"Anything new?" Jeff asks who's the leader.
"People still want me to kill myself and they're happy I almost did."
"Somebody told the whole district that I robbed a bank so the police showed up at two am and had a thorough search of the house" says a plump blonde girl named... Amy.
"Why?" I ask.
"They hate me because I'm higher than them in academics and that I'm a little heavier."
"That's stupid" I say. "They're just jealous 'cause your smart and they're dumb."
"It still hurts to be called fat. I tried to get skinnier but I just couldn't."
"I know how you feel" says a can not be healthy skinny girl named Brenda. "They told me I'm fat an I can't get any skinnier."
"You're skinny as it is" says Will.
I see Brenda blush.
"They make fun of me because I'm from Africa" says a tall boy named Kzwana. "They made me feel unimportant and useless. Not proud of who I am. Graffiti on my house calling me rude word for black people."
"You look nice" I say. "I'd be your friend."
"Except we're not in the same school" he says sadly. "I'm sure if we were everything would be differently."
I frown. "Wait" says Sam. "Why would they be mean to you just 'cause your from Africa?"
"It's because my people used to be slaves and my school now has a lot of white people. It is because Africa is poor compared to North America."
"How poor are you saying?" I ask.
"Let us just say that while you guys have a hundred, for instance. We would have a few pennies. A few dollars if lucky."
I suddenly get angry. "Except thats no reason to hurt someone. You need to do something."
"I am" he says. "I'm moving."
"Why don't you come to our school" I say.
"I'd love too." He smiles. "What school is it?"
"Vimy."
When time finally comes to leave Kzwana, Brenda, and Amy come up to me.
"We want to thank you for supporting us" Amy says. "No one has done that other than our parents."
I smile. "No problem."
"No" Kzwana says. "It means a lot. I was going to kill myself. But you said 'see you tomorrow' so I didn't. Thanks to you."
I smile brightly. "Thanks that's sweet. Just remember I will see you tomorrow."
When I get home I start on my homework. There's a lot. I only have a few hours before school.
In the end I don't focus which gets nothing done. I'm thinking about the conversation with my support group. MY support group.
I like them. They're nice and they know how I feel. I just can't believe what they're going through and the cruel people they've met. I hate whoever did something like that. How they can live guilt free knowing that they've ruined someone's life.
Except still they thought of me as their friend and telling me I saved someone's life just by saying, 'see you tomorrow.' Wow. Words really do make an impact.
I get a message.
'I need help." I look to see who it's from. Will.