The Stray Star

The School Bully. (Part 1). (Not Completed - 1/2).

Tick, tick, tick. What a boring day. The sky is gray, the wildlife outside has buried themselves deep underground to escape the wrath of the upcoming storm. I'm in middle school, my name is Amelia and my parents are divorced. I live with my dad in a broken-down hut that we can barely even pay for each month. I wish she could've been here... my mother was wealthy, unlike my father. After he had lost his job for literally no reason, she started to have affairs with her boss, ultimately making the two split. At the time I was only 5 years old. Every day I think about her, my father told me she had long and sparkly hair, she was one of those make-up freaks who always put on make-up, even if it's something as simple as walking the dog or going to the store. She always made my dad laugh with her jokes and was so optimistic. She loved to wear dresses anytime she could and her father says she would make me wear dresses every single time I could. I don't know what changed in her, the constant stress of having to work harder and longer ever since my dad had lost his job, or the fact that my father was getting lazier as his days of unemployment grew. All I know is that she left a hand mark on my father's cheek, as she walked out that door, into the orange sunset, never to be seen again. My father had told me that she was going to come back one day, but the more time she was gone, and the older I got, I had already figured out the truth. Please co- SMACK.

"Seriously Amelia, class is over, stop daydreaming over that breakup, or are you looking outside because you finally realized that you're a pig that belongs outside?" The girl smirked and then laughed with the other classmates that were packing up and leaving the room. She was Margaret, the school's pop-star, she was great in athletics, singing, art, and relationships. She always was a player, yet her fanbase keeps growing each day, nobody can see the true side of her, she uses people to get what she wants and everyone else obliges because she has rich parents that always spoil her. "What...? No, I-" "Is that any way to talk back to a princess!?" Margaret replied in a sharp tone. I sighed. "If you want me to leave you alone pig, I want you to get down on all fours and walk around the room, like the pig you are." again, she and the other classmates laughed, now everyone has been calling me a pig. Every day I have to deal with her constant bullying, all because I couldn't thank her for helping me on a math test back in third grade. I was a shy girl, I had no friends and I could barely even speak to anyone, even the teacher. I never felt safe in school, I guess she just thought that I was ungrateful and started making me her prime target since then. I had gone to the principal about this but all he says is "It'll get better." At this point, I just wish he had told me that he didn't care, because I can see it in his eyes, I do not matter, I'm not good enough to be around any of these people because I live in poverty. I put my head down, put my hands up to my ears, and shut out the world for a couple of minutes, dozing off in the process.

When I awoke, ten minutes had passed, everyone was gone from the classroom and I could see the last of the kids leaving, I got up and reached for my bag behind me. The only thing I felt was the wind moving. What...? Where'd my bag go..!? I put it right here! Oh no did I lose it? That bag was loaned, it was given to me by the school since I wasn't able to buy my backpack, it was smaller than a backpack, but it had glitter-filled star stickers on it. It gave me the feeling of not giving up, I knew that stars exploded at a certain point and time, yet I also know they make more stars after their supernova. It also reminded me of my mother... She loved stars. I remember I helped her make star-shaped cookies for my father back when I was only three. I NEED to find that bag, it's the last thing I have that gives me the motivation to move forward even when it gets ugly with Margaret. I ran out of the classroom, looking in each classroom on the second floor, thinking that I might've left it in another class. Nothing. I then ran down the stairs to check the bottom stair classrooms, still nothing. I ran outside to the front of the school where the fountain was and at last, the bag was there, ripped and floating in the fountain, with the words "Pig" written all over it. I could feel myself on my knees, gasping at the sight of the bag. "How could I have let this happen..." I muttered to myself, the sun was setting and all I could think about was the time my mother had left me, how she took away a piece of my life.