The Bully, The Bullied, and The Bystander

Chapter 2: This Can't be Happening• Nayla

Nayla rushed into the bathroom and locked herself into the stall.

"What were you saying Hooyo*?" she asked, "I was just saying hi to someone." Nayla put her headphones back in and unlocked her phone to resume the FaceTime.

"Oh really? That's sweet. I just wanted to tell you that Asad's in the hospital again." her mom said.

Nayla winced a little. It wasn't a surprise, but it still wasn't good to hear. Asad was her older brother, and he had been sick for as long as Nayla could remember.

"Don't worry, okay Nayla? Your dad and I are with him and Khalid will drop you off here after school, alright? Just try to enjoy your day. I'll call you later if I get an update." her mom whispered, trying not to frighten her.

It was a sweet thought, but it wasn't working. Nayla reluctantly ended the call and started pacing in the tiny stall. The bathroom smelled nice, and it was emptier than she thought it would be. Usually the school bathrooms were packed with people, who were doing their make-up, or doing drugs. Nayla shook her head, trying to clear out her head. She just needed a minute alone, a moment of silence without thoughts of Asad, who was without a doubt her favorite brother, lying in a hospital bed. And a minute without Madison getting all up in her business would be great as well.

Nayla stopped pacing in the stall. It was getting harder to breathe and her eyes welled up with tears. This day wasn't going well at all. Why did Madison care if she was sitting by herself? Was it that big of a deal? What happened to Asad? She wished she could have stayed at home for a couple more weeks. Her breath tightened and she could feel her face reddening. She was an ugly crier and this is not the image she wanted to portray on her first day of high school, which felt like the most important day of her life at the moment.

Nayla stepped out of the stall hesitantly and washed her face in the sink as the tears came out full force. The bathroom looked really nice right now she thought to herself. No one had written anything about anyone else on the walls, and the ceiling didn't have those wet paper towel balls on them. And it didn't smell like drugs. She let out a painful chuckle. Trying to get her mind off the situation wasn't working, duly noted.

*DING DING*

She couldn't help but let out a little whimper. She stood in front of the mirror for another minute or so fixing her hijab and attempting to make it look like she hadn't just cried an entire river. She was going to be late, oh well.

She shuffled out of the bathroom and made her way towards her class. Good thing Mr. Blake already knew about her family situation. The last thing she needed right now was a tardy and a scolding.

She walked in with her head down, not bothering to return Mr. Blake's pity smile and sunk into her chair.

Nayla didn't need pity, honestly, what she needed this year was for Madison to leave her alone, and for there to be more than one class of students in the entire 9th grade. Madison had been bullying her for as long as Nayla could remember. Wherever she turned, Madison was there. Telling people not to talk to her, chuckling whenever Nayla stumbled over her words, and making sure her life was a living hell. And teachers were of zero use. Nayla couldn't tell if they were oblivious or just didn't care. She had told dozens, but here Madison was, still being a complete B word. With her gorgeous brown hair and brown eyes. And her pale, but not too pale skin and perfect body. And it didn't help that her dad was some hot shot lawyer. Nayla had also heard some rumor about her mom owning a really cool coffee shop down the street that everyone hung out at. She didn't know if it was true, but it was still unfair. Life in general just wasn't fair. Admittedly, if Nayla didn't have Wattpad to vent to, she didn't know what she would do with her life.

Nayla turned towards the window and saw a boy running inside. He had messy black hair and tannish skin. He looked tall, slim fit, and had dropped his phone. Nayla let out a chuckle and quickly turned it into a cough as she caught the teacher's eye. She couldn't help but watch the cute boy realize that he dropped his phone and struggle to look for it. She had to admit, the hoodie was a good look for him.

She turned her attention back towards the teachers as the boy entered the building.

"Ok class, this is going to be your first homework assignment of the year." said Mr. Blake, waving a stack of worksheets in front of the class.

There was a collective groan from the class, Nayla included. She didn't enjoy the homework part of school, or any part for a matter of fact. But she liked writing, so maybe this class wouldn't be so bad.

Mr. Blake gave a little chuckle, "Come on everyone, this is a fun assignment! I promise. Well, it is for me."

The class groaned again and Mr. Blake waved them off. "Anyways, I want you guys to write at least 1000 words for this project. It's going to be a letter to your future selves. I want you to write about your wants, needs, what you hate, what you love. Who you hate, and about who you love. What you aspire to be, and what you want to get out of this year and the rest of your high school experience. Pretty standard assignment for the first day of school. I want you to really get into it and take this seriously because you will be getting these letters back when you walk the stage, which will hopefully be in four years."

"What if I transfer?" said Asher from the back of the room.

"I'll send it to your school," Mr. Blake replied, "even if you transfer out of state or out of the country. The school will know about it, I will know about it. And I'll send it to you. It's due by the end of the week, here is your rubric, and you can get started right away."

Nayla could tell that Mr. Blake was a nice, no-nonsense kind of teacher, and as much as Nayla loved writing it couldn't change the fact that she hated school, especially the first day, with a passion.

*Hooyo= Means Mom in Somali