Oliver's Demise, by Dylan Keyt (Sandringham College)
Oliver Dewitt hated having to go to school. He was bullied almost every minute of every day. Usually he was ignored by all the other year sevens and when he was spoken to, people would call him names and swear at him.
The worst day was always Friday. Friday is almost always the best day for people because it marks the beginning of the weekend. But for Oliver it was an exception. The main bully of the school, Big Paul and his year ten cronies would only go to school on Fridays. They made almost everybody’s day miserable, but would go out of their way to torment Oliver. Their punishments ranged from the standard beating to tying him up to the urinal.
That was just at recess and lunchtime. In classes it was just as bad. Once again, Oliver would be ignored, even by the teacher. He had discussed the bullying many times with the school counsellor, but there was no change in the harassment and Oliver would get beaten even more for dobbing.
It wouldn’t stop at school either. Whenever Oliver used the computer, he would receive threats while chatting online and open his email inbox to find intimidating messages from people who went to his school. He tried talking about it with his parents, but they never really listened and just told him to try harder to make friends. All his life, Oliver never had a true friend whom he could trust and count on.
There was, however, one boy who contemplated becoming Oliver’s friend. His name was Lance. Lance’s friends told him that he would become instantly unpopular if he invited Oliver into their group, so Lance soon forgot about Oliver and went on with his life.
The months dragged on and Oliver became extremely depressed. The teachers still didn’t lift a finger and turned a blind eye because to them he seemed rather insignificant. Every day Oliver held back tears and let them all out when he got home. Oliver felt so lonely. Even his parents and left him and gone overseas on a holiday.
Oliver never planned for his life to be like this. He imagined that he would have heaps of friends by this stage of his life. He imagined that he would be raised by loving parents. In reality, it was quite the opposite. He had no friends whatsoever, and his parents didn’t seem to care. Oliver hated his life, and he was going to attempt the unthinkable.
He finished making a noose out of a rope he found on the floor. Oliver showed no emotion; his face blank. Thoughts of his family and thoughts of his school ran through his head. He attached the rope to the ceiling and stood on top of the chair. He had considered running in front of a car, but he didn’t want people to think his death was an accident. He was only thirteen, barely a teenager. He had pondered the idea of going to see a different counsellor but felt it would take years to undo the damage. He couldn’t wait that long. Oliver decided to make his death an act of revenge. Bullying ruined his life. His parents were never there to support him. This was to settle the score, once and for all.
Oliver Dewitt kicked away the chair and took his own life.
*
The next day, Big Paul heard about the drama and showed no remorse. Oliver’s teachers, the school counsellor and Oliver’s parents were now to contend with an abundance of guilt. Lance felt guilty too as did a lot of people in the school. Eventually, Lance’s friends got him through his time of grief. Deep down he will always remember the time when he could have saved a life. |
