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Yes, I know it’s a bit dark in here. I prefer it that way, and I mostly get what I want now. I might as well tell you why I’m here, as we have time to kill and I’m in no hurry.
Oh, what’s that? I haven’t even told you my name yet? Well, people at school call me Leech. I guess it started when I tried to make friends with people, I just hung around and most of them ignored me.
Don’t get me wrong, I can see why they didn’t want me around. I was too lanky to be any good at sport and I certainly didn’t have the looks. I had little self confidence and couldn’t even sit next to a girl without feeling awkward. But it wasn’t the average students that bothered me, it was the few stupid bullies who decided to make my life hell.
It seems that some people aren’t happy if you’re different, they feel angry that you can’t play football or upset that you aren’t mad on kicking small dogs in. Well, Bill Travis and Dean Williams were two of those people and they took every opportunity they could find to push me around and make my school life unbearable. I wasn’t the only one, but I guess I took it more personally than most, having no real friends at school to run to or back me up.
During sports I was always made the goalkeeper or some other position where I could easily be hurt. Quite often I found a ball was often followed by a foot or some hockey stick found its way towards my chest. Even if I managed to avoid danger during the lesson, the changing rooms always had their own form of dread attached. I’d find myself being skewered on coat-hooks, kicked to the floor or being forcefully thrown in the shower, fully clothed.
I prayed during my lessons that the teacher wouldn’t go out of the room. Imagine that? Hoping to be under the gaze of the teacher all the time, that is pretty miserable if you ask me. Of course, it often happened that the teacher was called away or forgot something, in which case I found myself looking around the room, furtively trying to pick out my tormentors. What type of existence is that, though, being afraid of every minute that ticks by?
I came home most evenings with bruises from being knocked about. I can see you’re thinking that I should have told my parents. Perhaps you’re right. I even tried once, we were having dinner and I broke down and cried, there and then at the table. My mother comforted me, but in the end my dad told me that I should ‘just stand up to them’ or ‘get tough’. He didn’t understand. How could he? He had been the school Rugby captain and I bet he hadn’t ever been cowering for cover every break-time. So, I just carried on, taking each day on autopilot, thinking the worst so that sometimes I could at least think myself lucky if I didn’t get hit.
But that was then, before I met James. I must have been running away from someone at the time and found myself in the library. It was one of those safe places because the librarian was always at her desk, so I ended up in there on many occasions. This time I had already been hit several times and I reckon the bruises showed because James looked concerned. He was a year older than me and, other than that, he didn’t really stand out in any way. He took me to a corner and sat me down. That’s when I learnt his secret and I learnt what he had hidden right underneath the school.
So, here we are, back to this moment, just you and me sitting here. I know what you’re thinking. Has he got some sort of bomb under the school? Is he going to blow everyone up, perhaps? Maybe I’m poisoning the water supply? All of this to get back at those bullies who ruined my life.
But it’s not just you and me, you see. Your eyes might be adjusting to the dim light in here by now. You should be seeing all the others sitting around us. Just because some stupid people made my life hell at school doesn’t mean I want to kill everyone. Don’t you realise that, yet? No, James showed me another way.
These people here are my friends, they trust me and I trust them. So, I’m calm now and I can cope with all that stuff up there, because I know I can always come back down here to get away from it and, hey, it’s only for a few more years until I get out of school. We’re all calm down here, thanks to James and his supplies. Don’t be alarmed, it gets us through. I’ve seen those bruises on your arms, so I know it’ll help you too. Welcome to the club.
Oh, what’s that? I haven’t even told you my name yet? Well, people at school call me Leech. I guess it started when I tried to make friends with people, I just hung around and most of them ignored me.
Don’t get me wrong, I can see why they didn’t want me around. I was too lanky to be any good at sport and I certainly didn’t have the looks. I had little self confidence and couldn’t even sit next to a girl without feeling awkward. But it wasn’t the average students that bothered me, it was the few stupid bullies who decided to make my life hell.
It seems that some people aren’t happy if you’re different, they feel angry that you can’t play football or upset that you aren’t mad on kicking small dogs in. Well, Bill Travis and Dean Williams were two of those people and they took every opportunity they could find to push me around and make my school life unbearable. I wasn’t the only one, but I guess I took it more personally than most, having no real friends at school to run to or back me up.
During sports I was always made the goalkeeper or some other position where I could easily be hurt. Quite often I found a ball was often followed by a foot or some hockey stick found its way towards my chest. Even if I managed to avoid danger during the lesson, the changing rooms always had their own form of dread attached. I’d find myself being skewered on coat-hooks, kicked to the floor or being forcefully thrown in the shower, fully clothed.
I prayed during my lessons that the teacher wouldn’t go out of the room. Imagine that? Hoping to be under the gaze of the teacher all the time, that is pretty miserable if you ask me. Of course, it often happened that the teacher was called away or forgot something, in which case I found myself looking around the room, furtively trying to pick out my tormentors. What type of existence is that, though, being afraid of every minute that ticks by?
I came home most evenings with bruises from being knocked about. I can see you’re thinking that I should have told my parents. Perhaps you’re right. I even tried once, we were having dinner and I broke down and cried, there and then at the table. My mother comforted me, but in the end my dad told me that I should ‘just stand up to them’ or ‘get tough’. He didn’t understand. How could he? He had been the school Rugby captain and I bet he hadn’t ever been cowering for cover every break-time. So, I just carried on, taking each day on autopilot, thinking the worst so that sometimes I could at least think myself lucky if I didn’t get hit.
But that was then, before I met James. I must have been running away from someone at the time and found myself in the library. It was one of those safe places because the librarian was always at her desk, so I ended up in there on many occasions. This time I had already been hit several times and I reckon the bruises showed because James looked concerned. He was a year older than me and, other than that, he didn’t really stand out in any way. He took me to a corner and sat me down. That’s when I learnt his secret and I learnt what he had hidden right underneath the school.
So, here we are, back to this moment, just you and me sitting here. I know what you’re thinking. Has he got some sort of bomb under the school? Is he going to blow everyone up, perhaps? Maybe I’m poisoning the water supply? All of this to get back at those bullies who ruined my life.
But it’s not just you and me, you see. Your eyes might be adjusting to the dim light in here by now. You should be seeing all the others sitting around us. Just because some stupid people made my life hell at school doesn’t mean I want to kill everyone. Don’t you realise that, yet? No, James showed me another way.
These people here are my friends, they trust me and I trust them. So, I’m calm now and I can cope with all that stuff up there, because I know I can always come back down here to get away from it and, hey, it’s only for a few more years until I get out of school. We’re all calm down here, thanks to James and his supplies. Don’t be alarmed, it gets us through. I’ve seen those bruises on your arms, so I know it’ll help you too. Welcome to the club.
Ineedsleep wrote:
> Hmmm. Not sure about this. Well written as always but it didn't make
> me think or feel anything. I just read the words.
>
> Sorry :(
Same here, I'm afaid.
> Hmmm. Not sure about this. Well written as always but it didn't make
> me think or feel anything. I just read the words.
>
> Sorry :(
Same here, I'm afaid.
Whilst I felt the link could have been a little stronger, the story overall was a fine attempt, and has an almost universal appeal. I liked the way the character didn't get over emotive, it made you wonder about what would follow, and then made more sense at the end when it turns out he was speaking to other bully victims.
I liked that a lot actually.
I liked that a lot actually.
Enjoyable read and the ending was nice, but there was just something about how it was written that stopped me from really sympathising with the main character. I'm not sure what, though...
Still, a nice entry.
Still, a nice entry.
I enjoyed this, wondering where it was leading to, thought some kind of revenge may be on the cards. Once I reached the end I went back to the start to have a look over it, and if I had to make one criticism, it was that it didn't seem as though it was being directed towards another student.
Hmmm. Not sure about this. Well written as always but it didn't make me think or feel anything. I just read the words.
Sorry :(
Sorry :(
Yes, I know it’s a bit dark in here. I prefer it that way, and I mostly get what I want now. I might as well tell you why I’m here, as we have time to kill and I’m in no hurry.
Oh, what’s that? I haven’t even told you my name yet? Well, people at school call me Leech. I guess it started when I tried to make friends with people, I just hung around and most of them ignored me.
Don’t get me wrong, I can see why they didn’t want me around. I was too lanky to be any good at sport and I certainly didn’t have the looks. I had little self confidence and couldn’t even sit next to a girl without feeling awkward. But it wasn’t the average students that bothered me, it was the few stupid bullies who decided to make my life hell.
It seems that some people aren’t happy if you’re different, they feel angry that you can’t play football or upset that you aren’t mad on kicking small dogs in. Well, Bill Travis and Dean Williams were two of those people and they took every opportunity they could find to push me around and make my school life unbearable. I wasn’t the only one, but I guess I took it more personally than most, having no real friends at school to run to or back me up.
During sports I was always made the goalkeeper or some other position where I could easily be hurt. Quite often I found a ball was often followed by a foot or some hockey stick found its way towards my chest. Even if I managed to avoid danger during the lesson, the changing rooms always had their own form of dread attached. I’d find myself being skewered on coat-hooks, kicked to the floor or being forcefully thrown in the shower, fully clothed.
I prayed during my lessons that the teacher wouldn’t go out of the room. Imagine that? Hoping to be under the gaze of the teacher all the time, that is pretty miserable if you ask me. Of course, it often happened that the teacher was called away or forgot something, in which case I found myself looking around the room, furtively trying to pick out my tormentors. What type of existence is that, though, being afraid of every minute that ticks by?
I came home most evenings with bruises from being knocked about. I can see you’re thinking that I should have told my parents. Perhaps you’re right. I even tried once, we were having dinner and I broke down and cried, there and then at the table. My mother comforted me, but in the end my dad told me that I should ‘just stand up to them’ or ‘get tough’. He didn’t understand. How could he? He had been the school Rugby captain and I bet he hadn’t ever been cowering for cover every break-time. So, I just carried on, taking each day on autopilot, thinking the worst so that sometimes I could at least think myself lucky if I didn’t get hit.
But that was then, before I met James. I must have been running away from someone at the time and found myself in the library. It was one of those safe places because the librarian was always at her desk, so I ended up in there on many occasions. This time I had already been hit several times and I reckon the bruises showed because James looked concerned. He was a year older than me and, other than that, he didn’t really stand out in any way. He took me to a corner and sat me down. That’s when I learnt his secret and I learnt what he had hidden right underneath the school.
So, here we are, back to this moment, just you and me sitting here. I know what you’re thinking. Has he got some sort of bomb under the school? Is he going to blow everyone up, perhaps? Maybe I’m poisoning the water supply? All of this to get back at those bullies who ruined my life.
But it’s not just you and me, you see. Your eyes might be adjusting to the dim light in here by now. You should be seeing all the others sitting around us. Just because some stupid people made my life hell at school doesn’t mean I want to kill everyone. Don’t you realise that, yet? No, James showed me another way.
These people here are my friends, they trust me and I trust them. So, I’m calm now and I can cope with all that stuff up there, because I know I can always come back down here to get away from it and, hey, it’s only for a few more years until I get out of school. We’re all calm down here, thanks to James and his supplies. Don’t be alarmed, it gets us through. I’ve seen those bruises on your arms, so I know it’ll help you too. Welcome to the club.
Oh, what’s that? I haven’t even told you my name yet? Well, people at school call me Leech. I guess it started when I tried to make friends with people, I just hung around and most of them ignored me.
Don’t get me wrong, I can see why they didn’t want me around. I was too lanky to be any good at sport and I certainly didn’t have the looks. I had little self confidence and couldn’t even sit next to a girl without feeling awkward. But it wasn’t the average students that bothered me, it was the few stupid bullies who decided to make my life hell.
It seems that some people aren’t happy if you’re different, they feel angry that you can’t play football or upset that you aren’t mad on kicking small dogs in. Well, Bill Travis and Dean Williams were two of those people and they took every opportunity they could find to push me around and make my school life unbearable. I wasn’t the only one, but I guess I took it more personally than most, having no real friends at school to run to or back me up.
During sports I was always made the goalkeeper or some other position where I could easily be hurt. Quite often I found a ball was often followed by a foot or some hockey stick found its way towards my chest. Even if I managed to avoid danger during the lesson, the changing rooms always had their own form of dread attached. I’d find myself being skewered on coat-hooks, kicked to the floor or being forcefully thrown in the shower, fully clothed.
I prayed during my lessons that the teacher wouldn’t go out of the room. Imagine that? Hoping to be under the gaze of the teacher all the time, that is pretty miserable if you ask me. Of course, it often happened that the teacher was called away or forgot something, in which case I found myself looking around the room, furtively trying to pick out my tormentors. What type of existence is that, though, being afraid of every minute that ticks by?
I came home most evenings with bruises from being knocked about. I can see you’re thinking that I should have told my parents. Perhaps you’re right. I even tried once, we were having dinner and I broke down and cried, there and then at the table. My mother comforted me, but in the end my dad told me that I should ‘just stand up to them’ or ‘get tough’. He didn’t understand. How could he? He had been the school Rugby captain and I bet he hadn’t ever been cowering for cover every break-time. So, I just carried on, taking each day on autopilot, thinking the worst so that sometimes I could at least think myself lucky if I didn’t get hit.
But that was then, before I met James. I must have been running away from someone at the time and found myself in the library. It was one of those safe places because the librarian was always at her desk, so I ended up in there on many occasions. This time I had already been hit several times and I reckon the bruises showed because James looked concerned. He was a year older than me and, other than that, he didn’t really stand out in any way. He took me to a corner and sat me down. That’s when I learnt his secret and I learnt what he had hidden right underneath the school.
So, here we are, back to this moment, just you and me sitting here. I know what you’re thinking. Has he got some sort of bomb under the school? Is he going to blow everyone up, perhaps? Maybe I’m poisoning the water supply? All of this to get back at those bullies who ruined my life.
But it’s not just you and me, you see. Your eyes might be adjusting to the dim light in here by now. You should be seeing all the others sitting around us. Just because some stupid people made my life hell at school doesn’t mean I want to kill everyone. Don’t you realise that, yet? No, James showed me another way.
These people here are my friends, they trust me and I trust them. So, I’m calm now and I can cope with all that stuff up there, because I know I can always come back down here to get away from it and, hey, it’s only for a few more years until I get out of school. We’re all calm down here, thanks to James and his supplies. Don’t be alarmed, it gets us through. I’ve seen those bruises on your arms, so I know it’ll help you too. Welcome to the club.