Emily W. - "Why Me?"

Why me? What did I do? I’m the new girl in town.

My name is Amber Swift. I just started Walden Park Christian. Let’s start from the beginning.

“Wake up sweetie, first day of seventh grade” mom whispered in my ear. I jumped out of bed (this was before the terror happened) because I was excited for the first day of school.

I went down the hall to see what was for breakfast. “The eggs and waffles were good mom” I said with pleasure. “Are you ready for school?” mom asked. “Yes, I am ready.”

I went back to my room to get ready for school. I pulled out a shirt with a monkey on it and a pair of Levis. Mom had packed me a lunch.

We left the house at 7:54 because school started at 8:15. Mom dropped me off at the school. Mom said “have a good day”, “thanks” I replied. Mom left to drop off Justin.

I went to my locker. My backpack was stuffed with pencils, pens, erasers, paper, etc. but then I saw that everybody was staring at me. I kept my head straight. DING went the bell telling us to go to class. I had Geography.

I sat at the desk assigned to me. Our first assignment was to fill out an “All About Me” work sheet. Then it was time for the next class. After school I went to wait for mom to get there.

“How was school?” asked mom. “Okay” my brother and I said at the same time. “Why only okay?” she questioned. “I did not make any friends” I complained. “You will make friends soon, Amber” mom assured.

A month went by and I had made friends like mom said. “Here comes the queen bee and her want to bees!” Ashley Benton said. “OH no” whined Jessica Simpleton. “Hi, Losers!” Becca said looking at me. “What Becca?” I said. She just laughed and walked away.

I was walking to English when I heard people whispering my name and grabbing their backpacks. “Why are they acting weird?” I asked Ashley. “Maybe because a paper is on your back” she pulled it off. It read “Amber Swift is a cheater and a thief so be careful”. I crumpled the paper and through it into my backpack.

This treatment went on for a while. My friends and I became sick and tired of the bullying. But it just got worse. One day I went on Facebook and saw a picture with name tagged to it. It was my face on a monkey’s body. I could not stop staring at the comments. I felt like crying.

Everyone seemed to be in on it. Most days I came home crying. Mom always asks what happened but I would tell her we watched a movie in class. Becca messaged me. Somehow she got my phone number. The text said that if I told my parents it would get worse.

I showed the text to my friends. They told me to tell my parents anyway. I went to my mom and told her everything. I showed her all the texts, emails and pictures. She could not believe what I had been going through. “You are brave to try and deal with this yourself. I wish you would have come to me at the very beginning. I am glad you finally told me. We will take care of this right away!”

The next time you are bullied or cyber bullied, you should tell a trusted adult or teacher. Do not try to handle it alone.