this is enough-a story of bullying

It’s recess. She sits on her chair at her desk, trying to avoid a certain encounter. 

She is also reading the synopsis of the book she was meant to read for literature class. 

She was unable to do any studying for months, since living in survival mode.

While she was reading, there she comes, her nemesis, followed by her human puppies, right behind her.

She grabs her notebook from her desk says: “Let’s see what you are writing here, you little poet”

Ayla tries to grab her notebook back but the girl on the hunt grabs it stronger, ripping a few pages.

With a small voice, but a firm stance, she says: “Please give it back.”

The answer comes with a smirk and a sing-song voice: “Or what? What will you do if I keep it?”

Ayla goes out from behind her desk, and stands right in front of her, looking her in the eyes with her palm up, encouraging the the one aggressing her to return one of her most prized possessions.

This is a first, she never stood up to her in the months and months of bullying and humiliation. 

The hurt girl with angry eyes looks at her, and spits her right in the face, panicking that she might have lost her output fir her pain.

Trembling from embarrassment and anger, Ayla grabs at the other's thin, straight hair and pulls at it until she sees the look in her eyes changing. None of her entourage reacts, this is something they have not seen before.

“This is enough, I am going to report you!” Ayla says between gripping teeth and storms out of the classroom door. She picks up her notebook and places it back on her desk. She ignores the threats echoing behind her, on the hallway.

With tears running down her face, she tries her best to clean the proof of humiliation.

Shaking terribly and literally gagging, she goes and washes her face over and over again, not caring whether her mascara has dripped down her cheeks, like black river of sadness.

With a spring in her step fuelled by adrenaline, she goes to the principal office to get this sorted.

Yes, she is scared, yes, she has dreaded this moment, but she mustered the courage and does it.

Coming back to her literature class, the teacher, who she respects a lot, decided to give them a pop quiz about the book she does not remember anything about.

With tentative moves, she reaches for the ripped notebook, places it under her desk, open, and tries to see if there is anything she can use from her notes.

The teacher sees her poor attempt, she picks up her test paper and takes the notebook. She says: you have a 2 today, a 2 out of 10. I did not expect this from you”

“I am sorry”, Ayla answers, but she is not, it was worth it.

Maybe this day needed an additional reminder that things need to, and WILL change.