Whiskey Lullaby

Wow, okay, this just got awkward. 

I pull my hands back quickly, my body doing the same, I stumble over my skateboard and land right on my butt. I sit there for a minute just staring at her, stunned.

"Wow..um. You're just now telling me this?" I ask her, throwing my hands up in defense.

"I figured you would notice," she said, a slight smirk on her face.

"I'm not that observant, Scout."

"Well, you should be. Maybe you need glasses..hmh. I'll see ya around, dummy," she nodded toward me before grabbing her things and heading towards the entrance of the school. 

After sitting on the ground, which, need I say, was very uncomfortable, I get up.  As I'm brushing my pants off someone calls out my name. I spin around quickly, nearly landing on the ground once again. 

"Oh, hey, Principal Melgrove." I say with a nervous tone to my voice, there was something really strange about that man. 

"Good morning, Tristen. I have a question for you," he said with a nod of his head.

Did he just -- he just called me by my first name. Okay, he never does that, I'm starting to get creeped out.

"Alright, hit me -- wait, don't actually hit me. Hit me with the question, unless the question is your fist than I really don't -" I get cut off when he raises his hand to silence me. 

"Enough with your stuttering. We're having an assembly this morning about bullying. I was just wondering if you would like to speak, tell Kristen's story for the one's who don't know the complete details." 

"Uh, yeah, sure." I say with a reassuring nod. Not really meaning to reassure him, but to reassure myself that it's okay.

"Great, see you in the gym at approximately 8:30." he said before walking away. 

I let out a soft sigh before I pick my skateboard, hooking it onto my backpack, I begin the walk to the entrance of the school.

This should be fun, speaking in front of the entire high school about Kristen's death, her story. As long as I don't make eye contact with the freaks, (Shania's group, of course) than I should be okay. 

Once I reach the double doors of the school, I pull one open, I don't even bother going to my locker for anything so I just head straight to the gym. As I enter, I notice that nearly the whole gym is filled with people. I notice one person in particular though, Bobby, Kristen's brother. I quickly make my way to him before I call out his name. 

"Bobby, hi."

He stares at me before giving me a hug, not saying anything at all, I could tell he was really upset today. When he pulls back, he hands me a paper. 

"It's something that I want to say, but..I'm afraid that if I start to talk, I'll have another breakdown..can you speak for me?" he asks me in a quiet voice, certainly not the Bobby I knew. 

I nod a couple of times, "Yeah, man. Of course." I slip the paper into my pocket, Bobby takes my things and sets them behind the curtain that encloses the stage. He leads me to my seat and we both start to talk about how great the weather is, just trying to keep our minds off of Kristen.

8:30 came a lot sooner than I thought it would. Principal Melgrove started the assembly off by doing the pledge of allegiance and reading off some cheesy speech he made. Once he finished, he introduced me up to the front. 

I let out a shaky sigh before I speak:

"Good morning everyone, most of you know me, but for those of you who don't, I'm Tristen. Now, bullying is a major deal in my life. I lost someone very close to me because a certain group of people thought it would be "cool" to call her names, to physically beat her. I, for one, did not think it was cool, what they did was wrong, and I'm sure they're still doing it today. I was once a victim of their evil ways, and I'm sure about 80% of you in this gym was or is also a victim. Am I right?" my eyes scan over the crowd as I see many people nod in agreement. 

I continue to speak:

"Kristen was a sweet, kind, loving kind of girl. She would never hurt anyone, and she never did. I remember a time when she cried because I killed a fly. She was precious, like a flower. She was everything beautiful and different. She always had a smile on her face, at least, a real one before the bullying started. She was an amazing friend, and I know for sure that she was an even more amazing sister."

I clear my throat before speaking once again:

"Now, I have a message for the bullies that pushed Kris to the edge. What made you think you could take a life and just push it around? I guess to build yourself up so high, you had to take her, and break her down. You stole her every dream and you crushed her plans, she never even knew she had a choice but, I guess that's what happens when the only voice she heard was telling her that she can't. You always had to be right, and now you've caused me to lose the only thing that ever made me feel alive. She's never coming back, she's gone, long gone, and it's your fault."

I say the last sentence with a cracking voice, I look down before I pull the piece of paper out of my pocket.

"Here are a few words from Kristen's brother, Bobby. Kristen was always a happy girl, growing up. She always made the best out of everything and she always bothered me, but of course, any younger sibling will do that. I want Kristen's story to be known in this school, I want other victims of bullying to know that they are not alone. So, the school board and I have decided on having a small group here at school. It is called Secrets, because I know when you're bullied, you want to keep it a secret. It is dedicated to Kristen, I know she would try to help as many people as she could, so that's what I'm doing. If you ever need to talk, go to the conference room, we will have meetings there everyday after school, or if you prefer, you can schedule a private meeting with one of the leaders." I glance over at Bobby and he nods, "I have decided to make Kristen's best friend, Tristen, as the main leader of the group. If you ever want to talk, I'm sure he'll be there to listen. Remember, you're not alone." I fold the piece of paper up and walk back to my seat.

I sit down and look over at the picture of Kristen that was set up in the gym, Darling, you're okay now.