I Have Unhappy Memories of School
Me being bullied was fine, I was used to it really. It was mostly verbal, maybe a couple of shoves, but never anything too physical.
Skinny, wearing thick spectacles, always reading, couldn't look at you straight in the eye which earned the ire of many a teacher...
I'd had bad eyesight since 7 due to scarring on the retina or something, it was explained to me much later. And that caused me to look sideways rather than straight on, giving the impression I wasn't looking at someone when I *was*.
If only I knew earlier, it'd have saved me many painful smacks of the feather duster for rudeness from teachers.
So there was this boy, a quiet lad. He was, perhaps, to some (in the conservative asian standards of my school)"effeminate" in the sense that he wasn't boisterous like the other boys.
We were 16 then...
One day, after Physical Education, as we returning to our classroom after changing in the toilets, they cornered him. 20 or so boys, with a ring of girls around them. Pushed him to the ground laughing, saying they were going to ***** him, show the world what a sissy he was. He was shrieking, struggling.
The girls laughed and laughed as the boys tore at his shirt, holding him down as he struggled frantically.
I could hear the commotion of course, I entered from the back of the classroom and there was the heaving mass of bodies in the front.
I thought of the forum the class had set up where they defaced photos of me and several other targets. Where they said what they thought about us.
He managed to get his head up, his shirt was unbuttoned, they were trying to tug it off. His eyes pleaded for help, he was calling for help amid a chorus of mocking laughter.
His eyes met mine, and I turned around and fled.
It's been many years now, I wonder, if I ever managed to contact him again, would he remember the incident? Would he be offended if I were to express how truly regretful, ashamed and sorry I am for not standing up for him?
It's been years but I still can't forget that look.
Skinny, wearing thick spectacles, always reading, couldn't look at you straight in the eye which earned the ire of many a teacher...
I'd had bad eyesight since 7 due to scarring on the retina or something, it was explained to me much later. And that caused me to look sideways rather than straight on, giving the impression I wasn't looking at someone when I *was*.
If only I knew earlier, it'd have saved me many painful smacks of the feather duster for rudeness from teachers.
So there was this boy, a quiet lad. He was, perhaps, to some (in the conservative asian standards of my school)"effeminate" in the sense that he wasn't boisterous like the other boys.
We were 16 then...
One day, after Physical Education, as we returning to our classroom after changing in the toilets, they cornered him. 20 or so boys, with a ring of girls around them. Pushed him to the ground laughing, saying they were going to ***** him, show the world what a sissy he was. He was shrieking, struggling.
The girls laughed and laughed as the boys tore at his shirt, holding him down as he struggled frantically.
I could hear the commotion of course, I entered from the back of the classroom and there was the heaving mass of bodies in the front.
I thought of the forum the class had set up where they defaced photos of me and several other targets. Where they said what they thought about us.
He managed to get his head up, his shirt was unbuttoned, they were trying to tug it off. His eyes pleaded for help, he was calling for help amid a chorus of mocking laughter.
His eyes met mine, and I turned around and fled.
It's been many years now, I wonder, if I ever managed to contact him again, would he remember the incident? Would he be offended if I were to express how truly regretful, ashamed and sorry I am for not standing up for him?
It's been years but I still can't forget that look.
By:
Nephari
Age:
22-25
,
Female
