Over the past 8 weeks we have received hundreds of incredible stories on the topics of bullying and cyber bullying. The time has come to announce the winners.
But first, we'd like to thank our sponsors, without whom the prizes would not be so awesome:
We'd also like to thank our official judges:
And the winners are *drumroll* ...
1st place: Aiden and Digby, by Rebecca Bath, Geelong College (Click here to read).
2nd place: The Real Me, by Katelyn Matheson, Williamstown High, Bayview Campus.
3rd place: The Solution, by Annabelle McIntyre, Ruyton Girls' School.
Zerothree rising star: The Incident, by Aarushi Kaul, Methodist Ladies College.
Massive congrats to our finalists (no particular order):
Nathan Macris, Williamstown High School
Olivia Drake, Genazzano College
Elle Richards, Geelong College
Miranda Swan, Avila College
Aiden and Digby, by Rebecca Bath, Geelong College
There weren’t many people at Rumingdale Heights who could spend a whole week in the library. Only Digby and his mate Aiden came to mind. Looking back I can understand why we picked on Digby and Aiden – because they were different and kids can sometimes be too immature to understand that we need to respect everyone. This was something I didn’t understand.
Digby was the kind of guy who would go about his work quietly. His dark blue eyes, were rich in understanding, yet his mouth was always stern. We didn’t know much about him except that his brother died of cancer and that he lived with his Mum. They had identical hair colouring, him and his Mum; it was bright red, and frizzy. Most lunchtimes we’d chase him calling out “ranga!” The way he told us to leave him alone was the funniest thing, but when I look back I now know he must have hated us for it.
Digby was always with Aiden, they were the most unlikely friends. Digby was the only person who truly understood Aiden. Well, I guess if you only had one friend, you woul be very close to them. I never respected their friendship, I just took advantage of it.
The gang picked on Aiden lots because he couldn’t talk very well. We basically said whatever to him. He was so thick right through, I don’t think he could understand anything anyone was saying. We’d call him “poo-boy” and said he wore nappies.
One time after school, Fin, Shane, Reece and I threw dirt at Digby and Aiden and started calling them the “gay lovers.” We got Digby in the eye and he fell to his knees crying. From then on everyone made stupid remarks about them being in love although we all knew it wasn’t true.
We used to flick gum into Digby’s hair at his locker and he would feel his head and get his hands stuck. He’d have to cut it out with scissors and we’d all laugh. I’d snigger and say, “you don’t deserve hair.” We’d also spit on him from time to time, but I feel pretty disgusted with myself now.
I remember the time we went to far. We drew on Digby’s photos and sabotaged his journal. I remember being surprised when nothing bad was written in it, I mean, he had the most depressing life, but he never showed it. We passed his stuff around the school. I didn’t know of one person who didn’t confront him about it.
Digby was probably one of the nicest guys at Rumingdale, but since he was a bit weird nobody cared about him. He was only ever the dirt and gum under our shoes, forgotten. It wasn’t until the following week that my life, and many others changed forever.
It was a Thursday and Digby was walking home. His hands were straining from the weight of all of his stuff. “Stupid kid, he’s cleared out his whole locker,” I thought. I was coming up fast behind him on my bike and he didn’t see or hear me coming. I remember the wind in my hair and the smirk on my face. Yeah, the smirk on my face, I was cruel. I sped up behind the little sucker, ramming him up his backside. He fell flat on his face. The shock in his eyes was what got me, I had scared him so much. Glancing back, I saw his belongings in a puddle. I slowed down, but I didn’t stop or help.
Why I didn’t turn back, I will never know, maybe the look on his face would reflect who I was as a person. Maybe I was too weak to confront that. A few words could have saved Digby from taking his own life. Yeah. Life can hit you hard sometimes.
Tomorrow came soon enough and everyone knew. It was the worst day of my life and a pretty horrible one for everyone else. Aiden’s tears were streaming down his cheeks. I take back what I said about Aiden. He had always understood, especially when we were picking on him, which hurts the most. He didn’t deserve this. He had lost his best friend because of me and I will never be able to bring him back.
Click here to check out last year's winner Amber McHenry in the Herald Sun.
