Previously on 'Casey' –
...He nods. "Alright, see you later then, hope you feel better soon" I say. Man, I feel pathetic when I say that. I feel like I'm abandoning him, even though he wants me to go. So I go. I say goodbye, and watch him go in there, and then I go. Casey, nice name, don't ya think so?...
Chapter 2: Go before she's back…
Class finishes and the first thing I think of is to go and find Casey. I wonder if he'll still be at the nurse's office. As I reach there, the nurse passes by me. I don't think she noticed me. Odd. The nurses' office door is sealed shut. I go towards the door, and knock. I wait, but I can't hear anything. I figure he must have gone, but something tells me to check the room anyhow. So I lye my palm on the doorknob and push door and it creeps open slightly. Everyone seems to have gone outside the school building by now. It's break, and no one wants to be inside. I always wanted to stay inside at break back home. Avoid the chases and competition.
I poke my head through the doorway, and look around. A whimpering sound catches my breath and my heart almost stops when I can see Casey crouched in a corner, crying.
"Casey! What the hell happened?" I ask worried as hell, as I race over to him, dropping at his side.
It feels unreal. I hardly know this boy, but I hardly knew the 12-year-old kid on my skiing trip with school, but I helped him when his, obnoxious roommates were bullying him, but that was nothing compared to this. Casey tries to stop crying, but I can see him visibly shaking hazily, and then he can't hold it in any longer and another sob escapes his throat. Why is all this shit happening to this innocent boy? My hands jerk around, and its clear I'm shaking too, and very unclear of what to do. He somehow forces a few words.
"G, Go, She'll, b...before she c, c, co..."He begins to cry again.
"Casey, what did she do to you?" I say, trying to hold back tears.
You don't need to know someone to cry for them. I learnt that the hard way. A small boy, only 5 years old…I cried for him…as he lay on the ground dead, and the person that caused it all speeding away…caring only for his future. He'd already taken this child's future…why should he have one? I feel so helpless. I wish he would just tell me what happened. Suddenly there are loud voices coming from outside the door. Casey is breathing really heavily. It seems to be a man and women talking.
"Go" Casey states quickly. He pushes me towards a closet and the doorknob begins to turn. He pushes me inside and just about closes it before they enter the room.
"No" I whisper, but for some reason I wait anyway.
Casey's still out there, I have an urge to just jump out, but Casey looks back through the blinds of the closet door, his eyes telling me not to move. I'll probably make things worse, and give them time to come up with a story, if I come out now…we can tell the police later. But if they try anything, I'll come out I swear.
"Well, well, well, Casey what are you trying to do? Hide from us in the closet" A man's voice says. He sounds like he's in his mid thirties.
I can hear Casey sniffing and trying to hold back tears.
"Casey, you still crying? You're pathetic you know that" It's Nurse Harper.
How can she be so cruel? I hate the way they say his name.
"Ya know Casey I don't know why you are crying about our little...", he pauses and winks at him, before continuing "…games, why can't you just enjoy it" the eeriness in his voice evidently scaring the both of us.
Oh My Gosh, he can't mean what I think he means. I dare to look through the gap in the closet door. The man is quite tall, he has brown hair and is wearing a grey t-shirt and blue shorts, and he has a whistle around his neck.
He walks towards Casey, who begins to back up into the wall, as far as he could possibly go. He rests a hand on his head and he trembles all over. He kneels down beside him and moves his hand down to his cheek.
"Why was a pretty little thing like you born a male?" he says.
Casey turns his face away, as though he fears this man will tear it off.
"Please..." he begins.
"Shhh..." the man starts. "We've had enough of you today…I love it when you struggle."
Casey lets out another sob. That's it; I need to help him.
"Now go," says the man. "Oh and Casey, remember no telling anyone of our little…sessions"
He always pauses before his last word. I hate it, I truly do. Oh…If I go now, I'll make it worse, they'll know someone knows. Casey shuffles towards the door, I can see him limping as he does. I don't know if that's because of him being beaten up, or something those perverts have done. How am I going to get out of here? I'm just gonna stay here until they go out of the room.
"You have fun?" The man says
"Yeah, the kid is so gullible, always getting beaten up, a real loner" Nurse Harper says
"I know, and his father seemed quite hard nosed when I met him at the parent meetings, he gets trampled on by all the boys in my P.E. class, he's a real joke...good for a fk though" the man says laughing.
Oh Gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh…I can't fking believe this school, poor Casey, I can't believe all these things, how can they do all this to him? They can't have done this to him before, otherwise he would be too terrified to go any where near the nurses office, wouldn't he? A P.E. teacher, he's the P.E. teacher. I almost fall backwards in the closet…this is all too much to take in. I didn't think this could go on…so many people.
"Next time you wanna play with little Casey, come and get me, I'll play too. Okay?" the P.E. teacher says
"Definitely" Nurse Harper states, with a smirk.
Then he walks out of the room. Nurse Harper stands around for a few minutes, then grabs her bag and walks out. I make sure its safe to come out, and then climb out of the closet and head towards the door. An old coffee mug staines the table surface, by the door, I don't know why it catches my eyes. Maybe its because its such a grown up drink. it reminds me that these people are grown ups doing this to Casey, and that shocks me even more. I make it outside, closing the door behind me fast, incase anyone sees me. Now I have to find Casey.
Deep down, I don't know what to do. Deep down I'm as shocked as anything. Beaten up by all the kids in his PE class as well…grrrr…I feel so, I don't know,I just feel so...grrr...if that explains anything at all, but I just wish none of these things would happen. That's a stupid wish though, these things happen all the time…but to this extent? And even worse. I suppose some people are really unlucky. It makes me feel really lucky in a way, but I don't feel very positive at the moment. I think you can understand why.
I wander around the school looking for Casey. I figure one place someone might go to get away from everyone is the toilettes and that means going into the boys toilettes. It also means finding it.
"Excuse me, I'm new here, could ya tell me where the toilettes are?" I ask some guy that looks quite harmless.
"Erm, sure, I'll show you," he says, gesturing for me to follow him.
"Oh, thank you" I say. So there are regular, sane people in this school apart from Casey.
He rolls up his long blue sweater sleeves, as he starts walking in the opposite direction to where I had been going. I follow him and pass a few biology and Chemistry classrooms on the way. It seems the toilettes weren't very far away from where I'd been anyhow. He stops suddenly, and points. I look up. Shit. There's the girls toilettes…but where is the guys? I look around a few times, but it seems the guys toilettes are no where near the girls.
"Where are you from?" The guy asks me.
"Oh, England, Manchester'" I reply, noticing he's still standing there.
"You don't sound very posh." he says.
I'd laugh if I didn't feel so bad about Casey. I have to find him.
"Well, only a small percentage of British people are posh darlin, learn ya geography" I say, nudging his shoulder with my fist playfully.
"Anyway..." I say, "...Thanks for the help, see ya around mate"
"Bye" he says and then leaves.
'See ya around mate'. Oh yeah I really fit in.
I have to find the guys toilettes; they can't be that far away...YES, there it is, by the staircase. What am I gonna do? Okay, if anyone asks, I'm just lookin' for a friend…which I am. Man, I aint been in a guys toilette since my first year of high school when I was 11, I accidentally walked into the wrong toilette, cause' the door was wide open, and no one was going in there, I knew once a guy walked past me from the stall and out the door...hmmm...funny when I look back.
Here I go. I walk through the door, and there doesn't seem to be anyone there. I swear I think I need to hold my nose. If Casey is in here, he needs a gas mask.
"Casey...Case are you in here"
There's no reply.
"Casey, if you are here, please tell me, I've been looking all over the school for you, please say something, hey I'm even venturing into here for ya, that says a lot right?" I sigh.
I just want to help him. I know it can't be easy for him though. How could I ever know the pain he's been through?
"Casey I just wanna be your friend" I say, sighing again.
There is only silence. I guess he's not here.
"Really?" There's his voice. It sounds painfully quiet.
"Casey, Oh my gosh, thank god. Where are you?" I ask, looking down the cubicle of toilettes.
I hear him unlock his toilette door, and slide the door open. He slowly limps out and looks up at me, with more teary blue eyes, around them all I see is a sore reddish colour, like he's been rubbing them too much.
"Oh" I sigh gently. I know I've only known this kid for 2 hours, but I feel a strong need to comfort him.
I walk up to him slowing in pace as I get closer. When I do, I find myself hugging him. I know I shouldn't. He doesn't know me, I'll probably scare him, but I have to. He flinches as I loosely rap my arms around him.
"Don't be afraid of me Casey, I wouldn't try and hurt you...you have to tell someone about what those perverts did to you" I say, backing away a little.
Casey looks towards the ground and then he leans against the wall, and slides into a sitting position on the floor. I follow and sit next to him.
"Why is everyone so mean to you? You're harmless, you're a good person, I think you are anyhow." I ask.
He looks up at me again.
"Exactly, I'm harmless, I'm weak" he says, wiping at his eyes.
"Look at me, I'm crying my eyes out, I'm just pathetic"
I have to interrupt him on that note.
"Look at me" I say, "You are not pathetic, they are pathetic, just cause they're older or they're born with a bit more muscle does not mean they have the right to treat this way, they're the ones who are pathetic, you're the strong one for surviving all these idiots. There's so many of them always getting at you, fkin Hell, I'd be crying all the time, if I had to go through what you do." I pause for a second.
"Ya know, at my old school, in Britain, I got beat up once, only once, but it can still effect you pretty damn well, and it shook me up, the fact that I could just be attacked on the street for no reason and end up in hospital, now I can't imagine how much strength you must have to get up everyday and face what I went through just once, over and over again, if you ask me who I think the strongest person in this school is, I'd have to say you, I swear, I'm not lying to you Casey" I finish
He's staring at me, like he's seen something he's never seen before. Like he finally understands I would never hurt him, like he finally understands me.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Casey says.
I can see it in his face that he really is sorry, for something he never even knew about. Gosh he's so sweet.
"No Case, I'm sorry you had to go through what you have all this time, and hey, I'm over it, but it'll never stop until you tell someone...before you tell me how it'll make things worse, I have to tell you one last thing, the bravest thing you can do is put an end to it all, no matter how scared you are, it'll never go away unless you try...I mean, I thought it would make things worse if I told on the person who beat me up, she went to my school...but I told on her, turned out she had never been charged for anything, everyone always got afraid and never told anyone, so she thought she could get away with it over and over again, but ya know what once the police charged her, I mean she didn't get sent anywhere, but I never saw her again, and her gang stopped hanging around on the street, and people, well I heard she didn't do much beating up after that." I stop.
I've been talking for so long I don't know if I've gone a little off track.
"Francesca?" Casey says.
"Yer?" I say
"I feel so ashamed of what they did to me though, my parents, they wouldn't believe me," he says.
I sigh.
"Think about what those two can do, they'll not only keep doing it to you, but they'll do it to others, I'll come with you, and this time I wont let you out of my sight, these teachers are pretty shady. In fact no…lets go the police, I'll talk to your parents, tell them exactly what I saw."
"NO!" he says quite loudly, startling me a little. "I just, I don't want them to know. Please just, just promise me you wont tell anyone"
"Oh, Case...I, I can't, please don't make me choose, I don't want you to suffer..."
"Promise me, or I'll never talk to you again."
"I can't, I can't…I'd rather you we're saved and could never talk to me again, than suffer…"
"Please…promise me…or, or I'll kill myself" he says, urgency in his voice.
"You, you wouldn't do such a thing…" I say, shocked and fearful.
He pulls his drags his bag from the side of him, and rummages through it for a moment.
"What are you doing?" I say, confusedly.
He suddenly turns, a small blade in his hand. He pulls his sleeve up, and extends his arm out in front of him, hovering the blade above it.
"No!" I almost cry out.
I reach for the blade myself, and try to knock it out of his hand.
"I have more at home" he says, not angry but in a pleading manner. "If you tell someone…they'll just laugh. They won't do anything. Trust me, my life sucks. And, and if you tell I will kill myself, I will. I want you to be my friend so bad…please don't tell anyone. Just be here."
"But Casey, people can go to prison for the things these people have done to you…you must know that?" I plead.
"Yes…I know, but everyone's against me, trust me they'll say I'm making it up."
"But I'm here. I can tell them the truth!"
"Francesca…please, just be my friend" his eyes water a little more.
"That's what I'm trying to be though…" he's still staring…"Okay…but I'm staying with you as much as I can, so I can protect you…no one will do anything with me around with you, right?"
"I doubt it…I wouldn't put your hopes up though." He raises his eyebrows a little, and then concentrates on the toilettes stall door in front of him.
"Alright…" I sigh. "…But, but if it gets real bad…what am I saying? It is real bad…but if they try anything again, those teachers, you have to promise me you'll go tell the police straight away"
"They wont, they wont, I'll stay away from those bullies as much as I can, and the teachers, I'll make sure they don't get me..."
"I'm not gonna let you outta my sight, ya hear, you come find me, I'll make sure those bastards don't hurt you, any of em..."
"So, so you promise?" he asks pleading with me with his eyes again.
I sigh again. "Okay, I, I promise" I force a smile. "You promise?"
Casey nods. "I promise." He smiles. "We all promise." He jokes.
I let my smile grow a little, and exhale deeply, resting my back against the wall.
"Francesca..." Casey says
"You, can call me Cesca if you want, kinda my nick name" I say awkwardly.
"Okay, Cesca" he smiles. "You...you're the nicest person I've ever met, I don't mean to be sentimental or anything like that, I just need to tell you, or ask you, to…please don't become like everyone else, don't abandon me, become one of them" I can feel him squeezing my arm slightly. He's scared. Not of anyone, but of what might be.
"Case, you don't need to worry about me turning into one of them. I see you as the only sane person in this school, how in the world could I ever turn against you?" I say honestly.
Suddenly he reaches over and hugs me.
"You're the best friend I've ever had," he says still clinging onto me tightly. "Even if you weren't the only friend I've ever had"
That last part broke my heart and yet I felt special, I felt like I had a purpose in life and right now Casey was it, and helping him was my true purpose.
He lets go of me and sits back down. I wonder why no one has come in here at all.
"Where is everyone anyway?" I ask.
"The bell went, they're in class," Casey tells me.
Hmm... I didn't even hear it.
"What time is it?"
"11:57" he says. "Half an hour till dinner"
"What'd you got for lunch?"
"Ah, the usual, sandwiches, chips, drink, fruit"
"Yeah me too, in England we call 'em crisps though...chips I mean."
"Yeah, I know" he states.
"Really, I met some guy out there, friendly, can't believe that, but he actually thought you can't be British unless you have a posh accent" I laugh slightly.
Casey laughs too. I wonder why he knows more about England than most American kids at this school.
"He obviously hasn't seen Billy Elliot then." Casey says. I like how he knows things, the other kids don't.
"We might as well just stay here until the next bell goes," I say "But we'd be better off in the girls toilettes, no offence but its stinks in here…someone hand me a gas mask."
We both burst out laughing, we laugh for a long time, again, I don't know why. For once Casey is looking happy, I don't know how after what's just happened to him, but he does.
I feel like I've made a difference in his life, even if its only a dint, and ya know what I'm gonna do what ever I can to help him.
Hey sorry this took so long, REVIEW, Pls...I will be very thankful and would be happy to review some of your work if you asked me to...help me, lol, cya for now Luv Cesca, x