PHONE BLAST

(Female’s POV)

You know, when you are the kind of girl who has it all: beauty, personality, popularity, and wealth, you
get your head in the cloud, and it only gets more submerged until you get suddenly yanked out of it
when you lose them.

I was the kind of popular high school girl you may have seen in movies or series, and the only difference
was that it was real. My father, one of the wealthiest men in town, had given me everything I desired:
designer shoes, bags, or a flashy car. I participated in multiple beauty pageants from the age of six and
won each one, which made me feel like a queen bee among the girls my age. Boys flocked around me,
asking for a chance to date, only to be rejected. Many were jealous of me, but I knew I was better than
them, so I didn’t care. It wasn't until after the unfortunate incident that resulted in a scar on my face
that I truly understood how arrogant I was back then.

[3 Months ago]

While exiting the school, my heart raced as I had an eerie feeling of being followed. I turned around to
see who it was, but the sea of students made it impossible to identify the person. My nerves were on
edge as I walked towards my car, feeling the weight of someone’s eyes watching my every move.

Upon reaching home, I was greeted by the sight of my mother, who had separated from my father after
he caught her in an affair with another man. Seeing her again stirred up a mixture of emotions in me -
anger, sadness, and resentment. I couldn't help the biting remark that slipped from my lips as I walked
past her to my room.

“Did David finally leave you to go off with his new mistress?” I sneered, my voice dripping with disdain.

“That’s not how you should greet your mother, Hailey.” Despite her calm response, I could sense the
hurt in her eyes. She walked toward me when she noticed me giving her a cold shoulder. And as she
tried to grab my shoulder, I recoiled at her touch. She looked at me in shock and asked if I still hadn’t
gotten it treated.

“It's fine, Mom. I prefer not being touched anyway. My phobia has become a protective shield, a
blessing in disguise.” I said, my voice laced with bitterness.
She looked at me in disappointment as if she had been expecting a different outcome. I knew she was
about to say something, but I didn’t want to hear it. Before she could speak, I hurriedly entered my
room and locked it behind me.

My mother used to come occasionally in hopes of bonding with me the way we used to before the
divorce, for she had always cared for me. But after what she had done to my father, I couldn't forgive
her, not that I tried. Nothing she did mattered to me.

The next day, I was in a foul mood because of my mom the entire day and was ignoring everyone who
tried to approach me. As I was making my way down the hallway, lost in my thoughts, I was suddenly
jolted back to reality by seeing a guy in thick glasses flashing me a smile. I recognized him as Marcus, a
familiar face from all my classes. He had a habit of constantly bringing up video games in every possible
discussion, using them as examples for every topic, which was admittedly quite tiresome. He was the
archetypal nerd, with good looks obscured by his thick frames and obsession with gaming. I never
particularly cared for him, so I did my best to ignore him and walked past him. However, he began to
follow me, calling out my name, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of embarrassment wash over me.

The moment I noticed him following me, I started walking faster, but before I knew it, he caught up and
tried grabbing my hand. I felt a wave of disgust wash over me as I yanked my hand away, not letting him
touch me due to my mild Haphephobia at that time. (This phobia of touch has become severe, but only a
few people know of my condition since I never let anyone see my weakness.) He looked at me in
confusion and shock, almost as if he didn't expect my reaction. I noticed the corner of his mouth twitch
as he furrowed his eyebrows before finally apologizing and walking away without telling me what he
wanted to say. I didn't care enough to ask him, so I continued walking.

For the rest of the school time, I could sense him giving me a weird look, which, for some reason, I
couldn’t shake off. As the last period ended and he still got on my nerves, I approached him in front of
everyone and said, “Listen here, you dirtbag. I don’t know what you’re trying to do here, but keep your
creepiness to yourself. You only disgust me.” I said whatever came out of my mouth without thinking
and exited the classroom.

That day, when I was at home, a maid handed me a gift box that was delivered to me. Since this wasn’t
the first time someone had sent something to me, I immediately opened it without inspecting it. There
was an old model cell phone inside, and as I clicked on the button to turn it on, a scream erupted from
my throat, echoing in the house as it blasted on my face. As I held my face in pain and agony, a small
piece of paper fell from the box with the message “Rudeness disgusts me.” A haze took over my mind as
I couldn’t take the severe pain that followed, but it wasn’t letting me lose consciousness either.
I was immediately taken to the hospital and admitted for two weeks as my burns were treated. My
father tried to find out who it was that sent me that gift and even asked me who it could have been. I
don’t know if it was the trauma or the realization of how I had treated people until now that I couldn’t
think of anyone who could have done it.

Now that I’m thinking about everything, it might have been Marcus since I had offended him that day.
But there was that stalker, too, whose identity I am still unaware of. While my mother offered to pay for
my surgery after Dad said he couldn’t afford it, I still rejected her. I am ready to live with these until I
earn enough money to afford it myself.

Yes, I was a rich, proud brat who fell flat on my face from the clouds, but surprisingly, this did not cause
me much trauma except that my Haphephobia increased. Probably because after everything that I went
through that resulted in my phobia, this was lesser in comparison. But being a girl and losing your
beauty is terrifying, something no one would ever want.