Anna was an intelligent fourteen year old girl. She would sit in her lessons ignoring all the distractions around her and focus on the things that mattered most to her in life.
Her hair was a fine, jet-black and was always straight, hanging freely beyond her shoulders. Her fringe rested to one side and tucked behind her ear; she never wore a hairclip nor did she include any sort of hair product to keep it the way she wanted it to be. Her eyes were bright green, showing the world of life inside each one. She stood tall amongst most others; she never looked down amongst those who seemed weaker or fragile - she treated everyone the way she thought they deserved to be. Despite all her good deeds and care towards others, many of them did not care for her as equally.
For years I stood by my sister. Through every fall and every bump, I pulled her back on to her feet and kept her going. She did the same for me, also.
‘Noah, why are those who try to impress others by hurting those that are different living in this world?’ she would sometimes ask me when we’re at school in the lunch hall. ‘In my honest view,’ I’d reply, ‘they just need the attention because life’s too powerful for them to handle. You and I, on the other hand, aren’t held down by what’s thrown at us. I have you and you have me; which is all we need to keep going.’ She smiled when I said it to her that day. ‘What about Katie? She’s always helping me with my work and laughing with me.’ Anna looked at me with her green eyes searching for an answer. ‘Yeah,’ I replied with a slight smile appearing. ‘Katie’s also what keeps you going.’ Anna giggled and then carried on eating her tuna and mayonnaise sandwich which our mum had prepared for her the night before.
This is what I remember after that.
The sun peered in through the window: it created a path across the floor and over the cheap, fold-away tables set up for students to eat their lunch on. It ended on the red wall about a foot away from where I was sitting. I sat and watched the dust particles dance around like ballerinas in a pantomime performance.
‘They look unreal,’ Anna said looking at the beam of light, too. ‘They do look a bit fantasy-like, don’t they?’ I raised my hand out to my left to reach into the beam and watched the light catch my hand. Anna had already returned to finishing off her sandwich whilst I fascinated myself playing with the light. Don’t you find it strange how a sixteen year old boy is fascinated by a beam of light whilst a thirteen year old girl would just calmly sit there eating her lunch? I know that I do.
Anna took the last bite out of her sandwich and then placed it back into her lunchbox. She swallowed and moved her fringe out of her eyes. Then, she went to grab her red messenger bag to check what lesson she had after lunchtime was over.
‘Oh,’ Anna muttered sounding surprised.
‘What’s up?’ I replied.
‘It’s a note.’
‘Let me see?’ I asked, hoping she would let me read what was written on it. I doubted it.
‘No, let me read it first, please?’ She asked with one of those innocent faces that you always just have to give in to. ‘OK,’ I said.
She opened it up cautiously. Her mouth dropped instantly, ‘oh, my god,’ she murmured. ‘What is it?’ I asked taking the piece of paper. My mouth also dropped but only slightly. I could see the impact the not had on her, her eyes just stared motionless at her lunchbox on the table. I looked at the note again but this time, I was filled with anger.
"Emo fag! Go cut yourself!"
Those words kept encircling my head. Over and over again; I wanted to punch those that wrote them; I wanted them to feel the pain Anna and I felt, but I shouldn’t, the punishment upon myself would be too great at this time.
Anna didn’t move. She just fiddled around with the Velcro strap on her bag. I could see her eyes reddening and her face paled over. ‘Feeling a bit like I am?’ I asked, knowing well what the answer would be. ‘Yeah, possibly,’ she replied quietly.
‘I want to make them feel hell reign down on them, but I know too well of the consequences. Is that what you were thinking?’ I asked.
‘Something along those lines, yeah. But I know I would never stand a chance against them.’ She replied, her voice sounding as if she was being choked. It was clear she was trying to hold back the tears.
The bell went, signalling the end of lunch. I looked around to see if the ‘usual suspects’ were around, but I caught no sight of them. ‘Come on,’ I said, ‘two more lessons and then we can escape from all this for the weekend.’ ‘Yeah, if I manage to survive,’ she said with a little giggle afterwards. At least she knew everything was going to be OK.
