THE UGLY FACE OF BULLYING

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Adam was 13 years old when his parents move to another state because of work. He was the only child and his parents were too busy with work to really care for him like they should. He had to change school and leave his friends behind, he was so scared of the new school. On his first day in his new school, his mother drove him and left without any moral support. He held on to his bag and summoned courage to walk in. Right from the entrance of the school, Charles noticed a new student and as his usual tradition, he walked up to him.

”Hey man. Are you new here or you lost?” Charles asked.

Suddenly, Adam’s courage disappeared on that spot. He became speechless and looked down to avoid his gaze.

”I am talking to you dork, it is wrong to stay mute when you are asked a question.” He moved closer to him. He used his finger to lift his face up, he could smell the fear in him.

”I am new here……..” Adam stuttered, he wished the ground open and swallow him.

The other students gathered around them. This got him more uncomfortable, he vomited. To make it worse, it was on Charles’s shoe. His face squeezed, he grabbed him by his shirt with so much anger. Vice Principal Dean walked in and other students ran off leaving the two behind. Charles quickly released his hold and straightened his shirt then ran off. This was the beginning of the end of Adam.

After school, Adam waited in front of the school for his mother to pick him up. Suddenly, he was face down on the floor with a bully breathing down his neck. Charles pushed him from the back, he further punched him severally before leaving.

”Welcome to my world, you are now my bitc*, boy.”

Adam stood up, he was sore all over. He had a little cut on his face, he wanted to cry but some students were looking at him. One of them told him about his face, he went to the school’s clinic where the nurse cleaned his face. She asked him how he got the wound but he lied. His mother picked him up after but was too occupied to see his face.

Charles continued to bully Adam in school. He tried to talk to his parents but they were too busy with work and was scared to talk to anyone in school because Charles warned him about that. Despite the trauma, he was still doing well in class. For the first time in his life, a girl had interest in him. Sarah talked to him class and they met in library. She taught him how to avoid Charles and their friendship was going well – late night calls, house visit and studying together. She really made him feel important and was no longer lonely.

Suddenly when he thought life was smiling at him, Charles met him and Sarah in the lobby. He hit her across the face, she fell. He was so angry and tried to defend his friend but was beaten too. To cut the long story short, Sarah had to be transferred to another school far away by her parents. He was left alone again with his bully. One evening when he got home after another beating, he wrote a suicide note…………….

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The ugly face of bullying have pushed another teenager to suicide. We have seen news like this on media platform in recent times and it seems everyone is silent about it unless those affected. Bullying is an ugly, evil and disturbing menace that needs to be curbed in schools. The government should work with schools to find a lasting solution. Counselling can work because most bullies suffer from different pain and use bullying to cover up. Also, students affected should seek counsel. This will help them face their fears.

From some movies I have watched, I have discovered that facing your fears truly help. Be prepared and determined to face any bully even if it involves another beat down. Your courage will make him/her scared too. No matter how big it is, face it. Bullies can come in non-human form so if you can't face bullying in human form, how can you face non-human? I wish and pray bullying stop in schools so people can face education squarely without fears. Thanks for reading.