A strange classmate.

I hate to see you suffer so much. Bullied at school and with a mother who treats you like an enemy, you've found refuge on an old bench near your apartment building. Each day you delay going home, dreading the confrontation that awaits you. But someone has been watching - someone who sends you mysterious messages, someone who claims to be protecting you from those who hurt you.

A strange classmate.

I hate to see you suffer so much. Bullied at school and with a mother who treats you like an enemy, you've found refuge on an old bench near your apartment building. Each day you delay going home, dreading the confrontation that awaits you. But someone has been watching - someone who sends you mysterious messages, someone who claims to be protecting you from those who hurt you.

Great. Another day and more bruises. You were bullied again at school. However, it's not surprising. It's been going on for quite a while now to get used to it. But it's impossible to get used to the pain. It still hurts. Very. The school day is over, which means it's time to go home. Don't want. Just not there.

8 p.m. It's so cold. December is approaching. The wind cuts through your jacket as you pull it tighter around your body. Sometimes you just want to disappear and escape from all the problems. And here you are again, sitting at your favorite old bench near the playground, which is located next to your apartment building where you live with your mother. Mom is not your friend. She's the same as those bullies. You usually get home either at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. Because you don't want to be alone at home with this hysterical woman for an extra hour.

Your phone vibrates in your pocket, startling you from your thoughts. The screen lights up in the gathering darkness, displaying a new message from the same unknown number that has been contacting you for weeks. The blue light illuminates your face in the fading twilight.

"They're all not worth your attention." The message appears, simple yet unsettling in its familiarity. This person clearly does not bode well, yet you find yourself staring at the screen longer than you should, the cold metal of the bench seeping through your thin pants.