Disclaimer: This is all written by me unless indicated. This is also pure fiction accept for possible historical events. Thank you.
I'd never seen anyone so depressed. The young girl sitting in front of me was so battered and bruised that she couldn't even move. You could tell from her face she wanted to cry. I wondered what this poor girl had to go through to get here, but part of me didn't want to know.
Most children came in like this. The area fed off of it. I could never understand why anyone would want to hurt anything so innocent. Outside the very hospital doors I worked at was a world that no one loved. Groups of teenagers trying to prove they were men fed off of weakness. In my opinion all I saw them as was cowards.
These boys did nothing, but pick on the weak. From the sight I could see this little girl had run all the way across town to get here. The hospital was in the nicer part of Clearwater, but just beyond a couple of lights there was a world that I only knew through my patients.
When we got children in like this the first thing we do is treat them. The receptionist calls the police and we eventually find their parents. My first thought is to get them cleans and healed. I hated what these kids did to children, but they were never caught because the children that come in are too afraid to talk. Most of them came from loving homes and most of them didn't come back.
When your child is harassed like that you won't let them go out again alone. Unfortunately there was always someone to pick on in this big of a city. Sure Clearwater wasn't as big as Orlando or Miami, but there was always just another kid to tease. For some reason I hoped one would accidentally be killed from the bullying. I hoped if that happened the bullying would stop, but I knew it wouldn't. It never would go that way.
As I looked at the young girl, I could only guys she was about 11, I wondered why they chose her. I always wondered that and I knew I would never honestly know. I approached the dark hair girl sitting on a waiting chair in an empty lobby. It had been a slow night even though it was only 6 o'clock. I knew the girl was probably on her way home to dinner. I crouched down next to her and gave her a warm smile.
"Hi sweetie, I'm nurse Allison." She looked at me with deep green eyes. "Can you give me your name?"
Her eyes started to water slightly. "Alexia Cooper. My phone number is 654-3337. My mom's name is Mary."
I knew that was hard for her to say and I wrote down every word she said. Well thank you. That was everything I needed to know. Can you stay here for me? She gave me a small nod and continued to stare at the white tile floor. I got up and handed the information to the receptionist. "Please call her parents. Are the police on their way?" The receptionist nodded and I turned back to the girl. "Can you come with me or do you want to wait for your parents?"
She slowly got up and I could see her eyes squeeze as she winced. I felt so bad for her. I took her into a more private waiting room. I knew that she would be more comfortable in there and if the bullies came in they wouldn't know she was here. I turned on the small tv. "Do you like Disney Channel?" She nodded. I turned the tv to channel 40 and put the remote in front of her. "I'm going to be right outside that door. If you need me you can pull this cord. Ok?" She once again nodded and I left the room.
It wasn't much longer after the police had come that a woman and a man came in. The dark haired woman looked frantic and the equally dark haired male looked like he was out of breath. The receptionist point towards me and they came running. I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't even say anything before the woman blurted out, "Where is she?"
"Alexia is in this office and she is fine. Nothing major which is why we called you before doing any treatment. I wouldn't suggest hugging her though she does have some injuries." I slowly opened the door and the woman flew past me. From what I could tell she loved her daughter very much. "We didn't want her to talk to the police before you got here so we aren't sure what happened."
"Oh trust me we know what happened." The rather tall man sat down next to his daughter. "These kids down the street have been teasing her lately, but it was only words until now."
"Well then do you want us to treat her injuries and you can talk to the police after wards?" I had to handle this too many times. It was not fair. Why would anyone want to hurt something that looked this fragile? The male stood. "Yes please and we would like nothing more than to press charges."
"Ok well then lets get Alexia into the back." I gave a smile because I knew it would help with the situation a little.
This was horrible. Why did this happen? I couldn't tell anyone, but all I wanted was for it to end. I knew that would never happen though.
This is not a true story, but it could be. People bully other people everyday and it will never end. We as a society have to stop it. Calling people names hurts and there is nothing worst than attacking people. For another fantasy possibility of what bullying can cause, check out Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender. It is very supernatural, but if you can handle something like that it is perfect. It is also very creepy so if you are younger this would not be a good book for you.
Thank you for reading,
Brittany Rose