Under the Emo Tree
Skye's POV:
Sometime at the end of seventh grade I noticed a group of people sitting under a shady tree at lunch. They were a mix of goths, outcasts, emos, and the occasional "other." I was in the "other" category. I started eating lunch there at the beginning of eighth grade, when I realized a whole new side of life.
It was probably a funny sight to see. There were kids wearing a sea of dark blacks, grays, and browns, and then there was me, in pink. The emo kids, and the girl who gets straight A's and is captain of the cheer squad. Oh, by the way, my name is Skye.
I have dark brown ringlet hair, and dark brown eyes. I'm about 5' 5" and am pretty skinny I guess. That's what a lifetime of food allergies will give you.
Two people in particular I befriended, Spencer and Thomas. I loved how they were different from other guys, how they weren't afraid to straighten their hair, or wear skinny jeans.
Spencer was a skinny white kid who dyed his hair black. He was the kind of guy where if you didn't know him, you didn't think about him twice. He was a cutter. We became best friends, and I still eat lunch with him every day. He made a promise to me that he wouldn't cut, a promise he still keeps today.
Tom was a whole different story. He's the guy who loves music and sings in a professional choir. He's the guy who's not afraid to be different and likes to start a little chaos once in a while. What I didn't know was that under his outgoing personality and powerful way of speech was a sea of insecurities.
He was the one who had few friends and was always made fun of. He was the opposite of popular. He was also the only person I know to have a friend die by suicide. Well, besides me. And yet did he tell anybody this, or let it show on his face? No. He was calm and brushed everything off.
Tom had a different way of dealing with life. Tom was a cutter. He was the guy I prayed for at night. He's an amazing guy who deserves to be happy. I gave him all that I could. I gave him a friend.
I coaxed him into opening up to me and eventually I knew all of his secrets. I was the one he confided in late at night, and the one he trusted. I trusted him with my secrets too. I still text him all the time being sure to remind him what a wonderful guy he is.
Recently, my best friend Kyrie and I had been worried about him. We knew he was still cutting, and so I began to check up on him and ask him why he felt the need to hurt himself.
I realized life from an outsider's perspective. Sometimes, all you need is a helping hand, a friend. Now whenever I see someone who just doesn't fit in, I look at life from their perspective. I look at how my actions would feel if they were done to me. I looked at how my friends acted. What I saw shocked me. How they told people off, how they talked behind the backs of even those who were close to them, it all made me feel sick inside.
I know I will never be the same. I have realized the consequences of my actions and have been shown the darker side of life. I have learned to look at my own actions and words through the eyes of another. I was also given the chance to find out that the outcasts are really amazing people and I'm happy to report that I've been mean to no one since.
I was also given a place where I could go and feel like I didn't have to hide who I am. Where you aren't judged. Where you could be who you really are. Where life goes on. Under the Emo Tree.