A Book of Short Stories

Short Story 3

BULLIED

We all remember our first bully, maybe not because they were simply evil, but because of how they made us feel. Now, I may seem totally mainstream and normal on paper, but that's simply not the case in real life. I've been bullied pretty much my whole life. Middle school royally sucked, and if you've spent even an hour in the crowded halls of slamming lockers then you know how tough high school life can be.

Currently, there is a boy in my grade, let's call him Nathan, who has been bullying me since I first came to the school I am in right now. Now, I know what you're thinking, and no, he does not like me. Nor do I like him though everybody thinks I do, which is severely stupid.

Now, Nathan doesn't know that the stuff he says to me is mean, so I can't really judge him, but if I said to him the stuff he says to me, then he would be very hurt. Now, thankfully, I am used to the unkind things people say to me, and I don't take them personally anymore. Now, if this situation took place a few years ago, I probably would have been way more upset than I am right now. I get that I'm not for everyone, I say annoying stuff unintentionally, and I say really stupid things simply to appear funny. Trust me when I say, none of the things I say are really actually that funny, and people usually end up just laughing at me instead of with me.

I still act stupid, though, because I've become so used to appearing dumb that I actually don't know how to act any other way.

Now that I think about it, that's kinda sad, because I wasn't always that way. I used to be pretty enjoyable to be around and I had many friends. There was a moment in time that I wasn't bullied, but it was when I started to change, that people began to miss who I once was and picked on me because I was weak. I don't blame them, to be honest, if I saw me in the hallway back then, I'd probably pick on me too.

Now, back to Nathan. Nathan is your average bully. He's tall, handsome, and appears perfect to every girl that walks by him. He gives little kids high fives and hugs and even has cool and funny nicknames for them. If you were to interview a middle school boy and ask them which high schooler they look up to most, their answer would always be the same. They'd say Nathan.

Nathan and I also have nothing in common. He is a pretty gifted basketball player and  could get into college simply for that reason. Me? I don't have any really incredible assets that could potentially get me into a good college. I'm a decent writer, but an average student. I stink at math but am halfway decent at science. I am okay in English, but I am an awkward speaker.

He's an okay student. He's about as good of a student as I am. He occasionally misses assignments, but who doesn't? He is smart, but he doesn't want anyone to know that, so he acts dumb. He's also incredibly experienced at being rude, he lets you know how he feels about you simply by the way he looks at you. And unfortunately for me, he really doesn't like me.

Nathan is the most popular guy in my grade of 15 students. If he likes you, then you are immediately liked by everyone else in my class. Unfortunately, he really doesn't like me, therefore no one else does either. This is tough, because partners don't want to work with me and people tend to shut down my ideas instead of welcoming them and testing them out to see if they will work.

You're probably thinking that this isn't really bullying, but I'll tell you now how it actually is.

So, I recently, maybe like a week ago, was sitting in my school library and reading a book. Nathan, Jason, and this dude named... John walked in and sat with me. Well, they didn't really sit with me, but they sat in the same vicinity as me. Also, my stepbrother was there and witnessed everything. So, Nathan wouldn't stop talking to me. Now, whenever he creates a string of roasts directed at me, I always respond to him, because I just can't just ignore it. So Nathan said to me that "I kind of look like E.T."

Now, I really actually don't, but he just likes to irritate me. So he pulls up a picture of E.T on his phone and places his phone next to my face exclaiming that we actually have the same colored eyes. Now, my eyes are actually turquoise and E.T.'s are blue. Not the same color at all, Nathan.

So I then exclaimed to Nathan, "Dude, you have a longer neck than I do!"

Now, this sounded like a way better exclamation in my head. Nathan was laughing at my lame attempt at a roast. But it was true, Nathan really does have a longer neck than I do. I didn't intend for that comment to come out as a roast, I simply meant it as a fact, to you know, put him in his place. Instead, everyone in the room, including my stepbrother, started laughing at me.

After Nathan left, one of my classmates asked me if I liked Nathan! I was so confused! Why would I have a crush on the boy that has made my school life a living hell?! But then I thought... did me claiming he has a longer neck than I do give off a vibe that I have feelings for him? I then made a pact that I would never try to roast Nathan again.

My advice to you, whoever you are, is to not respond when your bully says something rude to you. Trust me, it never ends well. Maybe, sometimes, you will come up with a really decent roast that puts even the bully's to shame, but until then, just don't respond. Also, if your bully is nice to you sometimes then rude to you the next don't claim they're your friend on the day they're nice to you, because as much as you may want to be their friend, they sure as hell do not want to be yours.

So, as Ariana Grande put it... thank you next :)