Realistic or Modern To This Day

[Catharsis]

To this day, kids are still being called names. The classics were "Hey, stupid," "Hey, spaz." Seems like every school has an arsenal of names getting updated every year. And if a kid breaks in a school and no one around chooses to hear, do they make a sound? Are they just background noise from a soundtrack stuck on repeat, when people say things like, "Kids can be cruel." Every school was a big top circus tent, and the pecking order went from acrobats to lion tamers, from clowns to carnies, all of these miles ahead of who we were. We were freaks -- lobster-claw boys and bearded ladies, oddities juggling depression and loneliness, playing solitaire, spin the bottle, trying to kiss the wounded parts of ourselves and heal, but at night, while the others slept, we kept walking the tightrope. It was practice, and yes, some of us fell.


But I want to tell them that all of this is just debris left over when we finally decide to smash all the things we thought we used to be, and if you can't see anything beautiful about yourself, get a better mirror, look a little closer, stare a little longer, because there's something inside you that made you keep trying despite everyone who told you to quit. You built a cast around your broken heart and signed it yourself, "They were wrong." Because maybe you didn't belong to a group or a clique. Maybe they decided to pick you last for basketball or everything. Maybe you used to bring bruises and broken teeth to show-and-tell, but never told, because how can you hold your ground if everyone around you wants to bury you beneath it? You have to believe that they were wrong. They have to be wrong. Why else would we still be here?


We grew up learning to cheer on the underdog because we see ourselves in them. We stem from a root planted in the belief that we are not what we were called. We are not abandoned cars stalled out and sitting empty on some highway, and if in some way we are, don't worry. We only got out to walk and get gas. We are graduating members from the class of We Made It, not the faded echoes of voices crying out, "Names will never hurt me." Of course they did.


- Exerpt from Shane Koyczan poem, "To This Day"

 

[Catharsis]

Raine slid out the bus quietly, happy the ride was finally over. People had seemed particularly happy to mess with her today. She let out a sigh, realizing that there was still 20 minutes to spare before homeroom. She walked to the long breezeway that was in between the main building and Career and tech section of Crossway High, and sat down. She knew the teachers would not yell at her for this, they saw her there everyday and never said a word about it. Even now, as the weather was a frigid cold, no one told her to go inside. She rubbed her hands together to warm them up, and thought about the bus ride. Everyone was quiet and calm when she had first walked on to the bus, but after about 10 minutes they began to talk, saying insults loudly, knowing she would hear. One girl had even had the audacity to sit down next to her and ask her which was better: anal or oral. Raine had just shrugged her off and turned her head to look out the bus window. That was how it worked. They talked and she kept quiet. The bell to homeroom rang, pulling Raine out of her thoughts quickly. She only had a few seconds to get to homeroom if she wanted to avoid everyone. She hopped off the ground, and walked quickly to her homeroom, sitting down in her usual seat, which now had the word whore carved into it.

 

[Jaicee]

Jezebel slowly walked into the building, her face swiftly morphing into a stoic expression. Some kids looked at her and began whispering, sharing a laugh here and there. She didn't let the pain she felt show on her face. Instead, she fixed the group with a stony glare and continued walking, tossing her hair over her shoulder. A soft sigh whooshed through her nostrils. Get in, get out. She thought determinedly. The popular quote from the children's movie, Frozen, echoed through her mind, causing her to roll her eyes. Laughter came from her right and she flinched, shaking her head. Her brown eyes landed on the sign indicating that there was a bathroom near by. Jezebel looked around and bit her lip before darting into the bathroom. Luckily, it was unoccupied. All the tension faded from her muscles and she drooped against the counter, squeezing her eyes shut. Why couldn't anyone forget? She thought, feeling the familiar burn behind her eyes. She angrily blinked and shook her head. Looking up, she met her own gaze in the mirror, watching as she formed a blank expression. Nodding, she pushed away from the counter and left the bathroom, swiftly walking into her homeroom. She defiantly made eye contact with a few people before sitting down at her usual spot near the window.

 

[drummerboi]

Connor walked into school sketchbook in hand as always, he is always thinking of new thing's he is in the process of drawing a new world he created where different creaturs inhabited it. This time it was balls of elemental energy called the darclonian's. Of course when he entered school he was stopped by some of the other students "well well well... if it isn't little Connor Gray tied up any girl's lately." Another thin he hated was thay associated his name with that stupid book. Well he did enjoy some thing's when he entered the bedroom but not as bad as that "i....i told you um.......not to......to" He said looking down on the ground "To what call you a sex offender..." he said laughing as Connor tried to walk away fro them. They just followed him "I hear he's after a girl his age... what's up Connor to stupid to get a girlfriend so you decide to draw yourself one." Connor decided to run and of course they ran after him. Connor finaly made it to home room. Of course people stared and snickerd when thay saw him in a sweat he begun to take his seat at the back.

 

[Catharsis]

People began to flow into the classroom after exactly a minute after the bell rang. Most seats around her filled, whilst others were vacant. Those seats would later be filled by those who didn't think being on time was of importance. Raine began to write in her notebook quietly, attempting to tune out those around her. After a while, the late bell rang and a few students slipped in, earning an angry eye from the teacher. The teacher began writing down the names of each late student, then switched over to calling attendance. When Raine's name was called, she slipped her hand up quietly, and slid it back down as soon as the teacher gave her a nod,


After two minutes, the principal's voice broke through the intercom and announcements started.


" Goodmorning, and I hope all of you had a super fun and super duper safe weekend. I have a very exciting announcement this morning.


Starting this Thursday, every student now has the option to participate in a group therapy session once a week. All students may attend. We will give more information on this as the week progresses...."


Raine listened to the first part of the announcement carefully. A group therapy session? She wondered about this and wanted more info on it. Maybe she could attend. It would be a way for her to be away from home longer, and she could simply tell her mother she was trying out for a sport or something. Around her, kids began to talk about it as well. Mostly rude comments. She shut them out and began to consider attending the group therapy. Maybe it would be helpful. Maybe it would be fun.

 

[DreamCatcher99]

Autumn finally got to school after a long walk. She kept her head down when she suddenly tripped over something. She looked up and frowned. "Hey Pendergrass why are you on your knees?wanting to get pregnant again?"one of the girls asked. All the other girls around her started chuckling and laughing at her. Autumn didnt listen she just picked up her books and got up. She heard the bell ring for homeroom and started walking in there. She walked in her classroom and sat down. She kept her head down and fiddled with her thumbs.

 

[BlazeOfGlory]

Danny was running out of time. He started walking faster as he finally reached the school. He over-slept again and had to rush through his morning routine, as he walked through the campus two boys blocked his way. "So how many people did you get killed between home and here?" One of them asked. "If you don't tone it down, you'll become a famous serial killer." Anger surged through him but he didn't feel like fighting, he barely had time to make it to class. He tried to go around them but they blocked his way again. "Didn't you have you fun already? let me pass." He asked quietly. They only laughed "We're just getting started." And unleashed a load of creative insults that they must've spent quite some time coming up with. After a couple of minutes he just couldn't take it anymore and punched one of them in the face, then made a run for it, heading to his classroom. He entered the class as the principle was making his announcement. A few eyes turned to regard him as he slowly headed to his seat and sat with a grateful sigh.

 

[drummerboi]

Connor was to buisy drawing to hear the register but once the headmaster said group therapy he instantly heard everything he will go to that and check it out hell maybe he might see other people there. But first he had to deal with class which was kind of easy all he needed to do was just keep his head down. He begun to think what day would this be on his parents are to busy shouting at each other anyway they won't notice him coming home a bit later. Hell his farther wouldn't really care. He continued to draw his new species he smiled as he drew a red and a blue orb in the process of merging with each other the red orb burning in fury while the blue orb emanated streams of water. he smiled to himself how this simply might representing and Yang. But to him it represented two thing's becoming one.

 

[Destry]

Ethan was late. Again. It was not of much concern to him -- his grades would not change much even if he woke up a little earlier to actually make it to school on time. No, he preferred the peace gained from not having to pass too many people in the hallway, at least not in the morning. Later on he'd deal with whatever was thrown his way. He breathed a small sigh of relief as he got through the hallways without encountering anyone, slipping into the classroom with eyes locked on the floor rather than on the teacher or any of the students. This was the drawback of his habit of entering late - it tended to draw a different type of attention, and certainly not a positive one, as he silently moved to a seat off to the side of the room. He was rather stiff; his arm ached where it had been twisted the day before. It seemed that some had been convinced that he was seeking out attention from various, more popular boys in particular, which was entirely untrue as he highly preferred being left alone. The clincher had been a rumor spread that he'd slept with one of the jocks, who'd clearly not been involved in starting it and had assumed Ethan was the instigator -- hence the heavier clothing worn that day to keep the bruises from yesterday's altercation unnoticed. The announcements started as he slumped in his seat, and he half-heartedly listened without expecting anything to catch his attention. It was normally just sports announcements and notices of cancellations, but this time he looked up as something new was broadcast. A group therapy session? For a moment he considered it, then shook his head. The stigma it would add was not something he wished for. The longer he thought about it, though, he started to waver. He knew he wasn't the only one who tended to be picked on. No, this school was notorious for the amount of bullying that occurred. It may be a way to connect with others. He decided to just wait for the future announcements they'd promised; perhaps they would shed some further light on the sessions before he made up his mind.

 

[Jaicee]

Jezebel drummed her fingers against the wooden desk anxiously, uncomfortable with the fact there were so many people around her. She clenched her jaw and continued to glare out the window. When the teacher called her, she lifted her hand and lowered quickly. She heard a few people snicker and tensed, wanting to turn around to see if they were laughing at her. The intercom went off suddenly, causing her to flinch involuntarily. Now with her senses on high alert, she picked up everything the person said. "Group therapy?" She murmured thoughtfully and bit her lip. She was intrigued.

 

[DreamCatcher99]

Autumn kept her head down before finally looking out the window. She heard the teacher call out her name and she raised her hand and stuttered out a here. The teacher looked at her surprised then called out the next name. Yeah I'm actually here today. She heard the announcements come on and listened. She heard about group therapy. She smiled slightly thinking that she might actually meet someone who wont think of her as a mess up. She looked around and saw her classmates staring at her and muttering. She then realized that she had heard her name being called over the intercom. She slowly stood up and gathered her stuff up and walked out side hearing snide remarks on the way out.

 

[Catharsis]

After 30 minutes of home room, Raine stood up, pulling her backpack on and asked the teacher if she could go to the bathroom, and the teacher nodded. She did this everyday, the bell would ring at 8:35, so she made sure to get out of class at 8:30 so that she could get to her class as soon as the bell rang. She heard a voice over the intercom, Autumn Pendergrass? Who would give their child such a horrid last name?, Raine wondered. She shook the thought off and continued to her 1st block classroom, making it to the door just as the bell rang. She slid past the other students coming out of her English class and took her usual seat in the back. Mr. Brady gave a knowing smile and leaned against a desk near her, "Bad morning?" he asked smiling. You have no idea.

 

[Jaicee]

Before the bell even rang, Jezebel was standing up and leaving the room. The teacher simply made a noise of protest, but didn't stop her. She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked to her next class. Math. She cringed at the thought, her nose wrinkling. With a quiet sigh, she pushed through a frong of teenagers, trying to get to her class. Within a few seconds, she was there. Jezebel walked into the class, relieved to see no one else was there, but the teacher. Simply ignoring her, she walkd towards her seat, once again by the window, and sat down, tossing her bag across the desk.

 

[drummerboi]

Once the bell rang Connor begun to pick up his thing's. Not saying a word and begun to walk towards his English class it was his favored subject. Thay were studying creative writing and Connor was in the process of writing his own story he was up to page 253 it was about a sorcerer on the side of light being corrupted by his purity now it was the hero's turn to do something that there not used to defeating the side of light. Connor was smiling since he just drawn the cover of the book. He begun to walk towards English when a couple of girls stopped him "well well if it isn't the rapist Connor Gray what's up so used to girls groveling over you pathetic whats that you got there. Drawing anyone naked you sicko" thay said taking his book "don't want you to jerk off to them do you this is going in confiscation " they said walking away Connor gritted his teeth but knew what would happen if h went after them. He was angry now and just walked into English class and sat there angry as anything.

 

[BlazeOfGlory]

Danny was deep in thought as he exited the homeroom, heading to his next class. Group therapy seemed like something he could give a shot. Though he wasn't sure if he would be comfortable going there, he never talked about his personal problems with anyone. But maybe he could give it a try. He was taking the long way around to get to his class as usual, because a few people ever used it. As he turned a corner and before he realized what was happening he was on the ground, and he felt hands and legs punching and kicking him. "You think you can punch me and get away with it you bastard?" The boy he had punched earlier screamed. After a few minutes they ran and scattered leaving him laying on the ground. They avoided hitting him on his face which was a smart move, struggling he stood up and slowly continued on his way to class though it took him too long and arrived about 8 minutes late. He entered the History class but the teacher stopped him at the entrance. "You're a little late Mr. Parks, and since you didn't think it was important to be here on time I don't think it's important that you be here at all. And you look like a mess. You may not enter my classroom today Danny, and next time don't be late." The students in the class launched into a parade of chatter and laughs as Danny backed away and closed the door without saying a word. He sat on the floor beside the classroom's door and leaned his back on the wall, wincing at the pain that came with that. "What a lovely day." He murmured with a sigh.

 

[Destry]

Ethan kept his gaze focused on his notebook, filling it with assorted, meaningless doodles instead of copying down the notes he knew he was supposed to be writing. By the time the bell rang he'd packed up and stood up quickly, darting out of the classroom before some had even stood up. His next classroom wasn't far away, and if he was lucky he was early enough to avoid-- his thoughts were interrupted as he felt his foot catch on something, sending him crashing to the ground. Books scattered across the ground as he grimaced, looking up to try to find the culprit of whoever had decided it would be funny to trip him. Of course, although he could hear plenty of laughter, there was no one who stood out to him as the actual instigator and so he was forced to simply pick up his books and keep going at a slower pace than before. He entered his next class, English, again sitting off to the side as far from the other students as possible. His books had been trampled, much to his chagrin. He'd have to replace the notebook at the very least.

 

[DreamCatcher99]

Autumn went in the office and looked around before the woman up front asked her to go to the principals office. She did so without asking why. When she got in there the principal asked her to take a seat and started to ask why it was that she hadn't been coming to school lately. She kept quiet and looked around before he asked again. When she didn't answer the second time he sighed and told her that she would need to come to the group therapy session they announced over the intercom. She sighed and muttered a yes sir and left the office. First period had already started by the time she got out so she wondered around and found a place to sit while she waited for next period. She took out a book and began reading.

 

[Catharsis]

Raine sat quietly as other students came in, chattering about the weekend. Mr.Brady shushed them and gestured for them to take their seats and start on the classwork. A kid named Connor walked in and took a seat next to him, and his face seemed red for some reason. She noticed that he didn't have his notebook out like usual, and decided that was probably the reason. After a moment, she realized she was staring and turned back to her school work. This is why you get called weird... she thought to herself. After a moment, Mr.Brady appeared in front of her desk, waving a pen in front of her face. "Just checking in on your work so far today. You seemed a bit distracted a moment ago." he said, at the end nodding over to Connor. "No no. Not distracted.." she replied looking a bit flustered. "Alright, if you say so. You coming in for lunch today?" he asked curiously. Raine nodded and the teacher gave her a thumbs up and walked away. Mr.Brady was cool, he allowed Raine to eat in his classroom during lunch. Though, that had spiraled more rumors when she'd first began doing it the second week of school.

 

[drummerboi]

Connor was more angry then he had ever been in his life he saw the girls looking threw his drawing book ripping out pages he had enough he got out of his chair. He begun to walk towards the girls "What you doing here perv" one of the girls said "Give me my book back" he said giving her a warning "or what shit stain" she said. "once more time.....Give me my book back" He said looking at her "hm... how about i do this first" She said taking all the pages out and putting them threw the shredder, she didn't care if it was class time "how about now" she said giving him the sleeve. Connor gritted his teeth grasping the sleeve, month and months of work now down the drain. Along with his book cover he took 4 month's to draw. He walked towards her and slapped her hard across the face. "next time you fuck with me again you'll be getting more then just a smack you hear me" He said before walking towards his set slamming the sleeve on the table and begun to sit down

 

[Catharsis]

Spoiler

Mr.Brady


Mr.Brady's eyes grew wide with surprise once he saw Connor jump out of his seat. The kid was quiet, easy. Not exactly the type you would expect to disrupt class out of no where. Mr.Brady's eyes followed him and saw him confronting the girls, who seemed to have something that was of importance to Connor. He was about to break in when the girl stuffed the book into the shredder he had by his desk. Shit.. he thought to himself, and he was just about to speak when Connor's hand went across the girls face. Mr.Brady put his hands to his head and walked over, grabbing the girl's wrist and pulled her out of the classroom. He didn't know what else to do. It wasn't Connor who was at fault here. He handed the girl a pink write up slip, and sent her away. Then went back into the classroom where half his classroom was now loudly chattering and standing. "Everyone sit down for christ's sake! Connor get out here." he said tossing his write up slips unto Raine's desk "Don't hesitate to write anyone down for failure to follow instructions." he told the girl before heading out of the classroom. He looked at Connor, "What the hell was that about kid?" he asked with a bit of anger in his voice.

 

[Jaicee]

Jezebel lifted her chin slightly and turned to the board, her dull brown eyes focusing on the teacher. She sighed and crossed her legs at her ankles, feeling hyper aware to the fact that everyone in the class had someone to talk to. Everyone except her. A lonely sigh passed through her lips and her eyes fluttered shut. A balled up piece of paper hit the back of her head, causing her to flinch viciously and duck. Realizing what she was doing, she quickly straightened up and stared at the board, her cheeks flushing to a warm pink. Her teeth clamped down on her lower lip and she rubbed her arm awkwardly, trying to hide her trembling fingers. The teacher finally began to call roll, causing the other students to quiet down long enough to hear their names. When the teacher got to her name, she murmured a soft "Here" and slunk deeper into her seat.

 

[drummerboi]

"How would you feel if month's of work just suddenly went down the drain. She shredded everything my book my cover for it everything...i could have done a whole lot worse Im sorry Mr Brady but i'v had enough 17 year's iv had shit in my life and those I'm uncultured's tore up the only thing that's keeping me going.... 253 pages of it 32 peaces of art work and a cover that took month's to draw free handed gone. I said it before but i could have done a whole lot worse to her after she shredded it i'v had enough of this school it seems no one gives a shit about other people until it's to late to notice them. Hell i bet people in this school don't even fell guilty if someone killed themselves because of them im sorry Mr Brady but im not in the best's of mood's today so im going to head back to class I won't hit anyone else in the future" he said as he got back he shook his head "w......wh... hmm" he sad oddly wondering why he was out of his seat he just walked back and continued the class as normal when he noticed people were starring at him he looked shy and begun to look at his desk

 

[Destry]

Ethan watched, a bit shocked as the boy -- Conner, if he remembered the name correctly -- stood up and punched the girl. Before the disastrous climax he'd certainly heard that there was an altercation going on but hadn't been paying it much attention until he'd heard the shredder start up in the middle of class. These girls were bold, and he gained a bit of respect for the boy who'd snapped at them. Still, given by the teacher's reaction to the situation he figured it was something that might not be repeated. He remained silent through the entire event even as people around him exploded in chatter, a few texting about it and one even taking pictures. He wanted to slap the phone out of the girl's hands, but he didn't really wish to draw attention to himself in the midst of this already fairly violent situation.

 

[DreamCatcher99]

Autumn heard a slap and some yelling before a girl ran out of the class beside her and was holding her cheek. Then a teacher and a student came out and started yelling at each other. She looked down and blushed. She slowly stood up and looked up at the door realizing she was sitting next to the room she was supposed to be in. She looked down and swiftly went inside hoping not to be seen by the teacher.

 

[BlazeOfGlory]

The pain was gaining on Danny. most of the hits were focused on his ribs and stomach, he was playing with the idea of going to see the school's doctor when he suddenly heard commotion in a close by class. He looked in that direction and saw a girl running out of class then another girl that was sitting beside the door stood up and swiftly entered it. "I wonder what's going on." He mumbled to himself. He slowly started to stand up, trying not to scream from the pain. When he was on his feet he started moving closer to the class where all the commotion happened. He was curious about what was going on, he stood beside the door attempting to listen in while staying out of sight.