Steven laughed loudly, regaling his buddies with tales of his week-long resort fling with his mistress…

When Sarah was born, her mother wept, and her father disappeared into a week-long drinking binge. The baby girl was beautiful and healthy, except for one thing: a congenital defect on her face, a developmental abnormality.

It’s fairly common. Sarah’s upper lip was split, a condition known as a cleft lip. The doctors reassured her parents, explaining it wasn’t a big issue. Modern surgeries could fix it, leaving barely a trace.

But Sarah wasn’t so lucky. Maybe the surgeon was inexperienced, or maybe it was just her fate. The scar turned out crooked and rough, and her upper lip stayed noticeably swollen, almost puffy.

Still, Sarah was an adorable little girl, with light curls and mischievous eyes. Her face was beautiful, even with the scar above her lip, which faded over time. Her lip remained slightly fuller, as if perpetually swollen, but it didn’t detract from her charm.

Her parents adored their daughter and tried to shield her from everything. But how do you protect a child from the cruelty of other kids? In kindergarten, the other children barely noticed her difference, but school was a different story. Sarah endured relentless teasing from her classmates. As she grew older, her father landed a good job in the city.

They sold their rural home, said goodbye to their neighbors, and moved into a city apartment. Not only was Sarah uncomfortable in the urban environment, but her new school wasn’t exactly welcoming. City kids went out of their way to humiliate the “country girl,” and Sarah’s lip gave them an easy target for their cruel jokes.

She tried to ignore them, but at night, she cried into her pillow. Her parents, busy with work and a new baby brother, didn’t notice at first. They expected Sarah to help with the baby and keep up her grades.

They had no idea about their daughter’s struggles. Eventually, Sarah snapped and fought back against her tormentors. They fought dirty, aiming for her face.

When the principal urgently summoned all the parents to the school, it turned out the other kids only had torn clothes and a few scratches. Sarah, on the other hand, was battered. Her cursed lip was horribly swollen and bleeding, staining her school uniform with bright red blood.

Her classmates insisted Sarah had attacked them first. Her father, incredulous, asked, “She took on four boys at once? And if she did, why is she the one beaten up, not you?” The school tried to hush up the scandal. They demanded Sarah apologize to the boys, but she flat-out refused.

She declared she was done with school altogether. Her parents stood by her but didn’t know how to help. Sarah never went back to that school.

Once the bruises faded and her face healed, her father enrolled her in another school, much farther from home. Sarah transferred mid-year, and this time, she got luckier. Maybe the kids were kinder, or maybe Sarah felt more confident, but no one openly teased or picked fights with her…