Late Night Conversations

3 | Wannacide

3 | Wannacide

BREAKING NEWS: A teenager from North Dakota High School, 16, in critical condition due to an alleged suicide attempt by jumping off the Jordan Bridge.

     It was just a day after Andrew's memorial.

     "Poor child," Victoria's mom says after witnessing the news as she was serving the food for dinner on the table, "I'm glad he was saved by the paramedics before it was too late."

     Victoria just sat quietly on her seat as he mother started bringing out the food from the kitchen. That teenager was from our school, she thought, who was it?

     Her dad put the newspaper aside and gestured for his wife to come sit down with them. As Victoria's mother took a seat across from her dad, they prayed before eating.

     Although, Victoria couldn't keep her attention on what they were trying to do. She couldn't keep her attention when her dad passed the plate, when her mother tried to spark a conversation about her academics, or anything at all because the television was killing her.

     "The teenager's suicide attempt was halted by a car speedily going down that certain driveway," the reporter says, "He was apparently hit by this car before he could make it to the end of the bridge itself."

     Victoria suddenly remembered what Andrew's mother had said: We never saw any signs.

     "The rates of suicide among teenagers these days have risen in the years 2010 and 2015. After the breaking news of a fellow North Dakota attendee, Andrew Caldwell, committed suicide few days ago, we have psychologist Dr. Ellen—"

     Suddenly, unbeknownst to Victoria's non-existent attention, her father closed the television, apparently seeing his daughter's distress over the news.

     He gave a concerned look to his wife as she gave the similar apprehensive look to her husband. Victoria just played with her dinner; moving a pea here, moving a pea there.

     No one started to speak, and Victoria suddenly broke the silence.

     "I know, I know," she started waving her hands as if to disregard what she was going to say, "I don't even fucking know him, them, or whatever, but I saw the blood—his body even—and when anyone talks about suicide, all I could remember were those."

     She didn't mind that she swore in front of her parents. Both of them, she assumed, knew that she was very, very frustrated.

     "I'm—we're very sorry to hear and see that Victoria," her mother started, "Your father and I are always here for you. I cannot imagine what you are going through right now."

    "And the worst thing is that people find this dead boy as a source of entertainment; a source of pure amusement and the famous fifteen minutes of fame."

     It aggravated Victoria, especially seeing Andrew's mother on stage yesterday. So that was what it felt losing a child involuntarily and out of the sudden.

     The whole thing was starting to change Rebecca. She wasn't at their usual table, she wasn't noticing any of her friends, and all she would do in classes was to simply stare at the window, probably thinking what it felt like to jump to her death.

     "I'm not implying anything, Tori," her father says, "But you've told us that all of you were seeing a psychologist, am I correct? If she isn't helping, we can always—"

     Everything else drowned after that. Everyone was seeing a psychologist in their school, especially for those who were reported to witness the scene, which was almost everyone.

     Almost everyone as well didn't care. Besides, what did they care about Andrew Caldwell? He didn't even make a name for himself when he was alive, and only became known after his death because of his suicide.

     In addition to that, their psychologist on school interviewed the whole student body one by one. How could she sympathize or give emphasis on a certain, wrecked human being when all she would ask were their feelings?

     "She's like a robot designated and forced to do her job and duties. It's like she sees this as a huge boulder on her shoulders, dragging her down from her free time that she used to have before us."

     It was true. Victoria's parents' mouths opened to say something to comfort their child because they were worried. Victoria wasn't like this.

     "It's okay, mom and dad," she says, finally putting down her fork after moments of playing with her food, "I'll just go up. I'm just not hungry."

IT'S QUITE IRONIC that when someone successfully commits suicide, they suddenly praise and glorify this person as if he was some kind of saint.

     "Rest in peace. Rest in heaven," one person behind Victoria said as she was examining the platform that was wholly dedicated to Andrew.

     Another female snorted behind her and said, "Suicide? Heaven? Yeah, I doubt that. Don't shit with me, Gregg."

     The boy laughed, and took off his façade of truthfully being concerned about the deceased. "I can't believe some wannabe wanted the same treatment as Andrew by trying to kill himself," he gestures to the extravagant tribute to the late boy.

     "Yeah," the girl says, "I mean, who did he think he was? He just wanted attention, for sure, and wanted to steal whatever this Caldwell had left. Being from our school was way too obvious."

     Victoria suddenly faced these two people. They were looking at her strangely. "Who do you think you both are? Just some no-brainer freshmen?"

     The boy, Gregg, frowned as her female friend looked at Victoria fearfully upon realizing that she was a senior. "O-oh, we w-weren't—"

     "Relax, woman. It's not like you would take your own life—"

     She snarled. "Yeah, after hearing what you both said, you just took life from humanity."

     Victoria left the platform. These insensitive little pricks, she thought, had no idea on what they were saying.

     Suddenly, she sees Alex whom she feels like she hasn't talked to for a long time. Victoria wonders if she became like Rebecca unconsciously to her long-time best friend.

     "Alex!" she calls out her time to which her friend replied to by waving her hand lifelessly, "I'm sorry that I've been distant for quite some time. Those two freshmen," she gestures at her back, "they were quite a handful, bashing over a person they've never even met."

     She hugs her friend, and Alex pats her back. It seemed like Alex needed the hug more than her. She was as gloomy as Victoria, if not, then she was gloomier. It took a while before Victoria and her went apart from each other.

     "I can't believe what the others are saying to Dash," she says. Victoria's eyebrows furrowed together.

      "Dash? What happened to him?"

     "Haven't you heard? He was the one who tried to kill himself at the Jordan Bridge."