Lonely Shadow

TW: This original story contains bullying and attempted suicide.

It's a short story about my original characters with randomized names and "surnames" done on a random name generator. I wrote this original story to practice my writing skills. These original characters are mine and may be reused with final names in a future multi-chapter original story.

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Merry Ethel was her name. She has medium-length dark wavy brown hair and brown eyes. Merry was a British-American girl who attended an unnamed middle school and was currently in the eighth grade. She was a brown-skinned girl with a round body type. Her mother was a Mexican-American who met her British father while she studied abroad in the United Kingdom. Merry was an average girl who loved video games, cartoons, and anime. She was usually bullied for her speech impairment and her body type. Merry has been in a particular education class since first grade. She has a few friends and a favorite teacher.

Merry had a crush on a boy named Wesley Langdon, a popular and handsome boy. He had black hair and hazel eyes and was a light-skinned boy. He was on the football team and got along with his peers well. Wesley has a muscular body type, and the girls sneaked into the boys' changing room to take pictures of his body. Merry had a few classes with Wesley and shared a few interactions with him. Merry's heart would beat fast every time she was near him. She often wrote love letters to him but never sent letters to him.

One day the history teacher paired Merry and Wesley on a project. Merry was nervous and couldn't calm down. She did not notice that her female classmates glared at her with jealousy while her face was completely red. Wesley gazed at her in concern and placed his hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"Are you all right, Merry?"

"Y-yes, I'm okay. Thanks." Merry smiled at him awkwardly. She closed her eyes and giggled for a few seconds. Then, she reopened her eyes and covered her mouth. "I'm...sorry! I did not mean to! I have...speech problems, so you may not understand me well."

"Don't worry," Wesley smiled at her kindly. "I understood you well."

Merry's expression brightened. Her crush opened the history textbook and showed her the picture of the US president that they'd be researching about. Merry recognized the president, John F Kennedy. Her smile widened, and her eyes glimmered in excitement.

"I assured you do like this president," Wesley responded to her reaction, giving her a charming smile.

"Yes, my grandmother told me stories about him," Merry nodded to him. "My grandmother was an early teen in the 1960s. She used to watch his speeches on TV." Merry added, taking out her pink notebook, pencils, and erasers from her pastel pink backpack. "And he did good things for the people."

"I've heard," Wesley said. "Also, I noticed you got pink accessories. You must love the color pink."

"I do love pink," Merry smiled in a lovely matter. "My great great grandmother loved pink."

"Pink suits you," Wesley complimented her.

"It does?" Merry gaped at him in surprise.

"It does. Sometimes, I do notice you. You'd be alone at the library, reading books or sitting at a table, writing and drawing during break and lunch." Wesley gazed at her with warmth. "You do have friends. I wonder why you don't hang out with them all the time."

"Mr. Langson, Miss Ethel," The history teacher called out to them. "Please work on your project."

"Yes, madam!" Both Wesley and Merry obeyed while the whole class giggled at them.

After the history class, it was lunchtime. As Merry headed towards the door, Wesley placed his hand on her shoulder, startling the nervous girl.

"Y-yes?"

"Hey, do you want to eat lunch with my friends and me? Don't worry, we aren't mean."

Merry bit her bottom lip as her eyes widened at him in surprise. Wesley invited her to spend time with him and his friends at their table. She didn't know how to respond. She downcasted her eyes on the floor, and Wesley stepped back from her and gazed at her with sympathy.

"I'm sorry. I was too straightforward." He apologized. "I'll give you time to decide if you want to eat lunch with me. No rush, Merry."

"Thanks...I'll...let you...know." Merry said nervously, glancing at him before she exited the classroom.

Wesley noticed the strange looks of his classmates. He turned his head and frowned at them.

"What? Is it a problem with me trying to befriend a special ed girl?"

"No, dude. It's your thing." His best friend, Albert Étienne, grinned at him. He was a half-African and half-French boy and had known Wesley since they were children. His mother was an African-American woman, and his father was a French man. "Besides, I heard she likes video games, cartoons, and anime, man! My befriending type of girl."

"Video games, cartoons, and anime are for nerds." Siomha Neve, a popular Irish-American girl with long red straight hair and blue eyes, commented rudely while her friends laughed. "Wesley, you're wasting your affections on a fat cow. Ethel is too retarded and ugly to be your friend." Everyone laughed mockingly, and Siomha smirked proudly. "See, even our classmates agreed with me."

"Shut up. My dude did not ask for your opinion, Siomha." Albert glared at her.

"I don't care about your jealously, Siomha," Wesley scowled at her in disgust. "Your hideous attitude is the exact reason why we broke up."

"OOOOHHHHHHHHH!"

Wesley's male classmates reacted with laughter while the girls remained silent and whispered nasty comments about Merry. Wesley walked out of the classroom.

"Oooh, burn," Albert smirked at Siomha as he followed his best friend.

Siomha growled in anger and humiliation. She slammed her fist on a desk, causing the rest of her classmates to flee in fear.

"Let's teach the fat cow a lesson, shall we, girls?"

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After school, Siomha and her friends confront Merry in the girls' restroom. Merry was pinned against the corner while Siomha poured nasty water full of dirt on her hair while her friends pointed and snickered at her. Merry cried in pain when Siomha kicked her in the stomach. When Merry fell on her knees, having her hands on her stomach., Siomha lifted her head by pulling her hair and grimaced into her eyes.

"Stay away from Wesley, you fat bitch. He will never love a monstrous girl like you." Siomha slapped Merry across the face before releasing her grip and turning around. "Let's go, girls. It isn't like she can't report us." She giggled madly and walked out of the restroom with her friends.

Thanks to Siomha's actions, Merry missed her bus ride, and her favorite teacher called her parents to pick her up. When the teacher asked Merry what happened to her hair and face, Merry lied to her teacher, saying she slipped on a puddle of dirty water and bumped her cheek against a pole before landing on the muddy water. Her teacher just told Merry to be careful next time.

Merry did have no choice but to disobey her bully's orders. Merry has to interact with Wesley for their history project. Merry kept the bullying to herself. She did not want to burden anyone with her problems. The bullying became worse. Siomha had spread nasty rumors about Merry and photoshopped Merry's face onto pornographic images, calling her a slut, and other misogynistic names. Merry was framed for stealing, gossiping, and sabotaging relationships.

Siomha was the most influential girl in the whole school since her father was the school district head director and was from a wealthy family, rumored to have connections with the mafia. No one wouldn't dare to step onto her nasty side.

"Kill yourself. No one will not miss you." Siomha commanded spitefully, giving Merry a pocket knife while one of her friends video-recorded the moment. "Fucking do it. Now." She demanded, her eyes showing pure abhorrence. "Not even your parents wouldn't miss you."

Merry sobbed in agony, slowly taking the pocket knife and placing the sharp blade to her throat as her hands trembled. Siomha and her friends were laughing at Merry callously and taunting her with insults. Merry closed her eyes and asked the Lord to forgive her.

She couldn't take the bullying anymore. She wanted to die already. As Merry was about to take her own life, the door to the restroom was forced open, and Wesley and Merry's friends crashed in, startling Merry and her bullies.

"Siomha, you bitch!" Wesley screamed at her in rage. He took the pocket knife away from Merry and hugged her. "How dare you?! What did Merry ever do to you?!"

"How did you-" Siomha stepped away slowly, lost in words. Her eyes twitched in fear. She growled angrily and shot a glare at one of her friends. "Which one of you slitch on me?!"

"I did." Siomha's friend, Anna Katsiaryna, a half-Belarusian and half-Japanese girl with black hair and brown eyes, admitted, showing the text message that she had sent to Wesley. She glowered at Siomha in contempt. "This is my revenge towards you for seducing and blackmailing my cousin, causing his break up with his girlfriend, you fucking cunt."

"You goddamn traitor!" Siomha lunged at Anna with her fist. "Go to hell along with the fucking fat slutty cow!"

Anna grabbed Siomha by her arm and flipped the red-haired girl over her shoulder, slamming her onto the ground fiercely, thanks to her martial arts training. Siomha's other friends stared at Anna and froze in horror. Anna stared down at Siomha, who had a terrified expression, her eyes twitching in dread.

"You've always been the weak, insecure girl, Siomha. You're wealthy, and you're still not happy. You're just like your father and mother. Rotten and toxic as hell. This is my goodbye and our so-called friendship. I know you've been talking shit behind my back anyway."

Anna exited the restroom as Wesley and Merry followed her. The rest of Siomha's friends were too spooked to help her, so they slowly walked out, starting to rethink their actions. Merry's best friend, Ju Chao, a Chinese-American girl, took a picture of Siomha with her digital camera and snickered at her.

"Bye, asshole," Ju said, leaving with Merry's other friends. "Have fun in hell."
-

A few months later, Merry recovered from the bullying incidents thanks to therapy sessions and the emotional and mental support of her parents, Wesley, and friends. Siomha and her entire family were exposed when their victims came forward with their abuse at the hands of the Neve family, and Siomha was expelled from school. The victims received witness protection services when the Neve family threatened them with their mafia connections. Mr. Neve was terminated from the school district and replaced with a new head director.

It was the last day of middle school, and Merry sat next to Wesley during the school rally. Once the rally ended, the students headed towards the cafeteria for lunch. Merry and her friends sat with Wesley and his group at the table. They chatted about their plans for the summer and what they were doing after graduation.

"My parents will take me to Denny's," Merry said, smiling cheerfully.

"Holy shit! I am also going to Denny's!" Wesley called out, excited. "I'll see you there!"

"Same with me, man," Albert smirked. "Don't you dare leave me out of the good shit!"

Once the lunch hour was over, Merry and the others headed toward their last class before they get go home early to be ready for their middle school graduation tonight. Since it was free time in their class, Wesley and Merry went outside and sat on a Brooklyn-style bench. There was silence between the two for a few seconds until Merry spoke.

"There is something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Wesley gazed at her in curiosity.

"I..." Merry blushed, embarrassed as she attempted to tell Wesley her feelings, but she decided against it. She shook her head as she mentally admitted that she still didn't have enough courage. She just smiled at Wesley awkwardly. "Never mind."

"Take your time. You don't have to tell me right away." Wesley patted her back, smiling at her cheerily. "Say, would you like to go to the movies with me sometime?"

"Sure." Merry nodded.
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Merry's high school years were fantastic. She joined the baseball team as a manager and enjoyed the moments with Wesley, his teammates, and fellow managers. Merry became more confident and outgoing. She attended anime and video game conventions and cosplayed as her favorite character. Merry also became an amateur writer and did school newspaper articles. Her peers enjoyed her articles and loved her jokes.

Of course, there were bullies in high school, but Merry ignored the bullies and even defended a Freshman from the bullies once. In Merry's sophomore year, she admitted her feelings to Wesley, and Wesley told her he felt the same. They dated for a year until their feelings for each other just faded one day. Merry and Wesley broke up on good terms.

In Merry's senior year, she began dating her cousin's friend name, Leif Steffen, a transfer student from Norway. He was a handsome blond-haired boy with bright blue eyes. Merry decided to attend Leif's high school prom as his date. Wesley had moved on with a new girlfriend and took her to his senior prom as his date.

During Merry's university years, she dated a couple of guys, but those relationships ended on friendly and disastrous terms. She remained friends with Wesley and Leif. Merry decided to focus entirely on her general education.

When Merry graduated from her university with a writing degree, she began to write her first novel. Five years later, Merry became a successful author of romantic, gothic, mystery, and crime novels. She married a British man named Baldric Murphy and has four children with him.

Merry was still in contact with her family, ex-boyfriends, and friends. She was a happy woman. If it wasn't for her first crush, Merry wouldn't be alive today, and she was very thankful.

Merry stood on her balcony, smiling at the bright stars in the night sky.

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Please do not steal and claim this original story and my original characters as yours.