Prompt: Arnold Rimmer - "Only the good die young." - 'Red Dwarf'
I had finally been able to put Kurt's words out of my head enough to concentrate on my Math homework. I had gotten five algebra problems completed without hearing his statement to his father echo in my head. It was kind of a relief really.
And then Billy Joel's "Only The Good Die Young" came onto my radio.
"You've got to be kidding me," I mumbled softly, tossing my pencil down in frustration. Quickly I reached over and turned off the radio just as he sang the lyrics that matched the song title. The damage was done already though. I could hear Kurt's words echoing im my head again.
I tried to return to my math homework, but I couldn't concentrate any more. Sighing in frustration ten minutes later, I closed the book and then climbed in bed, burying my head under my pillow as if that would silence the voice in my head. If I could just fall asleep . . .
I was standing in the middle of our local cemetery. Looking around, I saw a freshly dug grave not too far away. As if drawn there, I started walking toward it. Fresh flowers were in abundance around the shiny, new, marble headstone. I found myself wondering who had died. Feeling a need to know, I approached the head stone and read the name on it - Kurt Nathaniel Hummel. The tears in my eyes blur the writing as I try to read the dates.
With a gasp, I sit up in the bed, my pillow falling to the floor. Looking toward the alarm clock I see that it is only midnight. and realize I had been dreaming. Still, it's a dream that could very easily become a reality. Kids dying at the hands of bullies had been known to happen. Kids who have been victims of bullying have also been know to commit suicide. I had seen the headlines in the news way too many times.
I was determined that Kurt would not fall into either of those categories even though I wasn't completely sure how to accomplish that.
Knowing that I wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep anytime soon, I climbed from my bed. I planned on getting a glass of water and then tackle my math homework again. Maybe while working on it I could think of some way to start making things up to Kurt.