I kept quiet for a reason

I was in Grade 7, 7th grade and I remember being at the netball courts with my classmates, preparing for a drama skit. I said something to another girl. She took it to heart, though it was meant to be a joke because she said it to me every day. She told me to repeat what I had said and I did so. All i can recall was her hand landing on my cheek. Everyone cheering on for her to carry on. It was not the physical pain for me, it was the pain of everyone cheering for her and her actions towards me; it was the pain of wishing to be swallowed up by earth; it was the pain of not being able to get out of the moment. I know you’re probably wondering what I did after this. Well, I kept quiet. Why? This was not the first time that I got bullied; in fact I’ve even lost count. On many occasions i would go home and tell my parents. But with this situation it was different, our class teacher was there. She saw everything that had happened that day and she did nothing. So if she did nothing where does that leave my own parents who never stood with me?

I’ve grown to learn a lot. Yes I will never forget her or that day, but I can choose to accept what has happened and acknowledge that I can never change it even though I don’t like it. It truly does get better as time goes by.