Disclaimer: I don't own the Kane Chronicles. It belongs to the author.
All I own is my imagination, the computer which I write on, and my bedroom.
Actually, the bedroom and computer aren't mine. They belong to the landlord and my parents, respectively.
One thing that I would recommend while reading this is to listen to the song What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) by Kelly Clarkson.
Take the time to get your iPod or find it on the Internet. It'll be worth it. It's an amazing song.
Sadie was always jealous of her brother for getting to travel the world, while she stayed home and learned Math, English, and whatnot. Not to mention that she had to deal with bullies and other lowlifes on a daily basis. Sure, she did have a few mates at school, who were a real help. Otherwise, Sadie felt that she could only hide her true feelings behind a pair of combat boots and a proud face.
The girls at school were always rather mean to Sadie, even when she was in kindergarten and they always stole her crayons. The worst thing was that they always had someone with them, a pack of wolves closing in on a lone, wounded deer. Jessica was always the ringleader, though, and the others just kind of joined in. Most days she could pull of a smile and a snide remark, but Sadie couldn't stop the cuts from etching themselves in her self-confidence.
One day, Sadie stood in the lunchroom of her school, waiting for her food, usually something buttered. Jessica stood off to the side, talking to her cronies, plotting how they were going to break Sadie this time. To them, she was just a doll, a stepping stone on the ladder to the top of the teenage pyramid.
"Hello, Streaky, how do you do?" asked one girl with false politeness. Obviously, she was making fun of her highlights again. What was wrong with them, anyway?
Sadie tried to ignore her. Usually, there would be someone there to help her; be it Liz or Emma, a teacher. This time, though, she was all alone. Jessica could just hurt her feeling anyway she wanted.
"Oh, that isn't very nice, you know hon? Now, look at Mummy's face and tell her what's bothering you." The other accomplices laughed and jeered.
"Where are your imaginary friends? Where is Mister Puffy-Fluffy, or Miss Dolly? Have they all gone to play and left you behind?"
"You must be lonely without them."
"Ha! Good one, Alice! See how our little Sadie reacts to that one."
Sadie prayed, like her grandparents always told her to. Hoping that all of a sudden, the roof of the school would crash down on Jessica's stupid face and then she could see who was the one laughing. Or that someone, anyone would come and help.
"You're no rose either, Jessica. In fact, I would say that your mother was born in a bin."
"Don't you talk like that about my mum. At the very least SHE didn't go to the Needle in the dead of night and get herself blown to smithereens."
She knew that that wasn't true. Her Gran and Gramps had always said she was a brave woman, giving up her life for the greater good. Sadie wished she could be like that. Instead, she was poor, stupid Sadie, the prey of bullies everywhere. It was surprising that no one noticed what was going on.
"At least my mum didn't have to live with the shame of being the mother of such scum."
More insults flew at her face, from different people. Knifes sliced through the air, cuts grazed her skin, stinging slightly and then healing. Of course, and soon as one wound healed, another was opened. Finally, a girl looked at the clock and yawned.
"Nobody cares about Sadie, anyway. She isn't even worth wasting our breath for."
One final knife in the gut and that was it. She was going to give those bullies a taste of their own medicine.
!#%$%^^&*()(*&&^%$#
Sadie came home and sat on her bed. She reached for her iPod. Moments like this just weren't complete without some music. This time, Sadie found her player turned to a different song. The song lyrics reached out to her, a sense of strength came to her. That must have been what those that Egyptian myths her dad always told her meant. If a person or deity was defeated, they could always rise again. In that way, someone could live forever. Before, she'd just thought they were dumb old symbols scribbled on ancient paper.
Usually, she prided herself for not listening to what she called "American Music." This song was different. Even if Jessica and Alice and their mates could cut Sadie to a billion pieces, they could never defeat her. She would always come back, stronger than yesterday.
You know the bed feels warmer sleeping here alone
You know I dream in color and do the things I want
You think you got the best of me
You think you've had the last laugh,
You think you left me broken down
You think I'd come running back
You think you know me but you're dead wrong
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger…
The words sunk in and Sadie realized that she controlled her own fate. The bullies deserved what she had had to go through. They shouldn't have been able treat her or anyone else like that.
That weekend, Sadie went over to Liz's house to visit her friends and have some tea.
When she explained her predicament, Liz and Emma were shocked.
"Nobody touches our Sadie, except us, of course!"
"Oh no, we're going to give them a whiff of their own medicine. See how they feel in Sadie's boots."
Emma smiled and winked. Liz grinned. Sadie couldn't help but curve her lips up a tiny bit, even if she did feel bad. She wasn't alone after all. Sadie Kane did have allies, after all.
"It's fine, it's my problem and I'll find my own way out of it."
~!#$%^^&*^%%&*%%&&*
Her encounter with the bullies occurred earlier that she had thought. While she was walking along the river that evening; one of her favorite things to do; she saw something. Someone brushed by. Not in an accidental manner, though. The person pushed her into a wall. Called her a freak. There were others, too. Sadie heard voices talking.
"Throw her into the river…." Jessica looked sideways at her friend Alice. Some of the bullies were snickering. Others looked with barely disguised contempt.
"…Hope Sadie can swim. I bet her mummy won't want to see her again…."
Sadie felt her ears turn red. Anger flushed her cheeks. Each day, she missed her mum more.
"Sad… It's a waste of a perfectly good dolly for us…"
Well, Sadie could swim. But the waters of the Thames were not the cleanest in the world. And they weren't the most forgiving, either. There were stories that parents told of children who fell into the river and never came out. Still, the water couldn't be too good for her neon highlights. Sadie had spent hours getting just the right shade of green for her hair.
Just as an arm grabbed her, she felt a rush. She felt powerful, as if she were being aided by a divine power. Sadie had never believed in God or in any religious figure. But it felt otherworldly. She should have been scared, but she wasn't.
In her mind, a woman appeared; although it wasn't anybody Sadie knew.
She was dressed in a white dress her eyes lined in black eyeliner; numerous braids hanging down from her head, like the kind that her dad said Egyptians wore. Sadie didn't know why she was seeing things. The strange thing about it was that she saw everything through the woman's eyes, like being the only guest in an otherwise crowded cinema. Probably it was something that came with being dead. There was something about the person in her vision wasn't quite right. She seemed to echo power, moving through the reeds with a quiet dignity. The woman had a small boy with her, probably a son.
She approached a large tree which sat on the banks of the river. There seemed to be something trapped in the roots of the tree, something shining. It was a coffin. Symbols glimmered above the tree roots for a moment. Then the roots receded, leaving an ornately decorated coffin.
Sadie didn't know what happened. She had felt like she was almost channeling some form of magic. It seemed to come naturally to her. But the river was gone. It had gone up in smoke. Deprived of water, fish flopped helplessly in the mud. Boats lay on the bottom, turned over. The bullies looked stunned. It was impossible for the water to just…disappear.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Then, the water appeared at just the right time.
This time, the bullies weren't laughing. Each of them was drenched with water from head to toe. Surprisingly, none of them looked mad. Instead, they stared up at Sadie in awe. The water was back in the river. Everyone else was acting like nothing had happened. Then, they all walked away with no other words said. Sadie had a feeling that for some reason, none of them would bother her ever again.
She had always known that she was special, but what she didn't know was in what way. Sadie could have been some kind of princess. Maybe a magician. That was probably why her grandparents hated her father; it might have had to do with family.
In her memory, Sadie remembered something. On her sixth birthday, she and Carter had had a fight over something. Anyhow, there was an ice cream cake, and it was a pretty nice one, too. Carter had probably gotten angry and made the cake explode. Or maybe it was her. Ice cream had splattered on their faces and the upholstery.
Ever since she moved in with her Gran and Gramps, Sadie hadn't done anything like that. It was probably a reflex.
As she sat on the porch of her friend's house, Sadie looked out at the sunrise. A new day was a new opportunity. The smoke and fog that usually blocked out the London skyline cleared, revealing a colorful sunrise on the horizon. The smoke cleared, unveiling new hope and new opportunities.
"How did you get them to stop being so mean? I mean, we're happy for you but how did you manage to pull it off?" Liz and Emma sat in chairs next to her, holding cups of juice and sweet buns.
"Oh, for now I'll just say that things went up in smoke."
A/N: The sad thing is that, bullies have to make others feel bad in order to be "cool". What's even worse is that we laugh at those that have to go through this kind of trash each day. It's really a pity some weren't as lucky as to be able to tap into the power of a god.
I'll probably write another one-shot like this. I'm still working on it. Other people have had this idea of a character being bullied and then overcoming it. I know that. You are all amazing writers. However; am I allowed to use it? Thanks. :3
Most importantly, what did you think? Love it, hate it, want to rip it to a billion shreds? Leave a review down below. I would love your opinion. If you don't review, you're a big, fat bully. Just Kidding! Anyhow, please review!