All Nonfiction
- Bullying
- Books
- Academic
- Author Interviews
- Celebrity interviews
- College Articles
- College Essays
- Educator of the Year
- Heroes
- Interviews
- Memoir
- Personal Experience
- Sports
- Travel & Culture
All Opinions
- Bullying
- Current Events / Politics
- Discrimination
- Drugs / Alcohol / Smoking
- Entertainment / Celebrities
- Environment
- Love / Relationships
- Movies / Music / TV
- Pop Culture / Trends
- School / College
- Social Issues / Civics
- Spirituality / Religion
- Sports / Hobbies
All Hot Topics
- Bullying
- Community Service
- Environment
- Health
- Letters to the Editor
- Pride & Prejudice
- What Matters
- Back
Summer Guide
- Program Links
- Program Reviews
- Back
College Guide
- College Links
- College Reviews
- College Essays
- College Articles
- Back
The Breakdown
INT. A girl’s bedroom. Stuffed animals, pink and other girlish features adorn the walls, complete with the latest boy band pictures.
A skinny BOY is sitting at a desk in the room, head on his arms, crying his eyes out. In front of him is a computer monitor open on chat. New messages are appearing, but we can’t quite make out what they say. There is loud knocking at the door
Int. Man in hallway in front of door
MAN
Thomas? Are you alright?
Thomas continues sobbing
MAN
Do you want to talk about it?
Thomas throws a book off the desk, hitting the door with a resonant bang.
THOMAS
Go away.
MAN
Thomas,
THOMAS
I said GO, I’m fine!
The man is silent for a few seconds.
MAN
Are you sure?
Thomas interrupts before he can finish
THOMAS
JUST GO!
The man leans against the closed door, a pained expression on his face. After a few seconds, he reluctantly walks away.
Thomas has his head in both hands in front of the screen, looking for all the world he has lost everything. His phone vibrates on the desk. He slowly looks over at it. The message simply says “Fag.” He lets it fall from his hand back on to the desk. He stares at the computer screen.. The messages on the screen slowly come into focus. They’re all gay slurs.
Thomas starts typing out a message, and sends it. It says “Hey bro… I need to talk to you about something.”
The message is replied to after a few seconds. It reads “There’s nothing to talk about. I know already.”
Thomas starts to type “Are you ok with…” and stops when he receives a new message.
It reads “I can’t be your friend anymore. I’m sorry. Hope you understand.”
Thomas stares at the screen, and gets up. More messages appear on the screen, more slurs.
In the background, commotion is heard. Then silence.
Sneakers just off the floor, as if someone were suspended in air.
Fade out.
Similar Articles
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
This article has 0 comments.