sixteen → jade west

the vandalized locker

It was supposed to be just another lunch break, another momentary reprieve from the chaos of high school. Jade walked to her locker, expecting to find it exactly how she left it. But what she found made her breath catch in her throat.

Her locker, her haven, was desecrated. Hurtful words like "gank", "bitch", "freak", and "monster" were scrawled in glaring pink permanent marker across the black surface that was decorated with various scissors. The letters were big and bold, a testament to the hatred behind them, impossible to ignore.

When Jade discovered her locker vandalized during lunch break, she felt a sting of humiliation. It was one thing to endure insults or hurtful whispers, but the pink, permanent words on her locker were a physical representation of the pain she'd been feeling.

She could hear the cruel laughter echoing down the hall, the whispers growing louder. Yet, in that moment, it was just Jade and the pink words that bore into her. She began to furiously scrub at the insults, trying to erase them, to erase the hurt.

Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling over her cheeks and blending with the sweat on her brow. It was futile. The words were as permanent as the marker they were written with.

As she broke down, the laughter and whispering stopped. It was then that Tori, Andre, Cat, and Robbie rounded the corner, their lunchtime chatter dying on their lips as they took in the scene before them.

"Jade?" Tori approached hesitantly, glancing at the others for support.

Jade whirled around at the sound of her name, hastily wiping her eyes. But it was too late. They had already seen her broken, a sight they were unaccustomed to.

Robbie swallowed hard, looking pained. "Who did this?" he asked, voice trembling slightly. He knew Jade could be prickly, but nobody deserved this.

Andre simply stood, staring at the locker with a somber expression. Cat clung to his arm, her wide eyes welling with tears.

Beck, who had been standing at a distance, finally approached. He hadn't been sure if he should interfere, but seeing Jade like this stirred something in him. "Jade," he said softly, struggling to find the right words.

She looked at him, her eyes filled with a mix of humiliation and rage. But underneath it all was a deep sadness. It was a look that would stay with him, reminding him of how far things had gone, of the pain Jade had been silently enduring.

The silence that followed was deafening. They were all at a loss, their usual banter and antics replaced by a shared sense of grief and anger. This was a side of Jade they had never seen before, a side they wished they never had to see. But it was also a wake-up call, a stark reminder that something had to be done. They couldn't let this go on.

Tori was the first to move. She approached Jade slowly, giving her a chance to step away if she chose to. But Jade didn't move. So, Tori gently placed her arms around her, pulling her into a gentle hug. Jade didn't push her away. Instead, she let herself be enveloped in the comfort, her hands gripping the fabric of Tori's shirt as she allowed the tears to come.

Andre and Robbie shared a look before moving closer. They each placed a reassuring hand on Jade's back, not quite sure what to say, but wanting to offer their support. Cat, on the other hand, didn't hesitate to join Tori in hugging Jade, her soft sniffles echoing in the silent hallway.

Beck, standing a short distance away, felt a surge of emotion. He desperately wanted to reach out to Jade, to offer her comfort, but he knew he wasn't the right person for that. Not after their breakup. So, he stayed where he was, silently promising himself that he'd do his part in putting an end to the bullying.