It's time for another chapter of Breaking Through!
My information came from I did not make it up!
L-on level
K- honors
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"So Kari, how did you do?" Tk asked just as their science teacher gave Kari her progress report.
She glanced over at Tk after she saw her grades. He was sitting beside her, but not close enough for her to see what he was doing on his computer screen. For some reason their teacher thinks all kids are cheaters. Not all of them are cheaters though, only like half. She set the paper on her desk.
"I didn't do too bad, I have four A's and a B and well a C. That was only because I still haven't made up that english test. Still if I keep that up I'm sure I can make honor roll!"
"You nerd. You know you have nothing to worry about, you always make it!" Tk told her.
"Thanks, how'd you do?" Kari asked noticing that he just got his.
"I did good, all A's and a B!" Tk said happily.
"Urg, you always do better than me!" Kari said throwing her pen cap at him.
"Hey it's not my fault I'm smarter." Tk ducked just as the rest of the pin came flying at him.
"I was just kidding."
"I'm sure you were." Kari said sarcastically.
"Will you two calm yourselves." The Computer teacher told them.
They nodded there heads but silently kept talking.
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The teacher walked over to her desk grabbing a stack of papers.
I guess it could be worse. Davis congratulated himself as he looked down at the progress report (p.r.) Mrs. Rika teacher placed on his desk. She wasn't his homeroom teacher but the school messed up and gave them to their second period teachers instead.
Subject, ----------------Teacher, ------Grade,
Math (k)--------------Mr. Kakito,------76
English (k), -----------Mrs. Rika,-------74
Drama (L),------------Mrs. Cruk,------87
Lunch, -------------------n/a-----------n/a
Social Studies (k),-----Mr. Saung, ------81
Science (k), ----------Ms. Hazko,------65
P.E. Soccer (L), -----Coach Zyi, -------98
Your child has failed to meet the passing standard 70 expectation. The school will need proof that the guardian has seen this report and is aware this student is endanger of failing. This document is to be returned to the homeroom teacher or principal signed.
Parent Signature X--------------
Davis looked at the paper then placed a hand to his forehead. He was so screwed and it was all his fault.
Davis folded his progress report and put it in his pocket. There's no way I can get this signed. I'll deal with this later. Davis sighed mentally leaning back in his chair forgetting about his p.r. He looked to his left and found some of his team mates. He joined them in a heated debate over who they thought would win the next game.
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"Davis, wait up!"
Davis turned around to see who was calling him. He should have know. He turned back around and waited for him.
"Guess what!"
"What Tk!" Davis said sarcastically acting happy.
"Seriously, I found some information." Tk said looking his friend in the eye for a second as Davis expression went dull. Davis walked up to his locker.
"What kind of information?" Davis asked glancing at Tk while trying to remember his combination.
"Was it 42 or 22 grr.." Davis banged and his locker trying again.
Tk smiled some shaking his head.
"You know about stuff. There's a lot of info on the web about it. I researched in second period." Tk shrugged
"We weren't really doing anything today." Tk explained pulling several papers out of his tan bag.
"Thanks..." Davis said putting books in his locker.
"It was no problem, well it kinda was but not really! Here take a look at them. It tells you basically everything you want to know." Tk shoved the packet gently in his friends hand after he closed his locker.
"I will." Davis nodded softly placing the papers in his bag.
Tk looked at his friend, he was sorta of learning how to read Davis. Sometimes the way Davis acted could give things away. Not to anyone who didn't know him though. A few weeks ago that would have been him.
"Is something wrong?"
"What?" Davis eyes cut sharply at him, he looked away again. It was still hard for him to look people in the eye for a long time.
"I..you seem to have something on your mind." Tk tried to explain.
Davis shut his locker. "Don't worry, it's nothing I want to deal with right now anyway."
"Right." Tk rolled his eyes.
"We know what happened last time you said that."
"Tk, I don't feel like dealing with this now. I'll tell you later I promise." Davis said quietly picking up his bag.
"Whatever, we'll talk about it at lunch, just read as much as you can and make sure no one sees you ok."
"Don't worry, I'll see you at lunch." Davis said Tk.
"Alright." Tk agreed hastily walking past him in the direction of his music class.
Davis saw a look of anger on his face friend before he walked off.
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(Davis pov)
I hope I hadn't make Tk too mad. He seemed kinda pissed before I left. He cant stand it when I don't tell him stuff. He's practically nominated himself to be my best friend. Not that I really mind.
I figured now would be a good time to look at those papers. Today we were watching some kind of drama movie I could care less about. I had a lamp right near my desk in the back anyway. I glanced up at the teacher. She was engrossed in the movie just like I thought she would be. I pulled the papers as quietly as I could from my bag. I don't think anyone cared since mostly everyone was asleep. I placed the papers on my desk nervously running a hand over them. I was drawn to the first definition on the page.
CHILD ABUSE n :
The physical, sexual, or emotional maltreatment or neglect of children by parents, guardians, or others responsible for a child's welfare. Physical abuse: is characterized by physical injury, usually inflicted as a result of a beating or inappropriately harsh discipline. Sexual abuse includes molestation, incest, rape, prostitution, or use of a child for pornographic purposes. Neglect can be physical in nature (abandonment, failure to seek needed health care), educational (failure to see that a child is attending school), or emotional (abuse of a spouse or another child in the child's presence, allowing a child to witness adult substance abuse). Inappropriate punishment, verbal abuse, and scapegoating are also forms of emotional or psychological child abuse------
I didn't know what to think at the moment, I was kind of going through the motions. I am so glad it wasn't sexual abuse, I don't know how anyone could do something like that. I shook my head slightly. Squinting at the small font. I still was drawn to the text wanting to know more. So I flipped the page.
--------National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD.
Section 1: Do you suspect your child is being abused? 7 ways
Be sure to respond calmly. not with shock and anger.
Be sure that child is safe from further abuse. Making their environment safer will show the child that coming to you was the right decision.
Reassure your child is safe, that they made the right decision in telling you, and that you will help.
Let your child know that what has happened to him/her is in no way the child's fault.
If indicated, obtain the appropriate medical, emotional, and legal help for your child's needs.
Try to follow normal routines around your home
If the abuse in happening in the family, seek professional help. Keeping abuse a secret helps no one, and may even cause a recurrence. Active support and understanding will help make the road to recovery much easier.-------
I realized that section 1 was exampled as if a parent like my mother knew about it or something. I guess it could kind of apply for my friends too. I looked at the time. I was getting close to leaving time, but I could at least start on another section in the next fifteen to twenty minutes.
------Section 2: Characteristics of child abuse
2.1 - Characteristics of the Abusive Family Setting
Respect for father, or abusive parent, demanded
-Social isolation Abusive behavior is used as a substitute for communication.
-Parents tend to have self-centered personalities
-Increased risk of other forms of family violence (spousal abuse, etc.)
2.2 - Characteristics of the Child Abuser
Most often the biological father
-Controlling; uses excessive discipline
-Has a difficulty controlling impulses
-Alcohol/drug abuse
-Denies any accusations
-Places the blame on the victim
Branded Syndrome:
The victim may feel that everyone around him/her can tell that they have been abused. In cases of male victims, the abuse itself is not nearly as bad as the fear of other people finding out about the abuse.--------
The bell rung and Mrs. Cruk turned the lights on. A couple of words stuck out to me. I can't believe I read most of that in the near dark! I put the papers up and walked with some of my soccer friends to lunch. For some reason they seem to be acting more friendly. Maybe it's because I'm talking to them more. Most of the time I would zone out when they talked or didn't pay much attention to what they were saying. Sometimes I would feel left out when they went places and didn't invite me. I was my fault though. I probably was really annoying to them. I guess they a finally starting to grow on me. That's probably it.
When we got near the commons or lunch room I said good bye to them. Then I went to find where Tk and the others were sitting.
"Hey Tk." I greeted sitting down beside him.
"Hi Davis." I was surprised, he didn't seem angry.
"Where are the others?"
"Oh, I asked them if we could sit alone today to work on our project."
"We don't have a project to do." I said looking at him confused.
Tk gave me a shut up look. "Dai just get out the papers."
I looked at him then reached into my bag for the thin stack.
For the rest of lunch we got through part three. He was sure this would give him and me an idea about abuse. I don't know if it's really abuse and all like that but I'll go along with it. I told him I got to the end of part 2.
------Section 3: Child Abuse Statistics
Child abuse occurs in 30-60 of family violence cases involve families with children. -Over 3 million children are at risk of exposure to parental violence each year.
-Reported cases of child abuse have increased by 63 in the last 10 years.
-Reported cases of fatalities caused by child abuse have increased by 48 in the past ten years.
-According to recent surveys, physical abuse represented 21 of confirmed cases, sexual abuse 11, neglect 49, emotional abuse 3 and other forms of abuse 16.
-Approximately 45 of deaths occurred to children who have been former clients of child protective services.
-The general population of adults shows that anywhere from 6 to 63 of adults have been abused as children.
-It is reported that 9 to 10 million children , under the age of 18 are directly affected by substance-abusing parents
-Sentencing: depends on whether it's class A,B,C,D,E
Class Mitigated, Offender Standard, Offender Multiple, Offender Persistent, Offender Career Offender
For Repeat Violent Offenders for Class A, B, or C Felonies, the sentence is Life Without Parole.------------
That was the statistics in black and white. I still needed to know how long child abusers stay in prison. I know my dads done time before but I don't if he would stay in prison for 2 years or 60. With my luck he'd get a month or two since my case isn't serious. Other people have it much worse, at least my sister and mother aren't around. I willingly take anything to keep them out of danger. Where will I go if he goes to jail? Will he go to jail? Does my mom even really want me? I don't know. I shrugged mentally.
"Davis we can talk this over with Matt and Tai later ok."
"Sure I agreed. Why is everyone leaving?"
"Because lunch is over!" Tk laughed throwing away his trash.
"I didn't even notice the bell ring!" I picked up my leftovers and threw them in the trash.
Tk laughed again as he tugged me out of the lunchroom towards Mr. Saung's class.
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(regular pov)
"Tk, Kari, Davis!" The heard a voice yell to them as they walked out of the school.
"Tai!" Kari said excitedly running over to her brother as Tk and Davis followed.
"Get in you guys." They heard a voice say.
"Matt!" Tk said looking through the open window.
"Hey Tk, I got dad to let me borrow the van. Get in if you guys want a ride because I'm about to leave."
Matt didn't have to tell them twice they piled into the back seat.
"So, how did everything go today?" Tai asked.
"Couldn't have been better!" Tk laughed nervously covering it up with a smile. He sat in the middle between Davis and Kari.
"Yeah today went well Tai, some..." Kari went on with her story.
Davis felt a vibration in the side of his leg and looked down. He was confused all he saw was Tk's leg. Then it hit him. He reached in his pocket.
"Davis speaking what's up!"
"Davis you're so goofy!"
"Hey Ken, what do you want?"
"Why are you assuming I want something, I could just be calling to chat."
"Sure my bad. So what is it?" Davis asked again.
"I mainly wanted talk and tell you that this is the last time you're changing the songs!"
"Ok, so-rry" Davis said sarcastically.
"You better be." Ken rolled his eyes even though Davis couldn't see him.
"Anyway I called to let you know we've been practicing those songs. We still need to have some extra practices if we want to even hang with the Teenage Wolves. You know Matt's band is pretty stiff competition..."
"I agree." Davis said seriously.
"My mom agreed to having some of our practices at my house. She said we could use the living room while their at work."
"When do they get home?"
"Um around 8:30 or 9, sometimes later. They've been working late for the past few months. Either they're starting to trust me being by myself or they can't stand being near me. It's one of the two!" Ken laughed.
"Whatever, you know you have some of the most over protective parents in the world! Davis laughed lightly.
"Shut up. They're not that bad."
"Of course there not my mistake."
"I might have believed you if their wasn't sarcasm in your voice. So what day do you want to practice?
"How about a couple of days during the week. We really need the rest of the week too."
"Yeah, were coming down to the wire. We always do great at the last minute right Davis!"
"Exactly...was that suppose to be an insult?"
"No, not really. I'm just saying you can usually do whatever you put your mind to."
"Thanks." Davis told him sincerely "I'll tell the bugger sitting beside me to."
"Where are you?" Ken asked curiously.
"I'm in Matt's van with Tai, Tk and Kari. Well, Kari is just now getting out." Davis said as he waved to her and yelled goodbye.
Tk looked at him at grinned. Then he zoned back into his own world.
"Oh, tell them I said hi."
"Ken says hi." He yelled the rest of the Van.
"Hi Ken!" The rest of them yelled out. Tai and Matt went back to their conversation.
Ken laughed hearing them.
"I'll let you go now." Ken told him in his quiet voice.
"Ok, I'll call you back later, we gotta hang out!"
"That sound great Davis, I'll talk to you later."
"Ok bye." Davis said hanging up the phone.
"By the way Tk, we have practice the rest of this week." Davis said quietly so only Tk could hear him.
"Alright, tonight doesn't count right."
"No it doesn't." Davis grinned.
"Matt, where are we going?" Davis asked.
"Well I got Kari food before I dropped her at Yolei's house and realized I was hungry myself. So, we're going to get some food."
"I have no complaints to that!" Tai laughed.
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(Davis pov)
We went inside McDonalds and ordered our food. Tk and I sat in chairs facing Matt in Tai sitting in the booth chair.
"I talked to Iz again and he gave me a zoom in night camera to use. I forgot what he really called it." Tai shrugged putting several fries in his mouth.
"What time does your father usually come home Dai?" Tk asked.
"Um late sometimes, today is what Tuesday. He might show up around don't know 9:00 or 10:00 at night. That really depends on if comes home drunk or with some w-women." I reached for my orange Hi C and took a sip. There's no reason to care about this. It shouldn't faze me anymore, it's been happening for years!
"Today while I was in class I surfed the web and found some info about child abuse. You know just for reference. Davis, do you mind showing it to them?"
"No." I said as I got the papers from my bag. They were lucky I didn't leave it inside the Van. I handed the papers to the older teens.
"So basically sections 1 and 2 describe what to do for a victim." Matt said reading on to section three.
2.3 - Characteristics of the Child Abuse Survivor
-Changes in behavior at school or at home. (withdrawal, inattentiveness, or other unusual behavior)
-Sleep disturbances (insomnia, bed wetting, nightmares)
-Unexplained and sudden fears
-Loss of appetite
-Excessive anger or reckless behavior
-A new reluctance to spend time with certain people
-A need for more reassurance than usual
-Overwhelming knowledge of sexual behavior
-Isolation from friends, limited participation in social activities
-Depression
-Drug or alcohol use
-Chronic running away
-Increase in physical complaints (miscellaneous illnesses)
-Inappropriate attention-getting behavior
-Suicide attempts
-Self inflicted physical abuse (self-mutilation
-Poor self-esteem
-Problems in school (missing class, grades)
-Prostitution
"Some of these are underlined, did you do this Davis?" Tai asked.
I nodded embarrassed.
"I..This is a difficult situation, and we don't want you to feel that way Davis. You can talk to any of us if you feel like this again. Seriously." Tai looked at me concerned.
I glanced at him briefly then took some more food concentrating on that instead of this conversation.
"Yeah, we'll do that." Matt said turning away from Tai.
"Davis are you listening?" Tai questioned raising his eyebrow suspiciously.
Tk laughed. "It's just like Davis to not pay attention!"
"Uh yeah...I am now." I answered lamely. Here they are doing this for me and I can't even stay focused. Grr..I'm so fucking worthless.
"I'll be right back, bathroom." I smiled a bit and quickly got up to leave.
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(Davis pov)
I left a gracefully as I could. I walked into the bathroom stall furthest from the door. The room was empty and I was glad. I locked the door and sat on the floor with my back against the door. I placed my head in my hands. It's nice of them to want to help me but what if this seriously doesn't work. I've had time to think about this. I don't want to go home tonight. I'm in for it so bad. Urg..I hate him! I hate this! I raised my right arm slightly then brung it down. I wondered sometimes if I was smarter would he like me more. I realize now I don't care anymore. I don't!
My shoulders were shaking. I buried my head in my arms trying to calm myself. I guess I wasn't numb to the fear anymore. I nearly sobbed harder when I realized I did it again without knowing it. A small stream of blood flowed from my left wrist. My wrist stung. I picked my wristband off the floor placing it in my lap. I lifted my head leaning it against the back of the door gazing tearfully straight ahead. I needed to be strong. I stood up and wiped my face with the toilet tissue. Then took some more and pressed it against my wrist. I put my band on and placed the tissue in the toilet and flushed it. Taking another deep breathe I placed the thin silver object back in my pocket and unlocked the stall.
"Davis are you still---!" Tk called out the stopped when he saw me.
"Matt and Tai sent me to make sure you didn't drown yourself in the toilet or something." Tk laughed.
"No, I'm fine." I smiled. At least they cared.
"Davis...have you been..?" Tk asked looking closer.
"Have I what?" I asked walking away from him to wash my hands.
"Uh, nothing." Tk replied. He must have realized it was none of his business.
"After we leave here we are going to your house to set up." Tk stated seriously.
"Alright." I said looking toward the door. I don't want to even think about it.
"Are you sure you're ok with this, it's not to late to find another way." Tk said leaning against the sink.
"T-there is no other way. This is the only way to get h-hardcore evidence." I told him my eyes were tearing up again.
"...I guess." Tk said looking at me sadly.
"I'm here for you though when you need me ok."
"Thanks." I returned the hug.
"Let's get this over with." I said with a new determination. I was scared as hell, but the sooner the better.
"Sure, They're waiting for us in the Van."
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(regular pov)
"Ok guys it's 5 o' clock. We need get this done fast and make sure it works. Once we get everything working you know were to hide out at. Davis, show me were the hole in the wall is, I have a special recorder for that room." Tai said leading them as if it were another mission. In a way it was.
Tai placed the small camera in the wall and Davis stood inside making sure it wasn't obvious.
Matt and Tk were outside planning on which window they were going to zoom the cameras into to take pictures. They found the side of the apartment to his behind while they took the pictures. Tai was going to take them from the balcony window Davis was going to purposely leave open and unlocked. As it approached eight o' clock Davis began getting nervous.
The crew had left Davis house for a while and went to a nearby park to think out the final details. They teens went back to Davis apartments. Before they went to their hiding spots the boys each gave him a hug and told him to be strong. Davis nodded to them. He was prepared. Davis grabbed his book bag and turned the knob to go inside. A cold gaze locked eyes with him. The glint in the dark brown eyes staring back at him made him want to turn tail and run. Davis boldly walked in the house and closed the door behind him.
"I hope Davis is alright after this." Tk whispered to his older brother.
"I hope so to." Matt replied looking at him. He placed the camera back to his face zooming in. He saw Davis backing up against the wall. It seemed that the punishment had begun.
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Another chapter is done! It turns out I may have a few more chapters than I originally planned, but that's cool. Anyway if you have any comments email me and don't forget to r/r.
TG101