A Wish For Her | Teen Ink

A Wish For Her MAG

By Anonymous

“Is that her?”
“What? Who?”
“Shh … here she comes.”

“Oh … her.”

We avert our eyes as she walks by. We clutch our books tightly to our chests, stare down at our sneakers, and hold our breath as she passes. Whispers follow her like shadows as she scurries up the stone stairs, through the metal doors. Lisa and I exchange looks. The bell rings in our ears, and we head inside.

“Who’s she with today?” Lisa asks at lunch.

“Toby,” I scoff, biting into my ­sandwich.

“Figures. Apparently they had a great time at Jack’s apartment last weekend.” I make a face.

“Disgusting.” Lisa laughs.

“I bet she has all sorts of diseases.”

“I bet she’s wearing his sweatshirt. The one that smells as bad as he does.”

“I bet she’s gonna be one of those girls who never goes to college and ends up on the street.”

“I bet she’s gonna be a …” I look around to make sure no teachers are listening, “whore.”

That’s her new name. It spreads like a foul disease around the school, through the hallways, passed from one lip-gloss-smeared mouth to the next. Some kids just call her “The W,” or “The H” for the stupid ones who can’t spell. It’s what she is. It’s who she is. And none of us like her. None except Toby and Mitchell and all those guys who are too dumb to see her for who she really is. We see her kissing guys in the alley after school each day, like she doesn’t even care, like she doesn’t even know.

Don’t worry, we’re gonna make her realize who she really is. We’re gonna make her feel so bad she’ll shrink like a little mouse and learn her lesson and stay away from all of them, especially Devin, who liked me all of sixth grade ’til she stole him last summer.

We isolate her. We don’t speak to her, not even when she asks what the homework for last night was. Find it out yourself, stupid. We leave notes in her locker, and we snicker as she walks by.

Have you learned your lesson yet, princess? Are you ever gonna stop wearing so much lipstick and eyeliner and skirts that are way too short? Are you ever gonna put out that cigarette or throw out those bottles? You’re 13 – what’s wrong with you? Didn’t your parents ever teach you what’s right and wrong? Half the grade hates you. Sticks and stones, you say, but soon it’ll be real. I will smash up your pretty face if I have to. I’ll break your bones. I could snap your neck over my knee.

***

I walk home from Lisa’s house, and I take the long way because I want to look at the moon and the stars. I want to cross the cornfield, because once I saw a shooting star. I have to walk through the sketchy neighborhood to get there, though, but I should be okay if I hurry.

Suddenly, I hear a man’s voice ­coming from one of the houses, the one with the shingles falling off and the rusty car in the driveway. He is yelling. I rush behind a tree, heart ­racing so loud I’m sure he can hear. Suddenly I see a familiar figure. It’s her. She and the man are yelling at each other. He lashes out at her, and I wince. I can hear the slap.

And then the door closes. She is alone, and she sits on her porch steps. And she cries. I’ve never seen her cry before. Alone, with no boys, out in the cold night, crying, crying, crying so hard she can’t breathe. Her tears make ugly black lines down her face. And suddenly, she looks up, and our eyes lock. I run.

I run past the houses and the deli and the gas station with the creepy owner, and the ice cream store where we get really great slushies. I cross the street, my heart racing, out of breath and into the lush grass of the cornfield. I collapse on the ground, my arms and legs spread apart, trying to catch my breath and hold back the tears, though I can’t understand why they’re coming.

She was so alone. So sad. She is loved by no one but those boys. And I’m not sure they even really love her.

Suddenly I look up and see something sparkle across the indigo sky, a little explosion of white like a firecracker on the Fourth. I close my eyes.

And I wish for her.



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This article has 546 comments.


on May. 29 2011 at 1:34 pm
Secretlypoetic GOLD, Hastings, Michigan
14 articles 0 photos 31 comments
Very good! I loved this! Almost seems like it could be an RP.

on May. 29 2011 at 11:52 am
PixieDoll2698, Wood Dale, Illinois
0 articles 0 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
too many people spend money they don't have on products they don't need to impress people they don't like- unknown

this is such a great article!! i love it!

MansiManic said...
on May. 29 2011 at 9:26 am
it was a real piece emily. plz expand it for i would love to read it.....

ClairesWork said...
on May. 29 2011 at 6:55 am
ClairesWork, Grand Rapids, Michigan
0 articles 4 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."

This is so great and realistic!

on May. 28 2011 at 4:24 pm
Lilly3217 SILVER, Holly Hill, Florida
6 articles 2 photos 52 comments

Favorite Quote:
The best time to plant a Oak tree was twenty years ago the second best time is today.

that was REALLY cool Emily. to me it tells me you don't know someone till you get to know them

on May. 7 2011 at 10:29 pm
twilightlover SILVER, St. Louis, Missouri
8 articles 1 photo 16 comments

Favorite Quote:
love is the slowest suicide.
i love you is eight letters..... so is bull shit.

wow that is a really great story. it proves that you cant  always judge a person from their apparence or their actions. its really sad to see a little of what the girl goes through and all that.  but overall still good.

on May. 7 2011 at 10:06 pm
Edmondeeee BRONZE, Perth, Other
1 article 1 photo 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
Be yourself; everyone else is taken

wow, this was so much better than I was expecting. I really felt like I was in her shoes. Good work!

on May. 7 2011 at 9:25 pm
ArianaNightengale GOLD, Desloge, Missouri
13 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Love conquers everything. . . Except stab wounds and poisoning." --Seattle Reperatory Theatre

Pretty darn awesome! Short, sweet, to the point, but with a bit of flair. :)

on May. 7 2011 at 8:31 pm
BreakingInside BRONZE, Pinson, Alabama
4 articles 0 photos 29 comments
Very good! I loved every moment of reading it!:)

on May. 7 2011 at 6:35 pm

powerful emotional drive, beautifuly written from the first line to the last. inspirational beyond recognition.

UNFORGETTABLE.


AmySeldom said...
on May. 7 2011 at 6:48 am
AmySeldom, Bonogin, Other
0 articles 0 photos 14 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Security is mostly superstition. It does not exist in nature nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing."
-Helen Keller

LOVED IT. PLZ KEEP WRITING!!!! <3

on May. 7 2011 at 12:18 am
ashleigh01 BRONZE, Marthaville, Louisiana
4 articles 14 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see. -Dorothea Lange

I really love this story! My favorite part is how you ended it with the wish:)

on Apr. 15 2011 at 11:18 pm
shamrocks12 BRONZE, Fort Wayne, Indiana
1 article 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists. It is real. It is possible. It is yours."

This is great! I really love how real it feels. I mean I know I have been in a similar situation before, and reading this brought those same feelings forward. Excellent job!

on Apr. 15 2011 at 4:42 pm
CassidyMarturana BRONZE, Califon, New Jersey
1 article 4 photos 43 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Life isn't about just waiting out the storm. It's about learning to dance in the rain."

Okay, I hate to sound really cheesy, but you just made me cry. I'm not even exagerrating, I'm honestly crying.

Jenns_Ink said...
on Apr. 15 2011 at 4:16 pm
Jenns_Ink, Lawrenceville, Georgia
0 articles 0 photos 9 comments
I love it. Very Inspiring. 

on Apr. 15 2011 at 2:28 pm
EmilyMichelle PLATINUM, Manassas, Virginia
33 articles 4 photos 90 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Our truest responsibility to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find the truth."
- Madeleine L'Engle

First of all, *stupid, second, it's not a poem, and third, that's not very nice please, keep your criticism constructive.

To the author: I quite liked this. It was very relatable. You probably could have expanded some and written a little more but it was wonderful. I think that it sums up pretty well what people need to take into consideration: don't judge people because you don't know what's going on behind their mask. I see this problem A LOT at school. Nice job!


fdsssssss said...
on Apr. 15 2011 at 1:25 pm
this is a stupit poem

on Apr. 15 2011 at 12:50 pm
rubyrainstorm SILVER, Closter, New Jersey
7 articles 0 photos 275 comments

Favorite Quote:
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
-Buddha.

Wow, this was really powerful and moving. You really established a strong bond between the reader and the characters. Great work! If you have time, please check out and comment on my poem, The Girl Inside. Thanks!

on Apr. 15 2011 at 11:43 am
mrs.packman123 BRONZE, Cowpens, South Carolina
3 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
You break it you buy it

keep going add more to it i want to know what happens to her

Betaboo BRONZE said...
on Apr. 15 2011 at 11:06 am
Betaboo BRONZE, Belmont, Michigan
1 article 0 photos 2 comments
great story, one of the best shorts i have read, powerful, well done :)