There is Always Somebody

THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEBODY…
By MJ

         This is the story of some students at Happydale High School going through the ups and downs of being a teenager along with experiencing something they'd never forget…


Meet Monica…a cheerleader and one of the most popular girls at HHS. She's always worried about her appearance, always looking into a mirror; always brushing her hair or touching up on her make up.

         One day at lunch, her friends, mostly cheerleaders, sat at a table in the center of the cafeteria looking at themselves in compacts and touching up their make up while talking about their latest crushes and what that one girl was wearing in class that day. Monica's friend, Kay, noticed that Monica didn't have any food. "Hey Monica," she asked.

"Yeah?" Monica looked up at Kay from her compact.

"Want some fries?" Kay offered.

"No thanks, I'm on a diet." Monica answered.

Kay looked confused, "A diet?" The thing was, every girl at that table would kill for a body like Monica's, it was perfect.

"Well, duh, I mean, look at these thighs…" Monica replied.

"You do not need to go on a diet, Monica, you're perfectly fine the way you are," Kimberly, another cheerleader said after hearing the conversation.

"Yeah, I mean, what do you weigh anyway? Like 20 pounds?" their friend Rose said sarcastically.


"No, I weigh 90. I want to get down to 80." Monica retorted.

"Girl! That is less than the average weight for people our age!" Shanelle, also a cheerleader informed in a loud voice.

"What kind of guy wants a girl who weighs a billion pounds?" Monica challenged, "AND ANYWAYS, WHO SAYS I HAVE TO BE AVERAGE?" She put her compact in her purse and stormed off.

         Meanwhile, Sandy, an overweight teen with hardly any friends, sat in the far corner of the cafeteria, writing in her journal. Every day since the 6th grade, all she got from most everyone else was fat jokes and insults because of her weight.

         She knew every "mamma" joke in the book and every fat joke known to man, but there was always somebody who could come up with a new insult that seemingly tore her up inside every time they were spoken. The day before was the last straw though, when it really struck a nerve and she couldn't hack it anymore, the last part of her heart was torn apart and stomped on.

         It was in her Language Arts class, a class she hated because it was filled with skinny people who always had something to say about her weight. They were having a discussion about gender discrimination and other kinds of discrimination. When the discussion ended, the class started to work on an essay about discrimination in their own lives and possible discrimination in the future.

         Joey, a boy that sat next to her, looked over at her and asked, "What are you writing about?"

She turned to face him and answered, "I don't know. How about you?"

"I don't know either, but I have an idea for you." He smiled.

She wasn't sure what to say, but decided to humor him, "And what is your idea?"

"Well, for your future, a possible paragraph could be about not being able to get a job." He suggested.

"And why wouldn't I be able to get a job?" She asked confused.

"Well, you are a girl and your boss would be too afraid to hire you."

"Why is that?"

"Because he would be so scared that if you got mad, you'd sit on him and squash him to death. I mean, by then, you'll weigh like 1000 pounds!" he laughed along with some other people who over-heard.


         She wrote about this in her journal, and debated with herself if she should kill herself or not. She concluded she should, just because, "what was the point of living when nobody respects you because of what you look like?"

         Just two tables down, two best friends sat eating their cheeseburgers. Josh, a jock who was very rich and seemed to have everything, was mad about not being able to get a new pair of roller blades. Jeremy, his best friend, just listened because he had nothing that mattered to Josh, and he decided he'd be a good friend.

         Even though they were good friends, this friendship had only existed for about two months. They really didn't know everything about each other yet, and Josh had never seen where Jeremy lived. Josh continued to complain, and all that Jeremy could think about was why Josh was complaining about such a little thing.

         Josh was rich, and lived in practically a mansion. This was all a result of his dad being a high-ranking business executive. Jeremy, on the other hand, lived in an old apartment that was falling apart and both his parents worked night jobs that barely paid minimum wage. He didn't have much, and only dreamed about what Josh had. Josh had no idea where Jeremy lived or what he had. So, he just kept complaining.

Jeremy finally got annoyed and interrupted Josh, "Just shut-up!"

Josh looked at him puzzled for a moment, then continued to complain, "I mean, their only 300 dollars and-"

Jeremy cut him off, "I mean it, shut-up!"

Josh, looking even more confused said, "What's wrong man?" Jeremy got up, picked up his tray and started to walk off. Josh just sat there and continued to look as confused as ever, "But dude…" he yelled after Jeremy.

"Just leave me alone!" Jeremy yelled back and through his tray in the trash can furiously. Josh shrugged it off and moved to the table with the football team.

         While all this was going on, two kids, Kyle and Derek sat outside on a picnic table in the courtyard, making their final plans for a shoot-out the next day.

As you can see, Happydale High School isn't so happy. It's worried about keeping up appearances; it's filled with insults and discrimination; and it is very diverse.

         The next day, Monica came down from her room 5 minutes before she had to leave for school. She said hi to her parents and her younger brother, Mikey and her older brother, James.

"Sorry guys, I have to leave to go meet Shanelle. I'll see you all later." She headed to the door.

"But honey, you haven't eaten breakfast…" Her mom said, who had earlier made some bacon and eggs for the family.

"Mom, I don't have time, I'm really sorry," Monica opened the door.

"At least take some bacon to go," her dad offered.

"No, really, I'm not hungry." She left.

"Love you!" her mom yelled after her.

Her parents looked at each other and sighed, feeling unappreciated.

         Meanwhile, Sandy walked downstairs and kissed her parent's goodbye, "I'm leaving now."

         The night before, she had attempted suicide. Well, she thought about it, but couldn't bring herself to slit her own wrists or hang herself from the balcony outside her room. Her parents told her to have a good day and said they loved her. She walked out side with her bag and got into her car.

         Josh had come early to school for an early-morning basketball practice. He had been mad at his parents all night, and left in the morning telling his dad to have fun on his business trip, but not really meaning it, and didn't even say hi to his mom.

         Jeremy had come early too, as early as the school opened and got into the boys locker-room where he took a shower and put on a shirt and some old jeans he had washed last night at the laundry-mat with some left-over lunch money. His parents were asleep when he left and he left them a note on the fridge telling them he went to school early again.

         Kyle and Derek were also there hours before school started. As a matter of fact, they had sneaked into the school around midnight, after the last janitor had left and planted three bombs: one in the cafeteria, one in the library, and one in the gym, as well as some simple bombs in various classrooms.

Everybody that went to school that morning walked onto school grounds unknowing that they may never leave alive.

         It began as a normal day; Monica and her friends spending every possible minute before school in the bathroom making sure they looked ok; Sandy sitting outside reading; Josh flirting and making it known that he was popular, and Jeremy getting some last minute homework done.

         It continued being a normal day until 1:00, when last lunch was going on, classes were in the library, and a gym class was playing volleyball. Kyle and Derek, who were equipped with two riffles, a few pistols, a semi-automatic and shotguns in their trench coats and lockers started to take their weapons out. Kyle was in the cafeteria and Derek had made his way upstairs and outside of some classrooms. The first bomb went off in the gym.

That was their cue. Kyle started to shoot off the gun around the cafeteria, randomly aiming while Derek opened his social studies classroom door where his teachers were having a meeting and shot them. Students stormed out of their classrooms screaming and wondering what was going on.

         Kyle left the cafeteria and went through the east wing of the school, shooting everyone in sight. The second bomb went off in the cafeteria.

         Derek then went into the bathrooms and shot the cheerleaders, including Monica, who were packing up their make up. The third bomb went off in the library.

         Kyle went into the small gym, on the other side of the school from the larger gym and went toward the locker rooms. They were locked. He shot at the thin wooden door and then kicked it through. He stormed in with a riffle and immediately saw Josh.

         Josh was Kyle's most hated enemy; somebody who disregarded him and had always made fun of him. They were friends in elementary school, but then Josh discovered his athletic ability and didn't like many people who couldn't play catch. He laughed and said, "Hello, Josh." The gym teacher, Mr. Harrison, came from behind a row of lockers and tried to jump at Kyle. He was shot in mid-air.

         Kyle turned his attention to Josh once again and aimed the riffle. He was about to pull the trigger, and a split second before he did, Jeremy, who was in the same class as Josh, ran and then dove in front of his friend, yelling "Nooooo!" Just as he was passing Josh in the air, Kyle shot and Jeremy fell instantly. The rest of the bombs went off throughout the classrooms.

         Kyle ran out of the locker room and into the hallway outside the small gym. Derek was waiting. Some students lay on the ground, injured from gunshots, and a couple came running around the corner. It was Sandy and Joey, trying to get outside. Kyle shot both.

         Derek and Kyle looked at each other and laughed, but then Derek stopped. Kyle continued, and then exclaimed, trying to hold back, "We did it!"

         Derek looked around him and heard the sirens, police, fireman, and paramedics outside, and heard a phone ringing in a classroom. He lowered his head and silently said, "Yeah, we did…"

         Kyle said, "Dude, we don't have to put up with them anymore!"

         "Nope, no more," Derek said under his breath. He raised his head and shot Kyle with a pistol. Kyle fell and then Derek scrolled with a marker on the floor, "I'm sorry…" and then shot himself.

         The results of the shooting were astounding. 150 dead, including those who were in the places the bombs went off, Jeremy, Sandy, Shanelle, and Rose along with 11 teachers, including the four Derek shot. 100 injured, including Joey, Monica and Kay. Josh survived uninjured along with about 500 people, but had the images and memories of friends lost.

         For months afterward, there were numerous memorial services, and people around the world mourned the people who died. Families were destroyed, friendships lost, and a school that would never be the same again remained. The survivors never stopped thinking about their lost friends, and especially Josh, blamed themselves for what happened.

         He was among the many whom lost a friend as a result of the tauntings and enemies he created. He learned of where Jeremy came from, and realized it wasn't much. He felt horrible about always complaining about what he couldn't have, and Jeremy always listened even though he knew he couldn't have that stuff either.

         Monica and Kay learned about all the people who had died, including Sandy, who they had once made fun of. After the shooting, Monica went off her diet, realizing that she wasn't fat at all and there were other people who were worse off in that sense, such as Sandy.

         While their school was being re-built, they went to another school, where they didn't ask for sympathy, but asked for compassion toward others. Everyone knew why Kyle and Derek acted like they did, it was because they didn't get respect, and everyone didn't think about them as people with issues, they only worried about their own.

         As you can see, Happydale wasn't that happy, but a crisis made them think about their lives. There are no happy endings, but always try to prevent something totally opposite.

         Don't walk away from this story thinking of it as something that could never happen to you. You know that everyday, you always complain about what's wrong with your life, while never thinking about the people around you who really are the ones who need to be complaining, but don't.

         Remember, there is always somebody worse off than you are, whether they are sitting in the same cafeteria or across an ocean. Think before you act, and talk to somebody new that is not popular and is maybe a loner. Who knows? They may be Kyle or Derek, or Sandy, who are thinking about ending lives, and you can stop them.



MJ