Without A Voice (Based On A True Story)

The Incident

Our friendship grew everyday. Grace and I were practically inseparable. My family saw a noticable difference in my behavior. She did the impossible; she made me happy. I was happy. I never thought I could say that again. Deep down, I know my father had something do with her walking through that front door and into my life.

She and I spent every minute at school together. We sat outside before class together, talked endlessly about the latest cartoon shows together, ate lunch together, everything. There was no judgment, no worries. I felt like she was the missing piece in my life, and now I'm complete. Nothing could ruin our blessed friendship. Friendship, another word I thought I never would understand.

While waiting for class, we are asked to line alphabetically by last name. We lined up next to a pillar right outside our class. Sadly, Grace and I were at opposite ends of the line; her last name was Douglas. I didn't mind because she and I would be sitting next to each other in class anyway, thanks to Mr. Kent.

One day, the class was lined up outside waiting to enter Mr. Kent's class after lunch. Grace and I had a thrilling game of tag. I was sweaty, but on top of the world. Suddenly, the other kids started pulling me forward. I had no idea why they were pulling me, but I tried to fight back.

"No! Stop!" I shouted. "I need to stay here. I'm last." They were relentless. They pulled harder and harder, some even pushed me from behind. I shouted and screamed, hoping a teacher would stop them. The doors were apparently sound-proof. They eventually got me to the pillar. I was scared out of my mind and extremely confused. What am I doing here?

"Stand over there." Josh Matthews, one of the biggest bullies in our class (and possibly the instigator of thos whole scheme), said. He pointed to the other side of the pillar. I looked at Grace, begging for a hint. She shrugged with concern for my safety.

"Why?"

"Just do it!" Out of fear of violence, I obliged and stood on the other side of this pillar. I snuck a peek around the corner and saw everyone laughing. They were laughing like they heard the funniest joke in the universe. I tried looking for Grace, but the other kids blocked her. As I searched, the other kids started chanting in unison.

"Zero! Zero! Zero!" Then it hit me; they wanted me to stand behind this pillar because I was the "zeroth" student in our class. They didn't want to see me, to look at my nothingness. I sat on the ground and started to cry. I couldn't see, but I knew their laughter grew louder and louder. I started to cry harder in turn. This was a new low for them and for me. That kind of behavior was cruel, even for kids. But I have never felt so low in my life. I truly felt like I was at the lowest point of my life. They made me feel like I was worthless; I was nothing.

My life flashed before my eyes. All the torment and heartache played back in my mind. I reached a breaking point. There was no cheering me up this time. I was done with my classmates treating me like this; I was tired of the world treating me like this. But where would I go? Where would I go to escape this cruelty? At that moment I realized...we were on the second floor.

I stood up and looked over the safety rail. My classmates were still having the best time at my expense. We were about 10 to 12 feet off the ground. There was nothing but the hard, cold ground below us. That was my ticket away from these horrible people, and closer to my father. There was no way I would have survived if I jumped.

But then, I thought about my family and their impact in all this. I couldn't do this to them. Jacob grew up without a father and I was the only role model he had. John lived his own life, leaving Jacob and me in the dust. We just lost our father 5 years ago; there was no way I could put them through that again. With that, I turned around and sat back done. I cried for the harsh reality around me, but also because I knew I did the right thing. Hopefully, my father smiled down from Heaven at the immense strength it took to prevent our reunion.