw the cricket bat clutched in Daisy’s hand. Daisy did not intend to take revenge, but her objective was to teach Dominica a lesson for life. She wanted to make her understand that Daisy will not ever go through oppression and undergo her bullying again.
“I am sorry, Daisy. Although, you may not want to forgive me, Daisy, I am sorry for what I have done to you.” Begged Dominica, as tears of quilt streamed down her cheeks.
Hearing this, Daisy turned and walked away, unsettled into the evening light, as she triumphed, leaving behind the pleading Demonica, who overall was not that invincible as Daisy always perceived.

*****
11:30 am; Friday
Daisy’s mind shifted from the remembrance and skipped twenty years to the present.
She stood firm and tall and her braided hair stretched long, glowing in the mid-summer sun. Her face was fair, her person pleasing, and her heart kind, as always. She stood in front of the crowd, with Amber Augusta beside her.

“Ladies and gentlemen” echoed the voice of the Australian Business Award’s announcer, over the microphone. “Please welcome the Business Award recipient-Mrs Daisy Edward,” the announcer continued.
Piercing applause of the crowd, made Daisy feel very satisfied of her efforts this year in achieving the prestigious award, as she marched majestically to the stage.

“Everyone, it was tough, undesirable and challenging at times but I had to triumph. It was a journey I had to take and from the experiences, I emerged profoundly change…” saying this, Daisy finished her speech, clutching the golden trophy she walked away and soon disappeared in the bustling crowd…