Indifferent: A Short Story About The Consequences Of Bullying
I have to visit Bianca’s grave to feel any sense of closeness to her. It sounds insane because I know she is gone. But my heart still wants to be near her. She was like a sister to me that I will never know again. Being near her grave gives me the feeling that she “knows” I am making a difference, even if it’s far too late for her. I’ve known her since kindergarten. I knew her long than I had known Travis. It isn’t fair for myself or for her.
I remember the bright and beautiful spirit that she was. She was always the one smiling and remaining positive even when she was bullied in middle school. I thought the same way we had ignored the bullies in middle school would work in high school. The bullies in our middle school would eventually lose interest and would find new victims. The ones she had in high school were eviler and more vindictive.
I wish I would have known then what I know now. I wouldn’t have told her my old mantra: “Ignore them.”
I would have started the Anti-Bullying Club with her while she was still alive. I wouldn’t have worried about the retaliation she and I would have faced. We would have faced them together. Because the problem wasn’t always directly in front of me, I was able to remain indifferent. Having an attitude of indifference when Bianca needed me will always be my biggest regret in life.
It gives me some comfort to know that some changes have been made since her death. Students now face the possibility of suspension, being expelled, or being arrested for anything up to and including “bullycide”.
I sometimes fantasize about slowly torturing “the animals” (I will never refer to them as women) who caused her so much emotional anguish and hurt to make them pay for what they have done. That makes me no better than “the animals” themselves, I know. I rise above these dark thoughts and think of the greater good. I focus my energy into the Anti-Bullying club and to help people like Bianca know that we will no longer stand idle.
