Editor’s Note: this is a student’s fictional piece written in response to experiencing the anti-bullying program, Bystander, at Grover Middle School. This cautionary tale depicts fictional events and people.
I walk into school upstairs to my locker when I hear a gang of boys smacking lockers and cursing throughout the hallways. They walk into my line of lockers when they see Mia, a short skinny girl, on the floor in packing her backpack with her head facing down in fear. Her face started to blush as she saw the gang of boys who had broken her shoulder blade and her pinky finger by slamming them into her locker. She clutched her backpack and took deep breaths.
“Mia, how lovely, you’re rushing to class trying not to see we were even here.” the gang blurted out.
Mia makes a face, throws her backpack in her locker, slams it, and then rushes to her class with papers flying out of her hands.
“You can’t go anywhere with us!” the crazy gang screams, running behind her.
They grab her by her hood and pull her back as she starts to sob. Everyone stops and stares, too scared to stand up to Spencer and his big group. It is so silent that Mia starts to cry even more. Whispering starts to engulf the hallways of Grover.
“Let’s go tell someone!” Grace immediately whispers to Jack
“We should, but then we are going to become Spencer’s new victims and face all the problems Mia’s facing right now!” Jack replied, with no fear at all.
Everyone knows that, one by one, they are going to become Spencer’s new victim the more they talk to Mia or anyone who was his victim in the past. We know that if we peep anything to the teachers about Spencer, then we will die! (Not really, just sarcastically). It is not about your starting point, it’s about where you end up. Kids have committed suicide due to the actions of students like Spencer, and we don’t want to be one of those people. No one knows why, because in the classrooms Spencer is the teacher’s pet and so his teachers automatically believe that Spencer didn’t do anything. Suddenly, the teacher from the closest classroom comes outside and sees Mia crying as Spencer immediately goes into his act, pretending he was asking Mia if she was crying.
“Spencer, that was so nice of you to help Mia. Do you know what happened? Why is she crying?” the teacher says when she sees the way Spencer acts to get away with things.
“I really don’t know! I was just walking and talking to my friends — she was on the floor and I asked her what happened, but she just wouldn’t respond. I really tried. I just really tried, but she just pushed me away,” says Spencer, while we scatter around the halls to go to class, not getting in trouble with the teacher or ending up on Spencer’s naughty list.
The weekend arrived and I was afraid for Mia, because who knows what she will do to herself, like the other kids who were tortured by Spencer.
Monday came and all I wanted was to see Mia happy again. She used to be a really lively person who was always talking with others. Now, she isn’t talking, afraid that she will spill something out in front of Spencer. I was walking to my locker and I didn’t see Mia! My face was sweating though I didn’t make a peep. I was afraid. Afraid to be like Mia. The girl who got bullied by SPENCER!!
“Where’s your little puny friend, you little punk? Oh! She didn’t come to school? Afraid of me…That is what I love. The smell of scaredness because of me. Amazing. And guess what? No one cares about that little girl who told on –” Spencer immediately stopped as he could sense a teacher coming his way.
“Hey guys… Do you see Mia anywhere? She is usually at her locker at this time of the day!” Spencer asks in his phony, high-pitched caring voice.
Immediately, Spencer’s big group came rushing back, cursing and saying that Mia wasn’t here and he needed to pick on someone else. Spencer’s head shot at them and he pushed them to the side and whispered something random when the teacher came right behind him questioning if that was him.
“Spencer? Is that who I’m seeing? I thought you were worried that Mia wasn’t here? You wanted to pick on her? I never knew you would do that? If that is the case then I need to send you to the principal’s office for bullying!” the teacher turned around.
The rest of us were stunned and we were hoping that the teacher would send him to the principal’s office, but she was busy asking us if we saw him picking on Mia.
A boy two lockers away from Mia’s dared to say something. Behind the teacher, when he saw Spencer making a face that was angry and red, the poor boy just zipped his lips again. We all started to unpack when the announcements came on.
“Attention students and staff. It is necessary to find a girl in 6th grade named Mia Cardell. She is on team 6D. If anyone sees any trace of her, please report to the main office immediately. Thanks. Once again, if you see Mia Cardell on team 6D, please report her to the main office.” I freaked out.
Now no one can find her. Where did she go? What happened? My heart was thumping when Spencer was coming near me. I took deep breaths to calm myself down. No. No. This can’t be happening to me. I shook my head a few times and then slammed my locker and walked away. By the time I reached my friend’s locker he came to mine and I got saved. Now I have to be aware about where I am going and if anyone is following me. All that is going in my head is that I don’t want to be like Mia.
People should stop being like Spencer because more 
and more lives are being lost. People like the narrator should know more than just to stand around and watch what happened and not do anything like tell a trusted adult. Kids, if you get bullied, go tell a trusted adult that you know will help in some way. Tell a teacher, tell someone, just don’t stand there.
Grover Middle School's Jagazine 