She swallows.
She brings the razor blade down, slicing it across the thin skin of her wrist, leaving a trail of
emotions bleeding out behind it.
Is it too much for her to ask for a better life?
Why is this always happening to her?
It isn’t fair.
A trail of translucent wetness slides down her cheek, already wet from previous tears.
One cut for “lesbian”.
One cut for “loser”.
One cut for “fat”.
One cut for “not wanted here”.
She’s none of the four.
But is it so hard to believe that she thinks she is?
No one realizes what the ultimate consequence of their “harmless teasing” will be, until, come tomorrow, a certain young woman doesn’t show up to school.
A young woman, a mere fifteen, who won’t have a chance at love.
A young woman who won’t have a chance at children.
At a home.
At a life.
But they won’t think anything of it.
They’ll be in denial.
“She’s just sick,” they’ll say then shrug.
After a while it will be, “Oh yeah, she told me over the phone last night that she was transferring.”
Even though the ghost of a lost life can’t pick up a phone.
They’ll continue to deny that it was truly their fault that an innocent girl is now lying with Jesus.
They’re naïve.
They’re attention hogs.
They’re ignored for fear that they will do the same thing to anyone who stands up to them.
They’re BULLIES.
She brings the razor blade down, slicing it across the thin skin of her wrist, leaving a trail of
emotions bleeding out behind it.
Is it too much for her to ask for a better life?
Why is this always happening to her?
It isn’t fair.
A trail of translucent wetness slides down her cheek, already wet from previous tears.
One cut for “lesbian”.
One cut for “loser”.
One cut for “fat”.
One cut for “not wanted here”.
She’s none of the four.
But is it so hard to believe that she thinks she is?
No one realizes what the ultimate consequence of their “harmless teasing” will be, until, come tomorrow, a certain young woman doesn’t show up to school.
A young woman, a mere fifteen, who won’t have a chance at love.
A young woman who won’t have a chance at children.
At a home.
At a life.
But they won’t think anything of it.
They’ll be in denial.
“She’s just sick,” they’ll say then shrug.
After a while it will be, “Oh yeah, she told me over the phone last night that she was transferring.”
Even though the ghost of a lost life can’t pick up a phone.
They’ll continue to deny that it was truly their fault that an innocent girl is now lying with Jesus.
They’re naïve.
They’re attention hogs.
They’re ignored for fear that they will do the same thing to anyone who stands up to them.
They’re BULLIES.
~Bullies, by Emma Bibb
“I saw this site and it really touched me. I decided to write a short story. What happens in the story hasn’t happened to me, although I have cut myself due to bullying issues at school before. It isn’t fun. I stopped though, and I feel much better now. I hope this project makes great progress!”
You Will Rise Project 