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Topic: Bullies (08/09/04)
TITLE: Cody's Dilemma By John Scott Cooper 08/09/04 |
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The sharp blow to the back of my head was more annoying than painful. But it hurt.
"Hey, Wart! Get out of my way, you waste of space!"
The voice belonged to Tommy Spencer, and I immediately felt the nauseating knot in the pit of my stomach that was an automatic response when he was near. The bitter taste of fear and the growing bile in my stomach were worse than anything he ever did to hurt me. So far.
The Spence, as everyone called him, gave me another shove for good measure and rushed past me to his next class.
I couldn't even look at him. I didn't want to hate somebody. He was making it hard not to.
Jeff came over – after Tommy was out of the way – and said, "Man, Cody, you gotta do something about that. Did he hurt you?"
I rubbed the my head and tried to ignore my stomach. Best Jeff didn't know where I felt the worst.
"What can I do?" I said. "I've told teachers about him before. Nothing happened. Some 'zero-tolerance' to bullying they got in this school."
One of the first things they told us when school began was that bullying wouldn't be tolerated. If they proved someone was a bully, he would be suspended or sent to alternative classes.
Proven. That was the catch!
The Spence was a big-time football player. He got really good grades and was buddy-buddy with a lot of teachers. Most of them probably wouldn't believe he hit me like that if I told them. Maybe none of them would believe it.
"Thomas is a bit high-spirited," said Mrs. Strickland, the last teacher I'd told about Tommy's hitting on me. "I'm sure he didn't hit you, like trying to hurt you. Maybe he got carried away. He's pretty big and physical, you know. But I'll talk to him."
She talked to him and believed whatever he told her. Then I became more of a target than ever.
He only seemed to hurt a few of us, a group of us who weren't athletes or a part of his crowd. I became target number one.
"You gotta try again, Cody," Jeff said.
Like the little whiny snot had told anyone when The Spence hit him!
By the time I got to English class, I was sorry for thinking like that about my friend, who really was upset that I got hit. But a part of me deep down lumped his failure to do anything with the failure of teachers and principles and the unfairness of the universe that weighed me down at the moment.
Maybe I could go straight to Principle Martin. But why should he believe the great star athlete and class officer was a bully, when the two teachers I'd told didn't.
No. I'd made it through days of feeling sick with fear and the bitterness of being helpless before and I could do it again.
I was beginning to think that even God had failed me. Why did I have to go through this? He could stop it. Maybe he could drown The Spence like he drowned Pharoah and his army of chariots.
Life just didn't seem to be as easy as the Bible made it sound.
I hadn't told my mother or dad about The Spence. But Mom loved to tell the story about how she stopped a bully by punching him in the nose when she was about my age. No. I believe she was a few years younger.
"Cody Rayburn, are you here?"
"Uh, here, Ms. Brock."
It really eats at me. I can't even handle roll call. How am I supposed to learn anything?