If He Was There for Her
Bullying comes in many different forms. In my opinion it is because you are different. The difference in you is unacceptable to other leading to the tragic loss of many people being someone they are not.
I have heard many stories about bullying, I’ve spoken to people who wanted to take their own lives.
The story am about to write out is edited and contains the collection of many real incidents but I will retain from using the real names of the victims. This maybe your friend, your daughter or son, the person that sold you coffee. Open your eyes, expand your heart to accept people as who they are.
Grace woke up with the fear of going to school. She was a young teenager who was defined as the “fat woman” in school. She combed her long hair and decided to tie it up while recalling the girls in the last row drawing doodles of her under the desks and even inside the washroom made her leave her hair down. She wiped tears off her eyes and grabbed her lunch without any eye contact with her parents and ran avoiding the school bus.
She expected more names to be called but I must mention that Grace was one of the top students in school with all the teachers expecting the best results from her. Grace skipped school for he first time trying her hardest to put all her thoughts together and fix herself up. She never saw that she was flawless as everyone she associated made her feel like a giant pile of mistakes walking around the hallway. Grace considered Mathew to be her best friend and it was heart breaking when Matt decided to gang up with the boys and proved himself to be the same.
Matt and Grace are neighbours and attended the same college since year 1. Matt as mentioned by Grace was her best friend and helped her smile through her hard times.
“Every thing was alright until Tony and the boys started to edit my pictures” Grace wrote down in her diary indicating that she did not have a single soul to share her sorrowful story. Her pictures were exposed all over the school and Grace had to sit in a corner of the classroom unable to express her feelings towards the issue. She tried explaining herself to the teachers and her instant breakdowns made the matter unclear.
The senior boys tried hugging me and capturing pictures and the captions of them were very violent which I wouldn’t be stating here. Grace had starting falling behind in her studies and no one offered to ask her what was wrong. Matt tried but his gang was too important to lose over a fat girl whose pictures are all over the internet. The night of the school senior prom which Grace had to attend to avoid further problems the senior boys and girls made their party to pick of innocent Grace.
Grace couldn’t handle it anymore she ran out of the party with torn clothes. “that was my favourite frock that Ricky tore” She wasn’t afraid to mention names and she was happy to state why “ No one would miss me if am gone, and no one would read this even if I was gone”
Grace woke up through rough nights she was failing her exams and her parents accusations were unbearable. She wore her blue sweater and she walked out of the door skipping school for the first time. She made sure the marks on her wrist were not visible. Walking down the road she saw many school kids point out at her she felt the laughter behind her back, she felt the lack of friends and Matt no longer being around. She didn’t hate Matt she found herself the problem no one wanted to be around her.
Grace walked to the park which is usually filled with people but early mornings make the park lonely. The change in school was noticed as Grace was picked on a daily basis as a joke around the school. Matt felt that it was unlike Grace to not attend school as he saw her leave home this morning wearing her favourite sweater. “let her go Matt, be a guy man” the guys pounded heavy words on Matt making him close his eyes hard and he felt his blood rush through his entire body.
He sneaked out to the washroom and was weirdly followed by Sophie. “Matt we got to find her” Sophie seemed different,
“Why, out of no where why are you looking for her, Do you really miss bullying her” his voice started to shake and his hands were trembling like a leaf
Sophie remained speechless but convinced Matt that she is not interested in any of this but was dragged into this just like he was
“If we don’t find her and if she has harmed herself Matt we are going to regret this”
They looked for her everywhere
Her parents panicked and searched for her and filed a complain about their missing daughter. Matt ran up to her room and the memories flashed back of how things could have changed if he was a better friend. Sophie messed up her entire room trying to find a single piece of evidence to find Grace.
“Nothing” she sat down with disappointment on her bed and she stroked the sheets and inside the pillow was a razor that made all of them gasp. It was the only thing, there were three photographs Sophie handed it out to Matt,
Behind the pictures stated:
“Matt and I during Halloween” Grace had a huge smile on her face
“Grace winning her best grade Prize for the 8th time in a row” the third person narration behind the picture was confusing
“When Grace was gone” the third picture was an edited photograph of the most violent edits that reached many people making Grace unable to get out of bed.
“The Park” Matt yelled
A confused Sophie ran behind him followed by Grace’s parents and her little brother.
The sweat and the tears rolling down their faces and Matt squeezing the picture Sophie handed him he sprinted into the park,
“No, No NO NO Grace, Please…” A dead silent moved through the crowd as they found grace cuddling her diary to her chest with a glass bottle fallen next to her. She was still breathing. The ambulance wasn’t late.
She tried to breathe through the tubes connected to her body and Matt started at her beautiful face cursing himself. Sophie recalling all the insults that ruined a beautiful girl, she had the kindest soul and would help anyone. She recalled Grace helping her out in math lessons and how the world focused on her body when all she had was a beautiful soul.
