Princess In The Dark

She was kind of magnificent. I never really knew who she was; I mean personally but now I’ll I never know who she is. She’s in the hands of the angels now.
****
She walked in the long halls with the ‘’cool’’ kids looking at her, she could feel her cheeks burning up, like they did all the time when she walked down that same hall everyday. The girls ridiculed her for the clothes she wore and the boys taunted for her ‘’geeky’’ looks. But I didn’t get it then, and I guess I’ll never get why they did this.

I sat down in my lesson, at the back of the classroom, where you couldn’t breathe since the stuffy room was suffocating us in that cramp, small room. The stench of dead of flowers lingered in the air and hainging there like an invisible cloth. Here she was in my class; I could see droplets of tears falling down silently on her white flushed cheeks, her eyes red and bloodshot. Then again this isn’t the first time I’ve seen her like this. But I didn’t get it then, and I guess I’ll never get why she was like this.

Not once did she look up to the board. She didn’t even look up when the teacher asked her to read her poem out. I didn’t understand what she was going on about because was mumbling but I’ve got use to that now. The teacher didn’t understand her so told her to come up to the front of the class. She slowly got up being careful not to raise her head just in case the ‘’cool’’ kids shot their looks of hatred, looks that belittled her. She was finally out of her seat treading a terrible path up to the front. She began her poem; she started slowly her voice barely a whisper, which came out in a soft blow of air, she tried to speak louder but she couldn’t the kids were at it again, the girls started to jeer and the boys started hurling paper balls at her. But I didn’t get it then, and I guess I’ll never get why the teacher never stopped the boys and girls.

Everyone left the class, shuffling out to the lunch hall; the boys most probably were going to show off some how to the girls in the canteen; most probably by stuffing themselves with the whole tub of coleslaw like last week. I left and walked to my locker, her locker is two columns away from mine.

She opened her locker, I could feel my eyes turn and linger on her tall tree like figurebut you could almost say she was tree that had lost all of her leaves. I was getting my books out for the next class after lunch when all of a sudden she started to bang her fists against the lockers, I saw blood. I ran. But I didn't get it then and I guess i'll never get why she was banging her fist or how that red treacle blood trickled down her arm.

Back to the class again but this time this classroom was the total opposite of the other classroom. Twenty minutes went by and no one noticed that she was gone. How could those kids forget that girl after taunting her but no one didn't say anything. They worked like a bunch of noisy pigs, nothing new. The shot of the gun slienced the room. That second seemed a life time when myself and the other kids looked outside the window to the field. From there the whole class looked at her and didn't utter a single word. Her soft feather, brown golden hair cascaded down over her face as she hit the gorund: leaving a gaping bullet hole in her head for all to see. But I didn't get it then and I guess I'll never know why she shot herself.

We stood there amazed while she fell to the muddy brown earth only to be brought back by the screech of a girl’s voice that echoed and bounced off all the walls. That’s all we needed to rush out to look at her lifeless body. Our class was outside, we stood around her body. I picked up the letter from her spindly fingers, it went like this:
“I’m gone now. I’ve gone now to somewhere where I don’t need to be afraid anymore. I’ve gone now to somewhere where I’m not going to be judged for what I wear or how I look. I’ve gone now to somewhere where I won’t be taunted by cowards. I’ve gone now. Goodbye Penny thank you for not judging me”

Why was she thanking me? I didn’t even talk to the girl. I guess I’ll never know. I turned around now; my eyes welled up with sweet bitter tears that began to run down my cheeks. I looked around at my class, now they are the ones who are crying her pain. I simply said, “All are punish’d, for their joys have killed.”. That was all I needed to say: None of us moved, none of us spoke but for the first time we realised she was a true princess in the dark.

****
I stand here now, the sunlight warming the cold air, I stand here now at her grave. The princess’ grave. I stand here now at Jia Simth’s grave.