Silver Bound Girl

Chapter 24

            A shadow fell over Willow, making her look up from her book. She dropped it and scrambled to her feet when she recognized Rune. She reached out, her touch gentle as she tilted his face so she had a better view of the damage. Her eyes were drawn to the scab that stood out against his lips, though thankfully, his mouth was no longer as puffed up as it had been the day before. “Are you alright?”

            He smiled, his nod breaking her hold. “I’m fine. I just have to be careful about how quickly I talk so I don’t split it open again. Mom had a field day with that, when she got home. I swear she’s just been waiting for an opportunity like this.”

            Some of the tension Willow had been carrying, drained away. Rune certainly didn’t look bothered by the injury. Not that it did anything for the guilt burning in her stomach. “I really am sorry,” she told him. “I should have-”

            Rune cut her off by dropping himself, cross-legged, onto the floor. “Come on, there’s nothing you need to apologize for. I chose to say what I did, and really, if I can’t handle the trouble my mouth gets me into, I’d have shut up a long time ago.”

            “But-”

            He shook his head. “But nothing. Though I have to say, the injury was almost worth it, just to see you lose your temper like that. It’s like your anger became a physical pressure on everyone. It was pretty sweet. And hey, thanks for being ready to pound someone into the ground for me.”

            Willow had to smile at that, even with the new worry souring her stomach. Rune had noticed everyone’s reaction to her anger. It was a primeval thing, hard to explain to words for those who experienced it. She always thought Cedric had put it best. “We’re bear-creatures. When we get angry, people notice it and feel fear, the same way an enraged bear is freaking terrifying.”

            “Don’t mention it,” she said to Rune. “Thanks for standing up for me.”

            “No problem. He was a jackass. Which reminds me,” he said, pulling a piece of paper out of his bag and handing it to her. “Read this and tell me what you think.”

            Willow noticed the glint in his eyes, giving her an idea of the kind of thing he’d written. The title told her exactly what she was in for. Bullying in School.

            She shook her head but read on. We’ve all seen the reports: Bullying is becoming an epidemic in our country and around the world. Some people claim that the media is sensationalizing it, that bullying isn’t as big a problem these days. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

            As I write this, I can feel the injury I sustained during my personal experience with bullying. I witnessed one of my fellow students attempting to provoke another. When the victim’s cousin intervened, the bully switched targets, insulting her in an effort I presume to further anger his intended victim.

            I won’t pretend to be totally innocent in this instance. I lost my own temper at the horrible things coming from this bully’s mouth, and I couldn’t stay silent any longer. I responded in kind, with far less tact than I should have used.

            For that, I was punched in the face.

            The four of us involved, were pulled into the principal’s office where justice was served. The bully was suspended, I was sent home to have my cut treated, and the victim and his cousin were free to continue the day without any repercussions.

            It was when I returned home and reviewed the incident in my head, that I realized how awful our society can be. Schools are often a microcosm of our society, right down to school rules mimicking the laws we obey in the real world.

            This brought me to worrying about the future. How can a society where someone can attack someone unprovoked, we often forget that words are an attack even if their damage isn’t visible, and face no social repercussions? The bully was only in trouble because of the physical assault, and had he not hit me, I doubt he’d have been suspended.

            Why is that? Why are words deemed less damaging?

            Unfortunately, with society as it is now, there are no proper laws that take verbal harassment as seriously as physical. I don’t blame the school for following the guidelines set for them. They did what they could.

            All I can do is hope that society changes, so that other bullies will feel social pressure to stop their attacks. And the first place society changes, is on the individual level, so I leave it to you, the readers, to help affect that change.

            Willow looked back at Rune, who was smiling at her. She shook her head and handed the page back to him. “I really hope you don’t get beat up for this. That’s if you can even get it past Mr. Marsden. I know you didn’t say anything overtly negative about them, but…”

            “It’ll be fine. Besides, they had to expect something like this out of us eventually, especially after our first articles. How was the wording? I worried I went to formal. I’m not used to writing in a direct sort of format.”

            His anxious tone brought a smile to her face. “It’s fine. I liked it, but then again, I like pretty much everything you write. And I’m serious about the getting beat up thing. You should stick close to me at school until this whole thing blows over and it’s a couple of weeks after Walter comes back.”

            Rune chuckled then winced as his lip opened. He rolled his eyes and pulled a tissue out of his pocket, dabbing at the spot of blood welling up. “I don’t think I could spend more time with you at school. Though I do appreciate the bodyguard offer. Let’s see how things go, before you get all Secret Service on me, okay?”

            Willow sighed but nodded. She got the feeling sometimes that Rune enjoyed chaos and danger far more than was healthy.