A tall girl with short black hair was the first thing I saw. Then I noticed the petite girl with dark skin trying to avoid her speculating gaze. Four girls stood behind the tall one, smiling but not looking very happy. I turned back to Gabby."Um... you were saying?" I said, wanting to hear what we could do for recess that was not look at intimidating people. Gabby looked at me questioningly. "Do you know who that girl is?" I thought for a while, then answered, "No. Why?" Gabby looked worried. "That's May, she's really mean. She likes taking stuff from people that look different from her. She took my sister's sweater last month." Now she was looking at the small dark-skinned girl. "We should go help."
I laughed. "May doesn't seem mean," I lied. Then I tried to change the subject. "Hey, didn't Emily say she needed to finish her painting? Maybe we could help her," referring to a lone girl standing by the window of our classroom. Gabby was still looking at May. "No, I want to see what she's doing," she declared, and stood up, using me to support her. I started to protest, but she wasn't listening. I followed her reluctantly because I didn't want to sit alone.
As we got closer to the group, I heard May say, "I know where she got it. If you give it to me I'll buy you another one." The small girl kept shaking her head while looking at the ground or some space far away. She was clutching something around her neck...
Gabby gasped, "That's really pretty!" I looked again and I could see a green stone peeking through her fingers. She was wearing a necklace, and apparently, May wanted it.
The girl kept shaking her head while her grip on the necklace became tighter. I could see her face getting red while water was forming in her eyes. I knew I should tell May to stop bothering her, but the mischievous glint in her narrowed eyes made me hesitate, and my confidence was waning. I didn't want to make an enemy of such a tall, tough-looking girl.
"Let's go," I whispered to Gabby, pulling her arm. She turned toward me, "But-" she started to protest, but then followed me back to where we were sitting while I heard a soft cry. Gabby turned around but I didn't want to see look like I knew what was going on. I could hear Gabby starting to say something, but she seemed to realize I didn't want to interfere. Hearing the bell ring, we started walking to our classroom. I saw May's victim walk to her room, with a bare neck, and I was shocked to see droplets of water fall from her face to the ground, leaving a small trail of dark spots on the pavement. I looked at them, thinking if I stared hard enough they'd disappear, not wanting to believe they were there. I hadn't realized the girl's feelings had been hurt so badly.If I could re-do the scene, I would change the part where I ignored May bullying an innocent girl. I would walk up to May and tell her what she was doing was not nice, that she should think about what she was doing and would she be proud of it later on? I would also ask if the bullied girl was all right and try to comfort her. That's all in the past now, and I wish I had reacted differently.
This year, I will stand up to bullies, and not just walk away because I don't want to humiliate myself. If anyone is getting bullied and not able to stand up for themselves, I will try to help in any way I can. If anyone is in a hint of danger, I will make sure they get out of harm's way. This will help make ISKL a safer and happier place, which is something I think everyone wishes they could have.
http://www.state.me.us/education/bullyingprevention/schools.htm
http://blogs.tampabay.com/.a/6a00d83451b05569e201156ff771c5970c-popup
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0S020tYUptMphYA54aJzbkF?p=girl+bullies&fr=yfp-t-701&ei=utf-8&x=wrt&y=Search
No comments:
Post a Comment