After Being Bullied

For two whole years, I endured bullying from my classmate Karen Howard. The school turned a blind eye, and even the National Scholarship that should’ve been mine went to her. It was all because her family had connections. When I went to the school for help, they told me to let it go. When I approached Dean Eric Marsh, he challenged me, “Where’s your proof? Is your father a bureau chief, too? Her uncle’s the head judge! Even if you sue, you’ll lose!” I refused to back down, fighting through every channel. Those girls beat me for four straight hours, leaving me bloody. They bragged that even if they killed me, they’d face no consequences. She threw my family’s medals out like garbage. I desperately held onto them! These medals were earned with the lives of my grandpa, my parents, and my brother! She called them worthless pieces of metal, suitable only for scrap. I couldn’t believe it. My whole family gave their lives for this country, yet I couldn’t even get fundamental justice. I clutched those medals at the military compound’s gate. “You once called my family heroes, national martyrs. So why does a martyr’s daughter suffer like this with no one to help?” ***** A bucket of cold water was dumped over my head. In the dead of winter, I shivered violently. Opening my eyes, I saw Karen and several other girls standing nearby, doubling over with laughter. “What are you doing?” I frantically reached for some tissues. Karen snatched away both the tissue box and towel. “You’re filthy as hell, so we’re bathing you. What, were you raised without parents? Don’t even know how to bathe yourself? Tsk tsk, you stink!” Karen’s laughter grew more vicious as her cronies joined in the mockery. I clenched my fists in rage. Yes. I’d been an orphan since childhood. My grandfather, Wesley Langley, was a firefighter who died from severe injuries while battling a forest fire. My grandmother, Alicia Langley, raised my father, Travis Langley, alone. My dad was about to get married when he inherited my grandfather’s position as a firefighter. He married my mother, Kristin Langley, and soon after, Kristin became pregnant. But before we could enjoy those happy days, my dad was called to a fire. Though he survived, his injuries left him unable to do heavy work. The military district assigned him a security position to support our family. I had a brother, Michael Langley, over 10 years older than me. Later, Travis sacrificed his life, saving Commander Benjamin Davis. Michael followed in his footsteps and became a firefighter. He lived his whole life in obscurity, and when he died, we couldn’t even locate his body. Kristin’s hair turned white from grief as she raised me, her late-born daughter. Then, in 1998, during the great flood, Kristin sacrificed her life in disaster relief efforts. Alicia raised me alone after that. Growing up, all I had was my identity as a martyr’s child. Being a martyr’s child had its perks. I had priority access to tuition, living expenses, and scholarships. But this made me a target of jealousy, and I grew up constantly bullied. I thought things would get better in college. But then last year, Alicia, my only caretaker, passed away too! I was devastated but helpless. Now I was the only one left in my family!

I quickly pulled off my soaked shirt and put on a light jacket. Karen was my roommate and had bullied me multiple times. What was it about this time? I grabbed the metal basin beside me and hurled it at her. “What’s wrong with you!” “The National Scholarship! School rules say you can only get it once. How come you get it every year? Just because your parents are dead? Did you kill off your whole family just to get this scholarship? You’re so comfortable spending dead people’s money!” Karen barely dodged, glaring at me with rage. Fury exploded inside me. How dare she say such things! I couldn’t hold back anymore. I rushed at her and slapped her twice across the face. “Say that again, I dare you! Want me to end you?” Karen shoved me away with a cold laugh. “You think you can take me down? You little orphan nobody! You don’t know who my dad is! Let me tell you! You’re not getting the National Scholarship this year. That spot’s already mine!” The National Scholarship was worth eight thousand dollars. To qualify, you had to be from a low-income family and excel in academics and school activities. That was my entire semester’s living expenses! “Why are you stealing my scholarship when your family’s loaded? Your handbags cost tens of thousands of dollars each! Why take mine?” Karen laughed like she’d heard the funniest joke ever. “Eight thousand dollars? That won’t even buy me a necklace. But I can’t stand watching you get it every year. I’ll treat myself to some fancy meals when I get that money. Oh, and I’ll buy some extra bread to throw at a beggar like you!” Red with fury, I lunged at her, pinning her against the bed behind her, throwing punch after punch. “Karen, I’ll kill you! “Pull her off me and teach her a lesson!” The other girls yanked me away and ganged up on me. I couldn’t fight them all off. They pinned me down and beat me mercilessly. One grabbed an ice-cold beer bottle from the table and smashed it against my head! The bottle shattered with a loud bang! I felt something warm trickling down. When I touched it, it was blood! Those girls were cursing at me, too. “Do you know who Karen is? Her dad’s the chief! Getting a scholarship is nothing for her. Getting you expelled? Just one word from our leader, Karen Howard!” “You parentless little bastard, you dare mess with Karen? Even if I kill you today, no one would care! Your whole family’s dead anyway!” They pinned my shoulders down, immobilizing me completely. Karen pressed her foot against my face, grinding down hard. “You orphaned piece of trash, you dare talk back to me? You should be grateful I even let you stay in this school. Do you think you can compete with me for the scholarship? You’re asking for death!” I coughed up blood, the searing pain in my face piercing through to my lungs, cutting deep into my bones. Having vented their anger, they turned and walked away, laughing as they left.

It took me a while to recover before I picked up a mirror to check myself. Blood was dripping from my forehead, angry red marks covered my face, and my clothes were soaked. I looked like a complete wreck. I ran to the school’s security office without thinking twice. The security staff jumped when they saw my condition and quickly asked, “What happened to you?” “I want to report Karen from my class for bullying! She needs to be disciplined by the school!” Tears started falling as I spoke. After being bullied by her for two whole years, I was devastated, but I was sure the school would finally give me justice! However, the security staff’s expressions changed when they heard Karen’s name. “Roughhousing between students is normal. You’re all adults! Figure it out yourselves.” I stared at them in disbelief. “Several of them beat me up until I was bleeding from my head, and you call that normal?” The teacher’s expression darkened. “Just because you say she hit you, that makes it true? Do you have any proof? Security footage? Don’t come here making a fuss over such a minor injury! Handle it with your department instead of disrupting our work.” I was furious and wanted to argue more. Still, a young teacher pulled me aside and whispered, “Karen’s dad’s the chief with connections to the mayor, and her uncle’s the head judge. You won’t win even if you sue. Best to let it go.” “She left me looking like this, and they say there’s no evidence? Her uncle is the court president, so she can do whatever she wants? Where’s the justice in that?” Tears rolled down my face. How had the world become like this? “Listen, lad, I’m saying this for your good. That’s just how society works. Without money or power, do you think you can get justice? You might end up getting kicked out of school. Just talk to your department and try to stay away from her.” The young teacher headed back to the office after saying that. With red-rimmed eyes, I knew I had to talk to the Dean. Not just about her hitting me, but about my National Scholarship, too! What right did they have to give it to her? I rushed to the Dean, Eric Marsh’s office, and saw Karen walking out! “Mr. Marsh, thank you. I’ll talk to my dad about your next promotion review. Leave it to me.” Karen spotted me, pointed at me mockingly, and then turned and left. I knocked and entered. Eric quickly shoved several gift boxes under his desk when he saw me. “What is it?” “Karen assaulted me, causing serious injuries, and deliberately stole my National Scholarship. I’m here for an explanation.” Eric adjusted his glasses, speaking with false seriousness: “School policy states students can only receive the National Scholarship once. You got it last year, so you’re not eligible this year.” I clenched my fists. “But my name was on the public announcement!” “There was an error in the announcement. Your application was rejected for review, so naturally, we had to choose someone else. That’s all! You can leave now.” Eric’s patience was wearing thin. Helplessly, I asked, “She beat me up like this, and you’re not going to do anything?” Eric’s expression darkened. “Got any proof she did it? Video? Security footage? Is your dad a bureau chief, too? Let me tell you something! Karen’s uncle is the head judge. Even if you take this to court, she could kill you and get away with it! Now get out, or I’ll report you to the school board for expulsion!” I left, feeling devastated. Could those with power and influence get away with anything in this world?

I headed to the cafeteria to get lunch, feeling irritable. The place was packed. Suddenly, Karen stormed over with several other girls. She grabbed my tray and smashed it against my head. All the food and soup drenched my head and clothes. “Beat her up! You worthless orphan, how dare you report me to Eric! Beat her to death!” The girls snatched trays from other students and dumped them over my head. They pinned me down, hitting me repeatedly, then started smashing chairs against my body. Other students scattered in fear. Only we remained in the cafeteria. I tried to protect my head, but they weren’t done. They dragged me into the women’s bathroom and sprayed me with the water hose. The ice-cold water left me shivering. I fought back, but they still beat me black and blue! They beat me for four whole hours until I was barely conscious, unable to move. Karen contemptuously kicked me, “Go ahead, sue me in court! Then you’ll learn what it means to cry for help when no one’s listening!” I lay on the cold floor, tears falling in big drops. It reminded me of being bullied and beaten by classmates when I was young. Everyone else had parents to protect them—everyone except me. I was all alone. When I returned to the dorm, Karen had thrown all my belongings outside. She dumped out an iron box like it was garbage! “Don’t touch my things!” I ran over like a madwoman, protecting the medals. These medals—my grandfather’s, my father’s, my brother’s and mother’s first-class merit medals —were all I had left! Karen looked down at me with contempt. “Just some worthless medals, and you treat them like treasure? They’re useless junk. What, you think these pieces of metal will magically make you money? Pathetic!” Staring at the medals, my tears fell heavily. “Mom, Dad, come back! “I don’t want these medals or scholarships! I want you back! “Mike, where are you? Can’t you save me? “Please, someone save me!” Clutching the iron box, I walked to the military compound with a broken heart. I remember Alicia telling me with her dying breath that if I ever ran out of options, I could bring these medals here, and they would help me. I knelt at the entrance of the military compound, pinning on each medal one by one. With these medals feeling like family by my side, I shouted at the gate, “Is there any justice left in this world? Who will give me justice!” Seeing the medals, the guard recognized the gravity of the situation and rushed into the compound. Soon, I saw a group of people walking out. Benjamin was leading them. I remembered him from my father’s funeral.

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