Carrie the Witch

Edward glanced at Frank with a carefree air, his face full of disdain. "Give me a break. I'm not gay—I'm not going to a concert with another guy. I already made plans with Jennifer."

Frank immediately took offense and reached out to punch Edward's shoulder. "Edward, that's really not cool. Are we even brothers anymore?"

The two bickered as they leisurely headed toward the school.

The morning sunlight fell softly over them like a golden veil. The roadside trees were lush and leafy, their branches swaying gently in the breeze with a rustling sound, as though whispering about the trivial routines of campus life.

As they walked, a scene not far ahead caught their attention.

A slender blonde girl was being shoved around by a group of punks. Under their rough pushes, she swayed like a helpless fallen leaf, on the verge of collapse.

Her delicate face was filled with terror and helplessness, and her bright eyes were now full of fear and panic.

Edward and Frank instinctively exchanged a glance. In that meeting of eyes, each understood what the other was thinking.

Almost at the same instant, Edward and Frank met each other's eyes again, their thoughts aligned as they charged straight at the punks without hesitation.

Edward stormed forward and shouted at the top of his lungs, "What the hell are you doing?! Stop right now! Let that girl go—let me handle this!"

Frank stared at Edward in stunned disbelief, his expression seeming to say, Buddy, what are you doing? At a time like this, you're still cracking jokes?

Edward realized he had misspoken as well. He gave an awkward smile and hurriedly explained, "Sorry, slip of the tongue. I was in too much of a hurry and didn't watch my mouth."

The punks had been freely shoving the girl around, enjoying the "fun" of bullying her. They never expected Edward and Frank to suddenly show up and interfere.

They sized up the two imposing young men before them. Though they were deeply unwilling to back down, they also feared the force with which the pair had arrived. If it really came to a fight, their side might not have the advantage.

After weighing their options, they could only turn and leave unwillingly, cursing and spitting threats as they went. They even muttered things like, "You got lucky this time."

Edward hurried over and looked at the girl with concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?" The girl trembled slightly like a startled deer and softly replied, "I-I'm okay." Her voice shook faintly, as if she had not yet recovered from the fright.

Frank gave her a friendly smile and introduced himself. "I'm Frank, and this is Edward. What's your name?" The girl hesitated, seeming somewhat afraid, before quietly saying, "Carrie White."

(Carrie—1976 version of Carrie the Witch)

Upon hearing that name, Frank's expression instantly changed. "Carrie!?" he blurted out. Edward looked at him in confusion. "What's wrong?" Frank froze for a moment, realizing he had lost his composure, then covered it up. "Nothing. Let's get going. We're going to be late."

Edward looked at Carrie again and happened to notice the school badge pinned to her chest. It was exactly the same as the one from his own school.

So he spoke to her kindly. "Carrie, since we're schoolmates, why don't we walk together? Judging by your badge, you go to our school too, right?"

Carrie seemed startled by something and instinctively took a step back. A flash of panic crossed her eyes. She lowered her head slightly and said in a quiet voice, "No need. I can manage on my own."

As soon as she finished speaking, she hurried away with rapid steps, leaving Edward and Frank standing there in a daze.

Edward watched Carrie's retreating figure grow farther and farther away. Then he turned to Frank and asked suspiciously, "Frank, what was that about just now?"

Frank looked slightly embarrassed, his eyes shifting uneasily as he stammered, "Uh, it's really nothing serious. It's just... I heard some strange rumors about her before."

"Strange rumors? What kind of rumors?" Edward's curiosity was completely piqued, and he pressed for an answer impatiently.

Frank cautiously looked around. After making sure no one was nearby, he lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "People say Carrie is kind of... kind of creepy.

"You know, her mother is an extremely strange believer. She controls her incredibly strictly.

"Some students deliberately messed with her before, but afterward, they all somehow had terrible luck. It was like some bizarre force had its eye on them."

After hearing Frank say that, Edward remembered as well—she was Carrie the Witch.

Carrie's mother, Margaret White, was deeply trapped in the mire of extreme Christian fundamentalism. Her twisted faith had long since sunk into her bones like vines, molding her personality into something obsessively warped and nearly pathological.

Her religious fanaticism had reached an incomprehensible level. In her narrow and distorted mind, sex, puberty, and women's normal biological functions were all symbols of "sin," as though they were acts of blasphemy against the religion she believed in.

In that suffocating home, Margaret subjected Carrie to almost abusive control.

Like a cold-hearted prison guard, she forbade Carrie from taking part in normal social activities and completely isolated her from the vibrant, living world outside. In Margaret's eyes, Carrie seemed to be nothing more than an object that could not be exposed to the light and existed solely for her control.

The "prayer closet" in the house was so cramped that it could only hold one curled-up person. Its walls were as cold as ice, like an invisible yet unbreakable cage.

Whenever Carrie made even the slightest "mistake," even something utterly trivial by ordinary standards, Margaret would mercilessly lock her inside that closet.

In that dark little room, Carrie could only listen to her mother's hysterical religious lectures and endlessly repent amid fear and despair. Every word was like a heavy hammer smashing viciously into Carrie's fragile heart.

Day after day, year after year, Margaret used those obscure religious scriptures like poison to continuously brainwash Carrie, depicting the entire world as a bottomless abyss full of temptation and sin.

She tried to make Carrie submit completely to her twisted control from the depths of her soul, ensuring that Carrie's thoughts and actions would conform entirely to her own wishes.

After living under her mother's terrifying mental oppression for so long, Carrie White had become like a little bird trapped in a dark corner—extremely insecure and timid.