Short Stories

Say No To Bullying

As he stepped off the train, a wave of panic seized him.....Daniel knew something bad was about to happen and Ashton was a part of that something bad. Ashton and his crew were always bothering Daniel because of his weight. To them, he was too big. Daniel was already insecure and Ashton didn't make it any better. Daniel and Ashton were both in the same class while in fifth grade. Everyday, while in class, Ashton would constantly pick on Daniel every chance he got. No matter where they were, he would call him names which made Daniel very suicidal. Daniel would go home, cry to his mom and constantly ask if he was overweight. His mom always made him feel good and he would keep that feeling until he got in school the next day. Everytime they were in class and Ashton picked on Daniel, the teacher wouldn't say or do anything to stop it. Nobody did, which made Daniel feel even worse. Ashton got away with so much, it got to the point where it started getting physical. Ashton and his crew would trip Daniel while he walked and also surround him and push him around. Daniel wasn't a fighter so he didn't fight back Ashton but he was definitely getting tired of it. The only thing that stopped him was that if he fought back Ashton, things would only get worse for him, so he decided to not take his chances.
One day, while Ashton and Daniel were in class, Ashton decided to pass around a piece of paper with a picture of Daniel looking like a huge teddy bear. Everyone except the teacher and Daniel saw the picture. Daniel heard everyone laughing so he assumed that it was something about him. He frowned. The teacher saw Daniel's facial expression and snatched the paper from one of the kids that were laughing. "Who drew this?", Mr. Mitchell asked. "It was Ashton. Him and his big headed friends are always bothering me", Daniel spoke up and answered. "How do you know it was me? Did you see me do it? I rather have a big head than to be huge just like you", Ashton responded. "You're always talking about me being fat, so what? Is that all you can say? Your head is the same size as your nose and feet, you clown", Daniel said back. Everyone started to giggle, including the teacher. Ashton looked around and got angry. He got up, stood over Daniel and said, "you have jokes, huh? How about you say them to my face?". "What's wrong Ashton? Don't like when the shoe is on the other foot? Move away from me", Daniel said back to him and also stood up. The teacher was shocked that Daniel stood up to Ashton. He didn't say anything, he just watched. "I advise you to sit down before I punch you", Ashton threatened Daniel. Daniel didn't listen, he just stared. He pushed Ashton and said, "Punch me". Everyone was shocked including Ashton. As soon as Ashton was about to swing, Mr. Mitchell broke it up and told them both to sit down. "This isn't over Johnson. When I catch you, it's over for you", Ashton said to Daniel. Daniel started getting scared. "What did I just do? What's going to happen?", he thought to himself. The bell rang and everyone was dismissed. Daniel took his time because he didn't want to get into another altercation with Ashton. He did his best to get home the fastest way he could. Instead of taking the usual way, he decided to take a different route. As he was walking, he heard laughter and voices. They sounded familiar, they sounded like it belonged to Ashton and his friends. Daniel's thoughts were right. "Heyyy! Come here teddy bear!", Ashton yelled. Daniel started hearing footsteps. He decided to speed walk. As he was speed walking, the footsteps also started getting faster. Daniel started running and made his way down an alley. "Don't run now, you were tough earlier. Fight me now punk. There's nobody here to save you", Ashton said. Daniel was scared. He was at a dead end, nowhere to go or hide. Ashton and his friends saw Daniel and surrounded him. One by one, they started hitting him, punching him, kicking him. "What happened tough guy? Cat got your tongue?", Ashton teased. HE laughed while he and his friends continued to hurt Daniel. Daniel couldn't fight back, he could barely move. He laid on the ground curled up in a ball. His breath started to become really short. Ashton kept going until he realized Daniel was dead. Then he and his friends ran away and went about their day as if nothing happened. Daniel was dead and his mother lost her child. No one knew what happened to him or who did it......