Speak Up

    Dedicated to my best friend Emily.   




    "No James...I want to be more than friends," Lindsay said, jokingly, as she grabbed James's hand.  Lindsay was sitting next to James that day because her best friend, Emma was sick.  The two sat there, still holding hands, for a couple minutes.  Then it was time to get off the bus. 
        "Bye Nick.  See you later!" called James as he got off the bus. 



Later that night Lindsay was reading an email from James;


                  Hey Lindsay.  Um...I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go out      with me? 



She was shocked.  How could she say no; 


                  Of course I will. 


Replied Lindsay.  She then had to hurry and call her best friend who was sick. 
      "Hello," Emma answered.
      "Oh my gosh!  Emma, you won't believe it!" cried Lindsay
      "What?"
      "James asked me out!  I said yes!"
      "Whoa!  I didn't think that you like James.  Why him?" Emma said acting sorta surprised.
      "Well I don't know.  I guess I just sort of wanted a boyfriend.  But now that he's asked me out, I think that I really really like him!  I am so excited!" 
      "Yeah, I bet you are.  Man, this makes me want a boyfriend." Emma replied sounding a little left out of the excitement. 
      "Well don't you worry.  We will get you one, once you're all better!  Hey well I have to go.  I just wanted to call and tell you the good news!  But wait...you can't tell anybody that we are going out quite yet.  James and I don't want anyone to know."
        "Okay, I won't.  See ya."

        The next day, Emma was sick again.  James and Lindsay held hands but very secretly.  They made sure that no one was watching them.  Nick and Sam were quite suspicious though.  It was awkword that James and Lindsay had a coat in-between them.
        When Lindsay got home, she just had to call Emma and tell her the news!
        "Hello," Emma's mom answered.
        "Hi Mrs. Watson.  Is Emma there?" Lindsay asked.
        "Oh hi Lindsay.  Yeah she's right here.  Hold on."
        "Hey Linds...." Emma said being cut off by Lindsay
        "James and I held hands today!" Lindsay said in a rush. 
        "Wow...moving that fast huh?" Emma said starting to laugh at her joke.
        "Oh be quiet!  Well I just wanted to call and tell you that.  You sound much better than you did yesterday.  Think you'll be at school tomorrow.  You know, tomorrow is your birthday!  You have to be there!" 
        "I should be there.  I am feeling much better.  I have to go eat dinner.  See you tomorrow." 

        Emma was there the next day.  She sat with her other best friend Liz.  Liz told her what they did throughout the week and a few of their homework assignments.  Meanwhile, Lindsay was trying to get Emma a boyfriend.  Then Emma joined in with her.
      "Sam will you go out with me?" Emma asked.  Sam didn't hear her.  The noise of the bus was too loud.  She thought that he shook his head 'No' so she then tried Nick. 
      "Nick will you go out with me?" Nick heard her. 
      "I will think about it." he said back.  "Yes," Emma thought, "now I won't be left out."  Then it was time to get off the bus. 
      Nobody would let Emma go to her locker.  She wondered why.  As she waited down by the office, she looked at the bulletin board at all the people who had a birthday that month.  She found her name.
      "Okay Emma.  You can come to your locker now." Liz had come and got her. 
      "Thank you!  Geesh, what were you guys doing?" Then she saw.  They had decorated her locker since it was her birthday. 
      "Thank you so much!  You guys are the awesomest friends anyone could ever have!" Emma said being so shocked that she could barely breathe.
      The first bell rang.  They all ran into either social studies or science, depending on which quarter it was.  Liz, Emma, Lindsay, James and Nick all had social studies. 
      Social studies went by so fast.  Emma couldn't stop thinking about what Nick would say, and Lindsay couldn't stop thinking about James. 
      "Do you really like me?" Nick asked Emma out in the hall as they were going to English. 
      "Yeah," Emma replied.
      "Okay, I will tell you after English."
      Even English went by faster than usual.  Liz and Emma and James had the same English class, but Nick and Lindsay were in the other class.
      "Yes." Amelia said to Emma at their locker.  Amelia is another one of Emma's friends. 
    "What?" asked Emma.
    "Nick told me to tell you that he said yes." 
    "Ohhh!  I got it now!"  Emma was so excited!  She hurried to lunch as fast as she could to get a spot by Lindsay.
    "He said yes!  He said yes!"
    "I know!  Now you have a boyfriend Emma!" 
    The rest of the day seemed like there was nothing to it.  The girls gossiped and talked about what they were wearing to the dance the next night. 
    On the bus, Lindsay and James finally told everyone that they were going out.  It was no longer a secret. 


    Over the next few weeks, James and Lindsay held hands and leaned on each other.  Emma and Nick just held hands. 
    One night after school Emma and Lindsay were IMing each other. 
                       

(Emma)Emmie20: Hey wussup?
(Lindsay)AnnaBanana: nuthin much. hbu?
Emmie20: nuthin really
AnnaBanana: guess wat?
Emmie20: you and James kissed.  Oh no maybe i shouldnt have said that.  tht isnt true
AnnaBanana: No thts actually it! don't tell anybody though!  we dont want to be made fun of. 
Emmie20: Don't worry.  I won't.  Your secret is safe with me.
AnnaBanana: Good.  He also like touches my leg and like lifts up my skirt.  It sorta feels weird.
Emmie20: OMG!  do you like it?
AnnaBanana: I dunno.  well i have to go. see ya tomorrow
Emmie20: ok bye


      The same things happened over the next few weeks, but the secret slowly leaked out.  Sam already knew and Nick ended up catching them in the middle of kissing.

    Finally Lindsay's birthday came up.  James didn't even tell her "Happy Birthday!" that day. 

    It was the last day before spring break started.  Emma and Nick were still going out and so were Lindsay and James. 
    "See ya after break!" Lindsey shouted to the people on our bus as she got off. 
    "See ya!" Emma yelled back.


    School started again, except things were different between Lindsay and James.  James wouldn't let Lindsay sit next to him, and he wouldn't even talk to her.  He just stared out the window.  The only words he would say to her were "You're ugly!" or "I hate you!"  Lindsay was heartbroken.  She didn't know what to do. 
    On the way home James sat with Nick and Emma sat with Lindsay.  Nick talked to James. 
    "James, what's going on?  Don't you like her anymore?"
    "Well actually I don't.  I am doing all this so she will break up with me so I don't have to break her heart." 
      Emma comforted Lindsay. 
      "I think I'm gunna cry!" Lindsay wailed.
      "Don't worry.  Everything will be fine.  Things may not turn out to be the best, but everything will be fine." Emma told her.
      When James and Lindsay got off the bus, Nick told Emma and Sam what he had found out. "James doesn't like her anymore.  He is doing this so Lindsay will break up with him so that he doesn't have to break her heart."
      "That's crazy!  He's hurting her even worse than he would have if he would have just broken up with her.  How long has he not liked her?" Emma said demanding an answer. 
      "James said the week before spring break."
      "ARE YOU SERIOUS?  WHAT A JERK!" cried Emma.  "Lindsay doesn't deserve James.  She needs to know the truth!  Gosh!  I thought James was better than that.  He should have been grown up enough to just break up with her.  I am so going to tell Lindsay this!" Emma said, her face raging with fury. 
      As soon as Emma got off the bus, she called Lindsay. 
      "Heh....heh....hello?"  Lindsay said trying to catch her breath from crying so much. 
      "Lindsay you need to know that James wants you to break up with him!  He doesn't like you anymore!  Gosh he is such a jerk!" Emma yelled into the reciever. 
      "Are you serious!  He is so going down tomorrow!"

      Lindsay cried all night that night.  She broke up with James the next day. 
      As Emma found out more and more of what happened...she started to think that James just used her best friend for the kissing, and hugging, and touching her leg and stuff.  Lindsay had also told her that the day before spring break started, James kissed her in a different way and even touched her in a place she felt uncomfortable with.  She said "No. Don't touch me there again!" And he stopped liking her from then on. That was the biggest thing that made Emma feel like Lindsay was used.  Lindsay also thought that she was used.  There were just too many clues that she was used and not enough to prove that she wasn't. 
    James didn't even care what he did to Lindsay.  He acted glad for what he had done. 
    Lindsay feels damaged, heartbroken.  She doesn't know what to do with herself now.  She sits at home and cries almost every night, not knowing if she wants go on or not.  She doesn't want this to happen to any other girl. She thought that she loved him.   



                                            5 years later         



    James ended up dating another girl from a different school.  She didn't say "No." to him touching her the way he touched Lindsay.  He ended up raping her, leaving another girl feel damaged and left alone. 



    You guys need to be careful out there and watch out who you date.  You could think they are the right person and then all of a sudden they just turn on you.  Don't be afraid to speak up and say "No." like Lindsay did.  She could have ended up like the other girl.  Think about it.

Wild_Child1995