I'll always be there for you(Completed)

Chapter Eight

     The following day we returned to school and surprisingly there was no horse playing  in the halls. Everything seemed different as if this wasn't a normal middle school. Walking over to my locker, I begin to get my books out until I saw Jane. "What's going on, it seems like everyone is normal?" I asked as if it were a bad thing to be normal.

"Come see," Jane said. Closing my locker, I gathered my books in one hand and followed Jane down the hall. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw four policemen along with a k9. The cops are never here, so this must be serious. All of a sudden, I saw Bob Glostner coming out of a classroom handcuffed. There were tears in his eyes and students begin pulling out their phones and recording the scene.

"Get to class, there's nothing left to see here," the principal shooed us off. I headed to my class and took a seat. Maybe things are gonna different around here without Bob, I noticed his sidekick was nowhere to be found. The teacher came in the classroom and begin teaching. I took notes and asked a few questions. Class seemed to have gone by rather quickly.

"Excuse me, May I have everyone's attention?" The principal said over the intercom. After this class period, I need you all to head over to the auditorium," she instructed and that was it. Leaving us all looking around in confusion. The teacher continued with the lesson, but all I could do was look at the clock and watch the time go by. My mind kept wondering back to why we had to meet in the auditorium. The only time we met in there was for a pep rally or physical education.

The bell rang and all the students filed out of the classroom and headed to the auditorium. We all took a seat on the bleachers and waited for the principal to tell us what this was all about.

"Thank you all  for coming here today as you know we have loss a fellow student, a classmate and a son to the loving parents of Cara and Bill Daniels. Today, I would like you all to take a pledge to speak up in the midst of bullying. If you or someone you may or may not know is being bullied, speak up. Let's make a change, don't be a bystander. Speak up!

" I will set this notepad out and whoever chooses to sign it, you are making a difference one person at a time," the principal sat a notepad and a pen out on the table and stood back and waited. We all looked around, waiting for someone to go up or do or say something. Instead of waiting, I decided to take a leap of faith.

As I made my way down the stairs, all eyes were on me. For a second I  felt like a deer in headlights. After I signed it, Jane followed as well as several others. Before I knew it there was a long line of people ready to take the pledge and make a difference.

After school, I felt happy like I had made a difference. Jane and Tyler were headed over to my house so we could all hang out. "What do you guys wanna do today?," Jane asked. "Do you guys wanna go to the mall, my mom can take us," Sue suggested.  "Yea," we all agreed and left for the mall.

"Let's go to foot locker," Tyler suggested. "No way, were going to Claire's," Jane and I gave Tyler a pointed look. He knew he may as well give up when It  can to us, because it would be us against him most of the time.

"Alright, well I get to choose where we eat at the food court," he implied. We both shrugged our shoulders and he followed us. When I turned around his shoulders were slumped in defeat, an Jane and I both giggled. After we bought matching wallets and accessories, we left and followed behind Tyler.

"Would you care for some samples?" A lady asked holding out some sweet & sour chicken . Tyler grabbed four and Jane and I looked at him as I he were crazy. "Your like a bottomless pit," Jane teased. Popping two into his mouth, he chewed and swallowed the food before answering.

"So, where are we going to eat?" Sue asked. "Chick file A," Tyler said. We shrugged an made our way over to take a look at the menu. After the man counts out his change  and the lady gave him a receipt. Tyler stepped up to order his food.

"What can I get for you today young man?" The cashier asked. "I'll have a twenty piece nugget, a large fry and large Sierra mist." "That will bring your total to $8.46," she said after punching buttons on the register. Tyler dug out some  crumpled bills, straightened them out and handed them to her. The rest of us ordered our food, then we looked for a table that wasn't occupied.

Most of the tables were occupied with people or trash or plates piled on top of one another. "There! There's an empty table," Sue's mom pointed pointed to an empty table. When we made it there, we noticed it had just been cleaned. In that case, we all were satisfied and took a seat.

"How was school today?" Sue's mom asked after we were all settled and set our food out to eat. "It was great mom, I was the  first to take a stand and take the pledge to stand up for bullying," Sue replied. Sue's mom looked at her surprised, because she knew her daughter was always shy and timid. This was a change in the right direction.

Is that right?" Sue's mom asked.  Karen(Sue's mom) was now sitting with her elbows on the table and her chin resting in her hand, listening with admiration to her daughter and her friends.

"Yea, after Sue went and signed it, I got up and signed it too. After that, it was like a chain reaction. Everybody started forming a line to take a stand for bullying," Jane said. Even the football players who act all tough signed it, now that was impressive," Tyler chimed in.

"It looks like you all have had quiet the day at school," Karen commented. What would you say you have learned from this whole experience?" She asked glancing at each of us as we sat there. Everything had gotten very silent as we pondered our thoughts, as if this was the question of the century.

"After seeing a friend that  I barely got to know die, I would have to say this whole experience has taught me to speak up and that no matter who I see getting bullied step in and stop it before it gets started," Jane replied.

"Yea, because if we just stand there and watch it, we are just as worst as the bully itself. We have to be more than a bystander," Sue added. After we all agreed, we sat there ate and talked for the rest of the evening.