Be As
Trigger warning for graphic description of bullying
It was the third time his week. In an attempt to not fight back Adrian had landed himself shut up in a locker at the far end of the hallway. “I should have just beat them up…” He said to himself. He tried to move into a slightly more comfortable position and winced as the bruises on his arms and side
brushed up against the side of the locker.
Today was not his day. In fact, it wasn’t his week or month either. Ever since he had moved to Toronto with his Uncle, Adrian had been picked on relentlessly upon starting at his new school. ‘Scar-face’ they called him. ‘Anti-social fag’ and ‘Ugly’ where the whispers as he walked down the hall. He began to wonder why he even bothered anymore.
It was his Uncle that told him not to fight back and when the bullying continued, Sean himself had gone down to talk to the headmaster. A stern talking to only had so much of an effect on bad students and it continued whether Adrian and Sean liked it or not.
Adrian sighed in frustration and pushed against the locker door. It must have been about an hour since he had been shoved in there.
“Hello? Someone? Anybody?”
Again no answer. Adrian whimpered softly and he felt the tears sting at his eyes. Uncle was probably wondering where he was now and getting worried.
“Please help?” He managed again. His voice coming out in a squeak.
Suddenly Adrian heard a movement outside the locker and he perked up squirming again.
“Hello? Is someone there?”
There was more rustling and then a pair of hazel eyes peeked into the slits at the top of the of the locker.
“Holy shit! There’s someone inside there!” The voice said, surprised.
Adrian pushed at the door again. “Can you get me out?” He asked softly. He sincerely hoped that he wasn’t going to be let out to just be beaten up again. He heard a clanking and the voice outside the locker spoke again.
“Give me about 2 minutes and I’ll have you out of there in no time,”
Adrian waited. He heard banging and clanking then the sound of the part that held the lock to the locker being snapped. When the door swung open he fell onto this knees on the floor in front of the locker. ”Ah~!”
He winced and rubbed his knees before looking up at the boy in front of him. His savior stood about 5″9 and had a mop of messy brown hair. He wore a pair of torn up Keds, ripped up jeans and a baggy green hoodie. Anyone else would consider him an no-body but to Adrian, he was an Angel.
“Wow, I didn’t know anyone could bend like that. Are you okay, kid?” The boy asked reaching out his hand to help him up. Adrian took the hand and slowly stood.
“Yeah just a little cramped up.” He replied. “I was in here for an hour already before you came.” He didn’t care that the locker had been broken. It’s not like it was his.
“How did you end up in there?” The boy asked, looking Adrian over. It was then he noticed the scar and he realized that must have been the reason of the locker incarceration. He was an outcast, like him.
Adrian noticed him looking and turned his face away his cheeks red. “I always get picked on.” He said quietly. “About being new, about my scar, about being ugly and anti-social.” There was a touch of bitterness in his voice and he looked away again, voice dropping to a whisper. “and about being ….gay…” For some reason, Adrian knew he could trust the strange boy with this fact, even though it was common knowledge throughout the school.
The brown-haired boy smiled sadly. “I understand.” He said gently. “I know what it’s like to be an outcast.”
Adrian didn’t say anything. He grabbed his backpack from inside the locker and looked back at the other boy again.
“I should get home, my Uncle is probably worried.”
Then he was gone, leaving his ‘angel’ standing in front of the locker watching after him.
The next morning Adrian rushed through the crowds in the hallway, he avoided bumping into as many people as possible and tried not to attract attention to himself. He managed to reach his locker unharmed and quickly turned the lock to get inside.
Sitting on the top shelf was a rose with yellow petals laying on top of a note folded in half. Adrian blinked and took the rose delicately between his fingers and leaned in for a sniff. It was real.
He placed the rose gently back on the shelf and opened the note, his eyes stinging with tears as he read the scrawling cursive.
“Not Everyone in the world is an asshole, you’re beautiful
and one day you’ll find someone that appreciates the beauty that is you.
Smile. -A”
- Fin.
About Author
Vio Marsotta
Me ... Well I’m tiny, honestly. I stand about 4”11 with blonde hair and green/gold/blue eyes. I’m thin, but I do have some meat on my bones. I'm 28, from Edmonton Alberta, Canada...Bloody Cold here in the Winter >_> I was born in Vancouver BC -- though I haven't lived there since 2006. I paint, I write, I sing...but my passion is dancing. I’ve been dancing since I was old enough to walk and I’m dying to get back into it again. I also fight Rapier in the SCA. There's something so empowering about fighting with a sword. I have changed so much over the years. I have gone from a weak person with no hope for a actual good life. To a strong person who knows herself and is willing to follow and accomplish her goals no matter how many hard knocks life decides to give. I have been through trauma, heartache, happiness and sorrow and come out on top. I know who I am now. I have no reason to hide. Artist/writer,punky-goth -- girl/boy--depends on my mood. I write stories, draw fanart and make icons. I'm Genderqueer/Gender Fluid, engaged to a wonderful man and gender queer. At first I thought I was transgendered, then I realized that I'm just gender queer as I feel comfortable as either sex and switch it up all the time. Some may call it cross dressing, I call it a way of life. I owe a lot to my friends, they were the ones that were able to help me out of an abusive relationship and help me realize that being genderqueer and sometimes male is okay and there's nothing to be ashamed of. To all of you. Thank You. Genderqueer (GQ; alternatively non-binary) is a catch-all term for gender identities other than man and woman, thus outside of the gender binary and heteronormativity.[1] People who identify as genderqueer may think of themselves as one or more of the following: both man and woman neither man nor woman (genderless, agender) moving between genders (gender fluid)[2] third gendered or other-gendered; includes those who do not place a name to their gender[3] having an overlap of, or blurred lines between, gender identity and sexual orientation[4][5] Some genderqueer people[6][7] also identify as transgender, and may or may not wish for physical modification or hormones to suit their preferred expression. Many genderqueer people see gender and sex as separable aspects of a person and sometimes identify as a male woman, a female man, or a male/female/intersex genderqueer person.[8] Gender identity is defined as one's internal sense of being male, female, both, or neither, while sexual identity refers to an individual's enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction to others.[9] As such, genderqueer people may be a variety of sexual orientations, as with transgender and cisgender people. Genderqueer identification may also occur for political reasons.[10][11] "Genderqueer", in addition to being an umbrella term, has been used as an adjective to refer to any people who transgress distinctions of gender, regardless of their self-defined gender identity, i.e. those who "queer" gender, expressing it non-normatively.[12] Androgynous is frequently used as a descriptive term for people in this category, though genderqueer people may express a combination of masculinity and femininity, or neither, in their gender expression and not all identify as androgynes. However, the term has been applied by those describing what they see as a gender ambiguity
Beautiful.
Thank You. <3
That means a lot to me.