The bold portions are part of the original that have been unchanged. They are neither character thoughts nor things they say, but different quotes I found that made this story play out how it did. Don't worry, this is the only one they show up in.
Thursday
"Hey, Donnie?" I hear Mike call from my room, "Can I use your laptop?"
"Yeah sure," I shout back, cracking open my History book. I remember all of the pages I have up, knowing it'll be hard for him to stay focused with all that junk in his way, "Just go ahead and exit out of the other tabs, okay?"
"Okay!" he shouts back.
I open to page thirty-five and start on the grueling task of learning. I love learning when it's something I'm interested in, but history is not one of those things. Leo to the rescue, "Hey, Don. Want to help me with my math?"
"You couldn't have had better timing," I smile at him. He sits down beside me, pulling out his journal, book, and calculator while I happily slam my book shut. Raph nonchalantly makes his way to the table as well, cracking open his book. I grin his way for half a second - knowing that if I looked longer he'd chicken out. No one likes admitting they need school help.
"So…" Leo asks, "This whole trig thing. How's it work again?"
I chuckle, "Just a sec. Let me go get my calculator, okay?"
"You can use mine?" Raph suggests, trying to get into our discussion.
I smile, "Thanks. But mine can do more than your guy's. It graphs and stuff."
"We need to graph?" Leo grimaces, "I didn't grab any paper from the room."
"Don't worry about it," I shrug, walking away, "I've got extra." I turn the corner of my room to find my baby brother slamming my computer shut. He must not have liked the cat video, "Whoa, just cuz you're upset doesn't mean-"
"What the heck is going on?" he turns to shout at me, completely angry.
I stare at him confused and slightly afraid to move. Does he think I'm someone else? He never yells at me.
Leo rushes to my rescue, "What's going on in here?"
Mikey shouts at me, "Tell him, Donnie!"
My eyes widen, wondering exactly what's going on. I look back and forth from Leo to Mike, trying to figure it out, but I can't, "What?"
"Why are those kids saying all those mean things?" he glares.
Oh. I can feel my face tensing as I realize what's going on. What he must have read, "Why were you on my Facebook? Mikey, that's private."
"It's not my fault they were commenting every two seconds," he snaps.
I roll his eyes, "So take off the reminder. You shouldn't have been reading them anyway. That's my profile. Not yours."
"Wait," Leo stops us, "What's going on? What's all this about Facebook?"
Raph walks in next. He must have heard us - or more likely, Mike - yelling, "Everything all right in here?"
I groan, irritated, "Everything is fine. Mike was just snooping on my Facebook page."
"Everything is not fine, Donnie," he sneers, "What they're saying is mean!"
I glare back, "Then you shouldn't have read it."
"Okay, everyone, just calm down," Leo states, "Mikey, don't read Donnie's Facebook and Donnie…um, don't post mean stuff."
I roll my eyes. Yeah. Like I'd make fun of someone, "No problem."
I'm about to ask everyone to leave when Mike shouts, "Leo! The mean stuff was to Donnie! Not from Donnie."
"What?" Leo looks back and forth from me to Mike, "What mean stuff?"
"He's overreacting," I say fast, trying to diffuse the situation before Mike makes things worse, "It's just stupid comments."
Mikey looks kind of hurt, "It's not stupid, Donnie. They were threatening you."
Raph steps forward, "Hold up. Who was threatening Donnie?"
"No one," I put my hands up to stop them, "Everyone, just, listen to me for a sec, okay?" They all stop to listen, while I try to explain things, "They were just…messing around. They're not being serious or anything. It's fake. All of it. It's…for a project. At school."
"He's lying," Mikey glares.
My oldest brother nods, "I know. Mikey, pull it up. I want to see."
"Guys, it's my account," I get angry, "You can't just-"
"And yet we are," Raph tells me. I'm about to yell at everyone again, when Raph crosses his arms, "Sit down, Donnie. We'll talk with you in a minute." The look I give him is nothing compared to what he glares at me. Still. It's not worth a fight. I take a seat while my brothers completely violate my private account. They open the chat group and read the many, many horrible messages that my classmates posted.
Leo obviously doesn't like it, "Donnie? Why would they say that stuff? Who are these kids?"
"Like I said," I stand and close the computer top with a slight slam, "It's for school. A stupid project. It's nothing."
"You didn't answer my question," Leo glares.
I roll his eyes, "Because it's a stupid question. They're just some classmates who are messing around."
"Exactly what kind of a school project would have kids talking to you like that?" Raph fumes.
I explain my class assignment, "Cyberbullying. The class gets together, coming up with the worst things they can say. We picked one person randomly - me - and they had to attack me. We're going to do a discussion later this week and talk about how it felt to be bullied and ways to cope. Like, my way of coping is thinking about all the horribly bad spelling and stuff."
"Wait," Raph shakes his head, "So this stuff doesn't bother you?"
"Should it?" I ask worriedly. All of those bad thoughts - just thinking about where they're getting their material from - come flowing back to me, "Why, is it true?"
"Of course not," Leo stops my worrying fast, "And…I guess as long as you think it's harmless, it's fine. But if it gets out of hand, you'll tell us right?"
"If it gets out of hand, I'll tell the teacher," I state, "No offense, but I don't need you beating the crap out of my classmates over nothing but a project."
"If you're sure," Raph glares like he doesn't believe me.
I nod, "I'm sure."
"Well…okay," Leo agrees, "I guess that's it then. Mike, don't look at his page anymore, alright?"
He looks at us like we're nuts, "That is the worst excuse of all time! What class are you doing that for?"
"Psychology," I cross my arms.
He glares at me, trying to be serious, "Fine. I won't look anymore. But seriously, if I find out this isn't for school-"
"Then I'll handle it," Raph interrupts to my surprise, "No one picks on you. And you tell me if someone does."
"Yeah, fine. Whatever," I shrug.
Raph grunts, leaving with Leo close behind. He doesn't seem to trust me, but it's fine. Really. As they both leave, I feel that I should talk to Mike. Homework can wait a little bit. I close my door so it's just the two of us. When I turn to him, I realize I have absolutely no idea what to say. I cross my arms instead, determined to figure something out. He asks confused, "What?"
I sigh, not sure what else to go with, "Thank you for being concerned."
He nods, "Sure. But…this can't seriously be for school. Can it?"
Well, this isn't uncomfortable. I look away, subconsciously, rubbing my shoulder, "Not all of it. But Mike? It really is fine. Like I said…it doesn't bother me."
"So…they really are picking on you?" he gets worried.
"One or two of them say things they know will really hurt me," I confirm, "I know it's just for class, but those two tend to be particularly descriptive."
"Which two?" he asks.
I shake my head. I won't have him telling Raph and have Raph beating up my classmates, "They're just words, Mike. I like myself the way I am and I wouldn't change a thing." I give that a second thought, "Well. Nothing drastically. Maybe a new hairstyle or clothes…but not because of what they're saying. Only because I think it'd be cool to change things up a bit."
If they don't like you for being yourself, be yourself even more. - Taylor Swift.
"It doesn't hurt you?" he questions, "What they're saying?"
I take a seat, trying to explain this better, "Of course it hurts, Mikey. Words can hurt just as much as a fist, but that's not the point. I know they're saying those things to be mean. Not because they believe it. They want to hurt me. As long as I don't let them…" I laugh thinking about how stupid I was to be worried, "I'll get an A in the class." It's just for school. They're not serious.
"But if it were real," he tires, "If what they were saying were true?"
"Well then I'd be confused," I laugh, thinking about it more, "Some are calling me a bean pole while others are calling me fat. I can't be both. And only a scale can know for sure. Plus, say I was overweight? Doesn't mean I should kill myself. Maybe just try fruit instead of chocolate. Sure tastes better."
"No kidding," he agrees.
I giggle, "Right. And some kids call me dumb as nails, while others are calling me a nerd. But my grades tell me the truth. Honest, Mike. What they're saying isn't getting to me because it shouldn't. They have no idea what they're talking about. Their grammar is proof of that." This gets a laugh out of him.
You don't need anyone to tell you who you are or what you are. You are who you are! - John Lennon.
"So, if they really are being mean, what do you think I should do about it?"
"Tell Leo?" he asks more than suggests.
"Yeah," I agree, though that's not all, "But I also shouldn't listen to them. All they know is what they see. And they don't get to see a whole lot because they're obviously not very close friends of mine."
"Right," he smiles.
"Right," I smile back, "Now if it were real, I'd tell Leo. And my teacher. And block them on Facebook."
"So…why haven't you said anything mean back?" Mike asks.
I shake my head at him, "I know just as much about them as they do about me." He seems confused by this, so I try again. "If I were to call them names back, I might hurt them. Then I'd be just as mean as they are. Personally, that's not a trait I'd like to have."
I would rather be a little nobody, than be mean to somebody. - Abraham Lincoln
"What about just asking them to stop?" he suggests, "You could at least do that?"
"Well, where would that get me?" I laugh, "I'd just fuel them to keep talking trash. See, it's a lot easier for someone to be mean from the other side of a computer. If I were to talk to them in person, it might be different."
"Yeah, they'd hit you," he states, "Or you'd hit them."
I laugh at the thought of me hitting someone, "Maybe. But if they're that enraged, then they've obviously got a lot going on other than issues with me."
I realized that bullying never has to do with you. It's the bully who's insecure. - Shay Mitchell
He nods slow, hopefully starting to understand. "I still don't like it. When is this project over?"
"Tomorrow," I assure, "Don't worry. It'll stop soon. Just have to let the fire go out."
"And if it doesn't?" he asks.
"Then I'll tell my teacher that someone didn't get the memo," I smile.
He shoves my shoulder as Leo comes back in. Oh yeah. Homework. "Hey, guys. So…Raph and I have been talking. We think we should talk to you two about bullying."
Not what I was expecting. I'm about to agree with him - hoping he might be able to get me to believe everything I just told Mike - when my little bro answers for us, "Don't worry. I think Donnie covered it for me." Great. Now if I could just cover it for myself.
