Broken Lives

Riot

Hi, just a warning in advance that the We Remember TV series is from the hunger games, sooooooo: DISCLAIMER!

Lia POV

I wake to the sound of a monitor beeping, must be the heart monitor. I've been in hospitals so many times because of my father and each time I have a different excuse that isn't, Oh yeah, my Dad just beat me up ... no biggie. The nurse walks in and greets me with a warming smile, "Hello sweetie. Are you feeling okay?" She says as she checks all the hospital equipment surrounding me. I give her a thumbs up. I recognize her, she was one of my nurses from a few years ago when my dad punched me the eye, she probably doesn't remember me, I've changed quite a lot. When she examines like she's trying to figure out who I am, a humongous smile spreads across her face when she finally realizes who I am. "Lia, darling. Is that you?" I nod, "Look how much you've grown. You look beautiful. How are you? How is that eye of yours?" Another thumbs up. She seems confused at first but then she realizes that I can't talk. As she hands me the notebook, she says, "Oh right, some kid brought you in, told me that you need your notebook because you have mutism, am I right?" Silence. Tactfully approached, I think sarcastically.  Is it that hard to understand? Finally, she finds my notebook and hands it to me with extra care, then she says, "Oh, by the way, that boy is waiting outside. Would you like me to bring him to see you?" I nod. "Okay, I'll be back in a second," then she disappears, and I see Leo walk in and sit on the chair next to the bed, somehow he still has a goofy smile spread across his face. When I see him enter the room, I feel my whole body reaches the temperature of the overheated radiator on the other side of me. The whole room suddenly fills with colors and becomes brighter than before. He reaches in for a hug and I take it, I smile at him and his face beams back at me. "Typical Lia, am I right, in hospital, again," he jokes, "and dragging me with you too, how disappointing" he shakes his head sarcastically.

'Yeah, I have to wonder if I'm really that evil, I mean, after the fiftieth time in hospital for this kinda thing, I'm beginning to think I'm some kind of she-devil' I scrawl in my untidy writing, thinking about ways of conveying the joke or other emotions, without the vocals, in the end I settle with a brilliantly creative ' 😂' face. 

Leo turns serious: "You can't let them treat you like that, and I bet you ain't the only one, too." He says; "You have to fight back. We have to fight back." I shake my head, suddenly downcast,

'Na, you were right the first time, I can't drag you into this just because I'm some selfish git. You had a perfectly normal life before I came along, there is only so much I will disrupt that.'

Leo rolls his eyes, "blah, blah, blah; I don't care Lia, besides," he grinned mischievously whilst I paled, knowing that *I'm plotting evil deeds* expression only too well, "Did you see all the popularity you got out there? 'Lia, Lia, Lia,'" he mimicked in a unbelievably squeaky voice, "I'll bet some others would join the uprising, it's a classic head to head, someone challenges the pathetic bully, they win, the world lives happily ever after, the end!" He chuckles.

'Maybe' I scribble, 'but not yet, we need to be bigger than this school, we need to reach everyone, everywhere, otherwise it is insignificant, someone will still be being bullied, it continues, we lose, as long as we have to fight we are losing, because abuse is still happening, I agree,

"Honestly, i was kidding, but I guess you are right, it must be stopped," 

'but we can't be forgotten after a month, they must remember us, our message, otherwise it's pointless.' I pause, 'Remember Sadie?' Leo shakes his head, 'The upper forth last year, she ran away from home because of Riley's gang, moved into a school in Dartmouth to escape the bullying... What about Carlos?' 

"No," Leo repeats, looking down at his shoes in guilt,

'Upper sixth, working towards his A levels, he got straight A's but no A stars, his mum threatened to abandon the household if that happened, and she wasn't joking. His dad died last year, he lives with his uncle and makes electrical appliances which he sells illegally to put food on the table,' I sigh, 'and my mum, dad and experiences with Riley,' at this Leo grimaces, 'You know those.' 

"You remember them all, everyone's life story, no-one else does. We need to make people remember; make them feel the difference they would be making in the cause as opposed to just watching it from afar, the pain many are being caused. They need to know." 

'What are we campaigning for? How can it all be stopped? How can we reach everyone?' Millions of questions enter my head and I furiously scribble them down as I realise how impossible the task seems to be. 'Our government is ignorant, and the people don't care. They go out of their way to cover it up. Look at the papers, have you ever seen one story about anything like what I've - we have been through? No? That's because the press doen't know. The people are trying to make their town, school, whatever, seem like the perfect place for everyone. We, stories like ours, they ruin that image. Who are we campaigning to?'

 "People Of influence. They have to know. Then we work with them to find a way to stop it. For now we must just What about an international TV series? The... We remember series, broadcasted worldwide, interrupting normal shows, we tell the stories of people who have suffered bullying, annonomously, reminding everyone of the pain abuse causes." Leo looks downcast as he says this, despite his usual hyper energetic appearance when it comes to his ideas. I nod, slowly. 'The Riots Beginning - We Remember.' I write. Leo's face is void of all emotion. I imagine that's what I look like. We are used to it now. Suicide, abuse, bullying. We are used to everything. He nods. 

*time jump roughly a week*

At the mayors office

A small, mousy man sat at his desk, he looked towards the photo of his family, at his little girl before the accident, she had been beautiful, he thought with her mother's blone hair and her fathers bright green eyes. She was still beautiful of course, but in a sort of sad way, her skin had gone eeriely grey, the tubes that were keeping her alive payed for only by the mayor's unlimited health care. Her green eyes had gone grey as well. Everything had gone grey after the accident. Her skin, her eyes, his hair, even his office. Once bright and cheerful, after the incident, the mayors blue and green office began to give him headaches, just another thing on the growing list of what the mayor couldn't deal with. Like everything else, decorations were scrapped once the mayor had almost lost his daughter. The melancholy silence was broken as his secretary entered, wearing a red dress, a worried expression on her face:

"Mr Mayor, there is something you should see. Chanel 43." The secretary muttered 

"Thank you Alya, I'll take a look." He replied, shaken out of his daze.

*time skip to after watching the video*

"Oh gods," the mayor muttered, "this is awful.  Alya, call a meeting with the most important people in the human rights department, the child rights department, and any god dam person you can think of!" "My daughter," he muttered "if I lose my job, what will happen to her," he drew silent. He knew exactly what would happen and it made him feel sick to the stomach.

"Yes sir"

Once everyone had arrived, the mayor began immediately : "I assume you have all seen the..." he paused, unsure of how to phrase the anti-bullying video, "documentary," he decided. There was a mumble of agreement across the tables, "hmm, good, I need you to do everything in your power to stop people believing in any of the statements there, you have all resources at your disposal for this task, do anything you have to to stop anyone taking action; make them wanted people, claim they're terrorists, just do something!" The mayor pleaded before adding quietly, "I have no clue how to deal with a full protest, but I need this job, for my daughter..." he tailed off, everyone in the room knew the sad truth that was tearing apart their mayor.

A/N, okay people, so no one has commented yet so please, I need help, this is my first story so all criticism welcome, also, I have a q & a for all you potterhead south there: thoughts on the cursed child: I love the storyline but hates the fact it ruins timeturner law. It also has Scorbus sooooo......that's a plus. Characters need some work though, I mean getting humiliated would not turn Cedric into a death eater. All in all, Mixed views. You?