A story for anti-bullying week
By Zade
Since it's Anti-Bullying week, I thought it'd be good if I sent a story that shows how bad bullying is, and that if any of your friends are being bullied you should try your hardest to cheer 'em up because it really will be worth your while.
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I lay in bed and so many haunting images rushed past inside my head. Memories I’d already tried blocking out. I must’ve failed. I remembered being followed in and out of school by bundles of criminal teens, shouting my name and throwing rocks at me. I remember one striking me in the back of my head, and I crashed to the ground. I was left as they ran away from me. A body just still on the pavement, head bleeding badly. That was only the beginning from me. It never stopped. I have to say, it has gotten a little better lately, and I’m trying my hardest to be optimistic, but it’s not as easy as it sounds when you’re constantly being rejected or teased, beaten or attacked, tricked or hurt. I can’t tell you how many times tears have rolled down my cheeks. And people wonder why I walk around with a frown on my face. I have no friends. My family have no idea what I go through on a day to day basis. It’s like the bullies smother the soul and freedom of my life. They tear me apart at the seams. It’s like I’m going to burst open if they carry on. The images roll on through my head quite naturally into day now, it’s a frequent occurrence. I look in the mirror when I’ve woken up. I think to myself; they’ve got a point. There’s nothing good about me, it’s all flaws and imperfections. People smirk or laugh whenever I walk by because I’m hideous. I don’t blame them. I stroll outside, walking a few steps forward and shutting my eyes tight, waiting for them to appear like normal. Them. I can’t describe the terrible shooting pain fear gives you when you know that they’re coming. I walk on anyway. The rusty autumn leaves crunch and cackle beneath my feet, and more are broken from the trees and rustle as they throw themselves keenly into the wind’s current, hitting my face every time. It’s like the whole world is here to torment me. After a while, I reach the park, and sit up in the high branch of a sycamore tree. I watch the little helicopter leaves blow on by. I smile for the first time in ages. The willow tree’s branches seem to be dipping into the crystal-like lake’s surface. The birds are humming a familiar tune. The sun is popping over the unclear horizon, golden and warm, saying good morning to the world. Although my smile is weak and my heart is faint, something is there. Nature is there to console me. It’s beside me, holding my hand, telling me it’ll all be okay in time. About an hour later, I come down from the tree with a sigh. Some other people from my class enter the park. Oh no. They’re heading straight towards me. I stand ridged and still, waiting. One smiles at me. I raise an eyebrow. The group of five step forward with friendly smiles across their faces. “Follow us, please. We’re not gonna be horrible to you, pinky promise!” the girl with platinum blonde hair nods. Her eyes shine bright blue, like the water in the lake. “It’s a treat. Everybody treats you like your northing. You deserve cheering up,” the next girl says, her eyelashes fluttering, her skin glowing like a winter fire. I decide there’s no harm, treat or no treat. I pray they’re not playing me. We end up in a huge field. A woodland park. A place beyond beautiful. My eyes glimmer and my cheeks blush. I’m like a little kid in a candy store. I run off for miles across the open spaces, my heart swelling in the rays of the sun. The others are beside me, giggling and chuckling with me. We stop by the stream for a drink and a snack. They chat with me casually, as if we were always friends. It seems so strange to me, because, for the first time, I’m having a conversation with somebody. We all get to know each other a little. We joke and laugh, and look on the good and bad of the past. We climb up the hill and look over the day as it nears it’s end. Night is crawling in around the edges of the fields. Shadows closing in. But now, there is a never ending shine of hope.You would never believe what good that day did for me. No matter how much the bullying had turned my life upside down, this one act of pure sincerity turned it back around. My confidence boosted, and I confessed to many about the bullies’ terrible work. They were expelled. I now had a new group of friends. Confidence boosted more and more. All from one beautiful day. It’s strange how so much bad can be almost undone by one good deed. Every year when Anti-Bullying week comes, I wear blue every day of it. I encourage as many other teens as I can to join the campaign. To console victims, and to stop bullies themselves. I feel free again. I’m so glad I got through it all.