An Elementary Lesson on Bullying

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An Elementary Lesson on Bullying

Nothing makes Winnie prouder on her 67th birthday celebration than the encounter she had with her grade 6 classmate when running out from the crowded, noisy restaurant to make a long-distance call to her daughter. Just pushing the buttons, and a loud, strangely familiar voice alerted her: "Winnieeee! Hey, it's really you!!!". The voice came from a 2-horses led carriage, and, suddenly, Winnie was overlapped by this fluffy, overdressed in an all- black outfit creature which was identifiable to Winnie only through voice.
She was Eryn, her elementary school classmate who was sitting in the very back seat in the class always. She was missing many school days, Winnie remembered right away, as she had a lot of house chores on her shoulders. Her mother was sick, her father died in the prison as he was a ferocious anti-communist militant during the WWII war. They were poor, three children to take care of a deeply hurting family. Winnie remembers instantly Eryn's mother smile, never complaining. Things can get tough at school, especially when you are not fully in line; you have a father dead as a political opponent to the actual regime, no good. Your school grades are very low, no good at all! You are absent from many school activities and missing regular classes, terrible too!
As a result of the above, Eryn was a subject to acts of bullying from her classmates, and even from the low life teachers because some of them are low life. Despite her daily agony, Eryn carried her school bag with a straight posture, her head high on her strong shoulders, and she was smiling to everyone on her way to school when greeting everybody with respect.
It wasn't hard for Winnie to stay closer to Eryn most of the time despite the confusion among classmates and some teachers; she was the first in the class at all subjects always, Eryn was the last at almost all subjects in the same time. Nobody understood Winnie's kindness towards Eryn, but nobody tried to bully Winnie.
The moment she heard Eryn's voice, everything from that school day came back to her. Jacob, a strong guy in their class was painting Eryn's coat with a red chalk pretending there is a hen; everybody was laughing and admiring Jacob's art. At that moment, Winnie entered in the classroom, retrieved the chalk from Jacob's hand, and wrote on the blackboard this sentence: "JACOB EATS SHIT USING A HUGE TABLESPOON". It was a long silence, followed by a laugh when Jacob jumped to Winnie trying to twist her arm. Through a miraculous strength, Winnie managed to do that trick to Jacob's middle pants area, and he run out of the classroom, crouching, without a word. The recess was over, the teacher was back, she didn't notice who is missing until somebody from the back dared to whisper: "Somebody is missing".
After a short visual inventory, the teacher sent Andrew, Jacob's best friend to go outside to look, and bring Jacob back. Silence again when Andrew came back without Jacob.
One hour later, Winnie was pulled out from her favorite social studies class, brought in the principal's office. Inside was Jacob's mother screaming at her: "your father was not home, but, don't worry, tonight I will show him what kind of daughter he's raising. Your mother is a bitch too..." on and on, until the principal managed to reduce her anger to a calm acceptance of looking forward to solve the problem peacefully.
The short conversation with the principal convinced Winnie forever that Jacob cannot, would not bully anybody anywhere anytime ever again.
That was it. Quiet moments in school after, Winnie's father apologized to Jacob's mother, but, in the same time, mentioned that her son shouldn't use his power to humiliate other children. Everything ended with a friendly resolution: forgive but not forget to be kind to each other.
Alone with her father, Winnie got what would stay with her even now when she had Eryn in front of her: "so proud to have a daughter like you! Not stand up for yourself only but, especially, for whom cannot stand for themselves!" Hugging in tears of emotions of meeting Eryn after few decades felt exactly the same as few decades ago, being one "who spends himself in a worthy cause" as Teddy Roosevelt said.
The two old ladies spent the rest of afternoon together, managed to bring back the sweet and not so sweet memories. They were happy to share their present time events, family accomplishments. Most important: they are not going to be far apart from each other as they have their e-mails, smartphones, etc. Their place will be "never with those cold and timid who neither know victory or defeat."