Here's just a story I read In a book it's all true and very touching so I thought I would share it.
High school didn't frighten me. Oh,sure the endless halls and hundreds of classrooms were overwhelming, but I took it I'n with all the pleasure of starting a new adventure. My freshman year was full of possibilities and new people. With a class of nearly two thousand newcomers, you just couldn't go wrong. So I, still possessing the innocence of a child concealed in a touch of mascara and lipstick, set out to meet them all.
Spanish one introduced me to Rion. By the student definition, he was a "freak:" the black jeans well -worn metallica shirts, the wallet chains, the works. But his unique personality and family troubles drew me to him. Not a crush, more of a curiosity. He was fun to talk to, and where interrupted whispering sessions left off, hours of phone conversations picked up.
During one of these evening conversations, "it"', as we like to address the incident, unfolded. We were discussing the spectacular height of Ms.Canaple's over-styled bangs when I heard Rion's dad yelling in the background."hold on" Rion muttered before a question could be asked. I could tell that he was trying to muffle the reciever, but you could still hear the horror as if his room were a dungeon, maximizing the bellows. Then the line went dead.
Shaking,I listened to the flatline of the phone for a minute before gently placing it I'n it's cradle, too scared to call back for fear of what I might hear. I had grown up in an ideal family setting: a mom and a dad and an older sister as a role model. This kind of situation took me by surprise, and I felt confused and helpless at the same time. A couple of tense hours later, after his father had gone to bed,Rion called me to apologize. He told me his dad had received a letter from his ex-wife, Rion's mom,saying she refused to pay child support. Having no scapegoat, he stumbled into Rion's room I'n a rage.
"I can't take this anymore. All the fighting........ it's always there......."his voice trailed off lost I'n painful thought. "All I have to do is pull the trigger, and it will all be over."
"No!" I screamed. "Don't talk like that! You know you have so much to live for. It was becoming clearer every second how threatening the situation was. A cold, forced chuckle came from the other end of the line. "Yeah right," was his response. We got off the phone, buy only after promising to go right to sleep.
Sleep, however was light years away from me. I was so worried and had a feeling I was Rion's only hope. He had tolde repeatedly that it was hard to open up to anyone but me. How could someone not want to live? I could literally list the reasons I loved waking up every morning. Frantically, I racked my brain for ideas to convince Rion of this. Then the lightbulb clicked on. I took a piece of paper and entitled it "why Rion should live" Below, I began listing every reason I could think of that a person had to exist. What started as a few sentences turned into twenty, then thirty-two, then forty-seven. By midnight, I had penned fifty-seven reasons for Rion to live. The last ten were as follows:
48)six feet if earth is pretty heavy.
49)they don't play metallica in cemeteries.
50)braces aren't biodegradable.
51)god loves you
52)believe it or not, your father loves you too
53)Spanish one would be so boring.
54)two words: drivers license
55)Satan isn't exactly the type of guy you want to hang out with for eternity.
56)how could you live without twinkies?
57)you should never regret who you are, only what you have become.
Believing that I had done my best, I crawled into bed to await tomorrows chore: saving Rion. I waited for himat the door to spanish the next and handed him the paper ad he walked in. I watched him from the opposite side of the room while he read the creased sheet in his lap. I waited, but he didn't look up for the entire period. After class I approached him concerned, but before I could say a word, his arms were around me I'n a tight embrace. I hugged him for a while, tears almost blinding me. He let go with a soft look into
My eyes, he walked out of the room. No thank you was needed , his face said it all.
A week later, Rion was transferred to another school district so he could live with his grandma. For weeks I heard nothing, until one night the phone rang "Sarah, is that you?" I heard the familiar voice say. Well, it was like we had never missed a day. I updated him on Ms.Canaples new haircut, he told me his grades were much better, and he was on the soccer team. He is even going to counseling with his dad to build a stronger relationship."but do you know what the best part is?" I sensed true happiness in his voice. "I don't regret who I am, nor what I've become."
Sarah Barnett
High school didn't frighten me. Oh,sure the endless halls and hundreds of classrooms were overwhelming, but I took it I'n with all the pleasure of starting a new adventure. My freshman year was full of possibilities and new people. With a class of nearly two thousand newcomers, you just couldn't go wrong. So I, still possessing the innocence of a child concealed in a touch of mascara and lipstick, set out to meet them all.
Spanish one introduced me to Rion. By the student definition, he was a "freak:" the black jeans well -worn metallica shirts, the wallet chains, the works. But his unique personality and family troubles drew me to him. Not a crush, more of a curiosity. He was fun to talk to, and where interrupted whispering sessions left off, hours of phone conversations picked up.
During one of these evening conversations, "it"', as we like to address the incident, unfolded. We were discussing the spectacular height of Ms.Canaple's over-styled bangs when I heard Rion's dad yelling in the background."hold on" Rion muttered before a question could be asked. I could tell that he was trying to muffle the reciever, but you could still hear the horror as if his room were a dungeon, maximizing the bellows. Then the line went dead.
Shaking,I listened to the flatline of the phone for a minute before gently placing it I'n it's cradle, too scared to call back for fear of what I might hear. I had grown up in an ideal family setting: a mom and a dad and an older sister as a role model. This kind of situation took me by surprise, and I felt confused and helpless at the same time. A couple of tense hours later, after his father had gone to bed,Rion called me to apologize. He told me his dad had received a letter from his ex-wife, Rion's mom,saying she refused to pay child support. Having no scapegoat, he stumbled into Rion's room I'n a rage.
"I can't take this anymore. All the fighting........ it's always there......."his voice trailed off lost I'n painful thought. "All I have to do is pull the trigger, and it will all be over."
"No!" I screamed. "Don't talk like that! You know you have so much to live for. It was becoming clearer every second how threatening the situation was. A cold, forced chuckle came from the other end of the line. "Yeah right," was his response. We got off the phone, buy only after promising to go right to sleep.
Sleep, however was light years away from me. I was so worried and had a feeling I was Rion's only hope. He had tolde repeatedly that it was hard to open up to anyone but me. How could someone not want to live? I could literally list the reasons I loved waking up every morning. Frantically, I racked my brain for ideas to convince Rion of this. Then the lightbulb clicked on. I took a piece of paper and entitled it "why Rion should live" Below, I began listing every reason I could think of that a person had to exist. What started as a few sentences turned into twenty, then thirty-two, then forty-seven. By midnight, I had penned fifty-seven reasons for Rion to live. The last ten were as follows:
48)six feet if earth is pretty heavy.
49)they don't play metallica in cemeteries.
50)braces aren't biodegradable.
51)god loves you
52)believe it or not, your father loves you too
53)Spanish one would be so boring.
54)two words: drivers license
55)Satan isn't exactly the type of guy you want to hang out with for eternity.
56)how could you live without twinkies?
57)you should never regret who you are, only what you have become.
Believing that I had done my best, I crawled into bed to await tomorrows chore: saving Rion. I waited for himat the door to spanish the next and handed him the paper ad he walked in. I watched him from the opposite side of the room while he read the creased sheet in his lap. I waited, but he didn't look up for the entire period. After class I approached him concerned, but before I could say a word, his arms were around me I'n a tight embrace. I hugged him for a while, tears almost blinding me. He let go with a soft look into
My eyes, he walked out of the room. No thank you was needed , his face said it all.
A week later, Rion was transferred to another school district so he could live with his grandma. For weeks I heard nothing, until one night the phone rang "Sarah, is that you?" I heard the familiar voice say. Well, it was like we had never missed a day. I updated him on Ms.Canaples new haircut, he told me his grades were much better, and he was on the soccer team. He is even going to counseling with his dad to build a stronger relationship."but do you know what the best part is?" I sensed true happiness in his voice. "I don't regret who I am, nor what I've become."
Sarah Barnett