Everyone Has A Voice - anti bullying short story

Every One Has A Voice

The fist collided with my cheek, sending me spiralling to the ground, making tears form in my eyes. I squeezed my eyes shut, preventing the tears from spilling. I wouldn't let them see how much they hurt me. I couldn't, because it would make it so much worse.

“Do it.” A voice said. I opened my eyes and looked up, gazing into the eyes of my enemy. They were pretty, his eyes, a kind of deep blue, but I didn't care how nice his eyes were. I wouldn't have cared if he was the hottest boy in the world. It made no difference. He was still rotten on the inside. They all were.

“No.” I replied, shaking my head. They could hurt me as much as they wanted, but I was not going to throw my brand new phone onto the train track that lay beside me. I'd saved up for months so I could buy it, and I was not about to let a bunch of idiots like them destroy it.

“No? You don't want us to hit you again, do you?” Said another boy. I remembered his name was Tom. The boy with the blue eyes was Fletcher, and the blonde girl standing slightly back from the others was Astrid. Astrid and I used to be best friends. We were inseparable. But then we'd had an argument, and who had she turned to? The “cool” kids of the school. It had started off minor. They'd occasionally insult me, sometimes poke me, but nothing too serious. Then they started spreading rumours about me, and gradually, all my friends left me, leaving me alone and helpless. After that, things only got worse. But I'd never told anyone, because, whilst that may have stopped them in school, what was to stop them outside the gates? And I knew they'd hurt me so much more if I told anyone. It wasn't just the physical way they abused me. I was used to that at home. The worst part of it all was when they reminded me of how unwanted I was in the world, how unloved. I had no friends, and my family neglected me, so I had no one to talk to. But that didn't matter to them. They enjoyed hurting me, both physically and mentally.

“Well? Have you lost the ability to speak or something? Or are you too scared to even talk to us now?” Fletcher taunted. Tom smirked, but Astrid remained silent, as she always did.

“Go on then.” I said, barely more than a whisper.

“What? Speak up, I'm a little deaf in this ear.” Tom said, pointing at his left ear. I stood up, and then spoke more clearly.

“Go on then. Hit me. But I will not let you order me around.” I said, with more confidence than I felt. I scrunched my eyes tight shut, bracing myself for the impact, but instead of being punched, I felt myself be pushed, with so much force that it sent me tumbling backwards right off the edge of the platform and onto the train track. I lay there, winded, aware of the distant rumbling signifying a train was on its way, but I did nothing to save myself. After all, what was the point when living was so painful?

“Get up! Get up you idiot!” Someone was screaming at me. I ignored them. I looked up and saw Astrid jumping off the platform and hurrying over to me. She grabbed my arms and pulled me up, and it was only then that I realised the danger that I was truly in. I jumped to my feet and saw the train, coming towards us at full speed, and I ran. We made it to the platform with only a second to spare, and I breathed a sigh of relief as the train whizzed past us, whilst both me and Astrid were standing safely on the platform. She looked at me, her expression one of shock, and said:

“I am so, so sorry. I never wanted it to become something this serious. I should have stopped this ages ago. Please, I know I've been horrible, but can we still be friends?”

I looked at her and, despite everything, I smiled, for the first time in months.

“Of course. I forgive you.” I said.

The next day, Astrid and I spoke to the head teacher and told him about everything. The two bullies were suspended, and all of my old friends came back to me, explaining that they were too scared of the bullies to continue being my friend. I forgave them all, just thankful that, in the end, everything turned out fine. I even told the teacher about my family issues, and I was adopted by two really nice people who care for me more than my real parents ever did. For the first time in my life, I am truly happy.

~ No benefit comes from keeping silent. Tell someone, and your problem will be dealt with, and you can live happily once again.