Middle School Melodrama

Sara awoke to the loud beeping of her alarm. Sara slowly blinked her eyes open and looked over at her clock. 6:03. Perfect. Sara slowly sat up in her bed, and slid out of her bed. Today was her birthday, so she was incredibly excited. Sara got dressed into her favorite outfit; a jade colored shirt with black pants and black cardigan. She pushed in her white pearl earrings and slowly began to make her way downstairs. Sara was still super tired, but that wouldn’t lessen her excitement. She saw her mother sitting at the table, working on her laptop and sipping on coffee.

“Morning mom!” Sara said cheerfully, walking over to the cupboard and getting herself a bowl of cereal.

“Happy birthday sweetie!” Her mom said, looking up from her work and smiling warmly at Sara as she poured milk into her bowl. Sara picked up her bowl and walked over to the table, her chestnut hair bouncing with each step. She quickly ate her breakfast and brushed her hair, making sure every hair was perfect. It was a few weeks before the end of school, and Sara wanted to look good. As she walked out the door, wearing her best Mary Janes, she breathed in the fresh spring air, listening to the soft twittering of the birds and the gentle wind. As the bus pulled up in front of her house, Sara jumped in excitement and ran quickly to the bus. She jumped onto the bus and smiled at the bus driver.

“Happy birthday Sara! You look very nice today!” The bus driver said, nodding at Sara as she walked by. Sara was going to call one of her friends but quickly found out that that was wishful thinking, because she had no connection. Sara was a bit bummed but shook it off, she would see Evie at school anyway. Sara looked out the window as the trees whisked by, turning into a green blur. Sara looked down at the flowers dotting the ground below as they passed by a garden and wondered how good they smelled. It was close to the end of school by now, and Sara was a little sad that she would hardly see her friends over the summer. The bus slowed to a stop each time they were going to pick someone up, and Sara continued to stare out the window as they picked up every last one.

•••

After they parked at the school, Sara was completely ecstatic. She would get to see her friends! And what’s a better birthday present than that? Sara hopped off the bus the moment the doors open and immediately ran into Alex, the school bully who absolutely despised her.

“Whatcha so happy about?” Alex said, feigning surprise to see her.

“It’s my birthday, or are you mad that I am content?” Sara said walking past him and towards the school. She heard the first bell chime in the distance and picked up speed, beginning to run. She ran to her locker, hurriedly got her stuff, and ran off to first period: Gym. Sara HATED gym; Alex was in it, and he would always be super rough. Sara quickly changed into her gym clothes, and ran out just in time to do the pledge. Sara saw Evie and ran over to her, smiling and calling her name.

“Hi Sara!” Evie exclaimed, giving Sara a wave (not a hug. Never. Ever. Her claustrophobia’s that bad). “Happy birthday!” Evie was a sweet girl with long wavy platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. Evie had her problems too. She was underweight for someone of her age (it’s a metabolism problem), and had severe Claustrophobia. Sara returned the wave and thanked her. The teacher blew a loud whistle, catching all the other students attention and turning their heads to her.

“Ok! We are heading out to the track to do a lap before doing some capture the flag! Girls vs Boys! Now let’s go!” The teacher said loudly. The students cheered about capture the flag. It was the most popular game amongst the students and they all thought it was really fun. Sara ran out side by side with Evie and they began to jog around the track slowly. When they finally finished, they had to wait for the slow ones, like a few other girls and boys. Alex strided up to Sara when Evie left to get a drink, smiling evilly.

“I didn’t know it was your birthday, happy birthday Sara!” Alex mused, sounding unsure of himself. “I have a gift for you! I hope you like it, it reminded me of what you’re like,” Alex proceeded to point to the trash can, and walked away silently. Sara didn’t know what it meant at first, but then realized that Alex had just called her trash in the most condescending way. Sara clenched her fists as the other kids arrived and began to get ready for capture the flag. She was so mad! Alex has always done small, cruel things to her, such as “accidentally” tripping her in the hall, running into her on the track and giving her scrapes, and hitting her in the head with a ball while trying to score a goal or shooting a basket. Sara put on her flag, girls were red, and boys were blue. Sara was glad that her and Alex were on separate teams, but was also dreading for when she got the flag. She was a little too late, the coach blew the whistle and Sara’s legs went on autopilot. They took off running towards the other teams flag and she made it into the box in one piece. They were letting me get by. Sara thought. Several of them were Alex’s friends, and he must have told them to let her pass. They were viciously chasing the other girls, ripping off their flags without mercy. Sara grabbed the flag and took a deep breath. This could be the day she finally get the flag across in one piece, and this won’t end with a sprained ankle or wrist. Sara exhaled heavily and took off running, her feet barely touching the ground as she ran for the line. Then she saw it, Alex was rushing towards her at a frightening speed. He crashed into her, pulling off her flag and sending the blue team flag flying. This time was different though, Alex pulled on the flag as she was on the ground, but it wouldn’t budge. It was lodged under her arm and was wrapping around her shoulder. Alex yanked and yanked and yanked, but it wouldn’t move.

“Give up! It-OW! Won’t-OW!!! Budge!” Sara yelled as Alex continued to pull. He didn’t listen and pulled more.

“It will budge eventually! It has to be OFF you!” Alex said, and pulled one last time. Then, something popped.

•••

Sara’s shoulder was screaming in pain, and Alex looked mortified, staring at her with wide eyes. Sara had her teeth clenched, she wouldn’t let herself cry. She tried to stand up, but the pain made her fall again, which made Alex snap to attention. He ran over and heaved her up onto her feet. Sara pushed him away and tried to walk by herself, only to almost fall again. The game was still in full swing, the girls running around, passing the flag around and trying to get it over the line. Alex grit his teeth and helped Sara walk. Alex walked over to the coach and asked to head to the nurse.

“What happened?” The coach demanded.

“No time to explain, Sara’s about to pass out.” Alex replied, looking at Sara. That was when Sara noticed all the other emotion in his eyes, he felt like this was his fault, and he was angry at himself. Sara couldn’t hold on any longer, her eyes rolled into her head and her world faded into blackness.

•••

Sara woke up in the nurse's office, with her arm throbbing like crazy. She saw her mom sitting on a chair only a few paces away from the nurse’s bed.

“Mom?” Sara asked, she was strangely tired and numb from head to toe. Her mom heard her and lifted her head. She smiled warmly, but it seemed strangely forced.

“Sweetie, hi!” Her mom said. “Are you ok? The nurse said that you may have dislocated your shoulder. She couldn’t fix it though, so she’s calling an ambulance to take you to the hospital so they can fix it…” Her mom continued to talk and talk for a while until Sara got tired and fell asleep.

Several times, Sara woke up during the trip to the hospital. She woke up as they were bringing her into the ambulance, then fell asleep. She woke up while the doctor and her mom were talking on the way, and fell asleep again. She woke up and they were rolling her to a room, and fell asleep. Then, finally, she woke up after they fixed her arm, that, which she picked up from context, had been dislocated.

“Honey? Do you feel better?” Her mom asked cautiously. Sara tried to speak back, but her tongue felt numb, and she could only make weak grunting noises.

“Uh-huh,” Sara managed to get out. She was so tired, but she needed to stay awake, she didn’t know why, but she knew she had to stay awake.

“We’re going to be heading home after they get you a cast, ok?” Her mom said softly, she seemed very worried.

“Wait…” Sara croaked. ”Was Alex in any trouble…?” Sara found it was hard to speak, her tongue felt too huge for her mouth.

“Yes,” Her mom answered. “The school knew it was an accident, but he still was suspended.” Sara should have been happy about this, but after seeing Alex’s face when her dislocated her shoulder, she wasn’t so sure. Sara shook her head as the doctor came in with a cast and put it on her arm. The doctor put a needle in her arm and injected some liquid into her arm, which made her very woozy. Sara closed her eyes again and fell into a dream. She was back at the capture the flag area, but she was Alex. She watched as she saw herself run across the field and into the place where the flag was. She thought thoughts that weren’t her own. Alex was hesitant, as he watched her pick up the flag. He briefly considered letting her pass, but the constant glaring from the other members of his team were too much to bear. Sara was about halfway to the line when Alex took off, at the same time as another one of the members of his team, one of the biggest bullies of the school. Alex knew he would do something that would hurt Sara really bad, then pin it on him. Alex was too busy thinking as he crashed into Sara and instinctively gripped the flag that wound around her shoulder. He kept pulling as the other member of his team got closer, wincing each time he heard Sara’s remarks. Then, he heard the pop. He was too blinded by shock to realize what happened, but when Sara tried to stand up and fell again, yelping in pain, Alex realized what happened. Alex ran over, trying, wanting to help, but she was too stubborn. The bully that had been closest to them smirked, and walked away. Alex knew he would get in trouble, so he accepted that, and helped Sara up. Sara pushed him away, which hurt him more than she expected it would, and almost fell again. Come ON! Sara heard Alex think. I’m trying to help you! His words weren’t angry, but sorrowful. Alex tried again, and this time, she gave in, leaning against him as he went over to the teacher.

“What happened?” The coach demanded, as Sara had heard it in real life.

“No time to explain, Sara’s about to pass out,” Alex responded quickly, his voice heavy with grief, which Sara hadn’t noticed. Then, her and Alex’s eyes met, and Alex saw the pure pain and anger directed at him, and he felt so hurt. Then, Sara passed out and she woke up in real life, realizing that she was in her bed. Sara sat up, groaning sleepily, and looked at her clock, 7:00!? Sara jumped out of bed, much to the dismay of her injured shoulder, and quickly got dressed. She ran downstairs and saw her mother sitting at the table drinking coffee, as she was the day before.

“Mom mom mom, I’m gonna be late!” Sara exclaimed, rummaging through the cupboard for some cereal for a quick breakfast.

“No you’re not, you’re not going to school,” Her mother said calmly. Sara froze, what did she just say? Sara shook her head, she needed to let her arm heal. Maybe a few days off would do just that.

•••

When Sara came back, everything was totally different. First off, Alex was still suspended, so Sara expected no more bullying, but no, the bullying actually got worse without Alex there. More trips in the hallway or pushes on the track. More vicious threats and other such stuff, but the principal was never told. Sara immediately went up to her friends, and demanded to know what happened.

“When you two were out of school, Josh came out as the real mastermind, saying that Alex was “weak” and “pathetic”. He started to shine his true light onto the poor students, and would threaten to beat them up after school if they told anyone, always sporting a baseball bat like a weapon when he did that,” Evie explained, taking deep breaths, the kind she did when she was trapped in a small area. “He’s done other such horrible things,” Evie continued. “Like taking advantage of phobias. He crowded me in a corner once, that was horrible, and constantly put rubber spiders in Bliss’s desk.” As Evie was saying that, Bliss started shaking, which was unlike her, since she was always so carelessly happy. Sara shook her head, she expected everything to be better, but apparently that was wishful thinking. As the days carried on, they endured the tourture that was bullying. By the end of the week, they had all grown to be cautious and looking around to see if there were any of Josh’s lackeys or Josh himself. But they still got caught off gaurd. Josh had even threatened Sami with saying that he had a bee farm at his place, and should she ever tell on him, he would release the swarm. That is just cruel! By the time Alex came back, the school,was a mess, with the staff being completely oblivious. Sara finally said that it was enough, and went to the principal herself.

“Is something wrong?” The principle asked softly.

“You know Josh, right?” Sara began. The principal nodded. “Well, he’s been bullying everyone for a while now, taking advantage of allergies and fears. He has crowded Evie in a corner, put rubber spiders in Bliss’s desk, and threatened bees upon Sami. I’m pretty sure that is bullying,” As Sara finished, she had left the principal speechless. Her expression morphed from confused to angry as she took it all in. She furiously went on the speaker and hissed:

“Josh, come to the office NOW.”

The moment Josh came in, Sara remembered all his threats, and her heart started pounding. Josh gave Sara a “You’ll pay for this” look and turned to the principal. Sara kind of tuned out what the principal was saying, because her heart was beating so hard that she could only hear that.

“Next time you do ANYTHING like this again, you will be expelled, no second chances!” The principal yelled at Josh as he was balling his hands into fists. Josh nodded slowly and walked out quickly. Sara followed, but quite a ways slower, she  didn’t want to know what he did when she left. As Sara walked out, and was quite a ways down the hall, a hand grabbed her shirt collar.

“I told you what would happen if you told,” Josh sneered. “But you didn’t listen. You’re gonna have quite a treat after school today.” Josh shoved her off and continued walking, smiling coldly. Sara just felt she made a huge mistake, and her stomach churned. Sara slowly walked to her next class and spent the rest of the day worrying what Josh would do. As the school day came to an end, Sara deeply regretted choosing to walk home today. It was a bright spring day, and Sara wanted to walk home from school, but she didn’t now. She decided to run to her house, to try and avoid running into Josh. That didn’t work, Josh was waiting just outside the school as Sara walked out, and Sara changed her plan, outrun him. Sara bolted across the grass and made it to the first crosswalk when Josh stopped her.

“You can’t run, even if you made it away, I would be here tomorrow,” Josh hissed, a twisted smile on his face. Then, Alex crashed into him, his signature move, and Sara ran across the crosswalk, barely thinking. She turned around and met eyes with Alex, just before Josh snarled and stood up. Sara made a panicked hand movement at Josh, and Alex turned to him. But before he turned his head, he smiled and winked at Sara, which shocked her. She ran off, making it to her house in one piece. She didn’t tell her mother, school problems weren’t her problems, and her shoulder was stressful enough. Sara quickly got ready for bed and had some dinner, still remembering Alex winking at her, and that genuine, warm smile. Did he really feel bad? Sara shook it off and went into bed, but found it hard to sleep. She did eventually drift off, and had not a single dream.

•••

Sara was walking to school today. She didn’t really forget Josh’s threat, but she told her mom that she would walk to school until the end of the year from her birthday. So she couldn’t escape this. She actually made it to the school and went to her first period class: Gym. Sara thought back to when Alex dislocated her shoulder, which was now better. Sara changed into her gym clothes and slowly walked out to see Alex.

“What is it?” Sara asked, and noticed the black eye patch on Alex’s left eye. “Oh, no, did Josh do something?”

“No, I fell and got a black eye,” Alex said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “But really, I want to apologize for all those things I did to you, Josh made me do them.” Alex hung his head in sorrow. “I was bullied in elementary school before I moved, and thought that by joining the bullies, I would feel better about myself. But no. I was miserable.”

Sara was shocked, Alex had been bullied in his old school? She suddenly felt horrible for Alex. He did all that stuff because he wanted to feel better about himself, but he hated it.

“I…I never realized…” Sara said softly. “I’m so sorry for thinking you were horrible.” Sara really meant it, she felt so bad. She then remembered something, how Alex defended her. She gave Alex a hug, which really seemed to startle him. “Thank you, for defending me yesterday, I owe you one,” Sara whispered. She quickly let go, gave him the same warm smile and wink that he did the day before, and walked away, leaving him standing there in shock. As the day went on, Alex began to hang around Sara’s friend group more, and they realized that he was a great guy. Alex couldn’t stop saying sorry every time someone brought up something he did, and that made everyone laugh. They still got death glares from Josh’s table, but Josh had moved to the local private school, so they didn’t have to worry about him. As the days turned to weeks, Sara and Alex began dating, and Sara discovered that Alex had had a crush on her for a while. One day, they were all walking together on the last day of school, and Evie smiled.

“Race you to Sara’s house!” Evie exclaimed, and the six of them ran off laughing.

The End