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Date Posted: 13:13:16 09/18/03 Thu
Author: Becca
Author Host/IP: 172.188.214.245
Subject: Story
This is my story for English:
The Outsider
Rachel
People see me so differently from themselves. But this is the problem; they take one look at me and run. If only they took the chance to get to know me, instead of judging me by my appearance. I have a wheelchair. I was born with a major spine problem, which disallows me to walk. Other than that I am completely normal. Nobody chooses to see it this way though. I’m just a girl on wheels to everyone.
People treat me badly, that hurts. Others are extremely careful around me as if I’m a china ornament, waiting to be broken. They say “Oh, Rachel is okay by herself, she can’t understand how to play our game”, then walk away with their noses held high in the air. I can play the games that they play though. If only they’d give me a chance, they’d find out. It doesn’t take much to move a playing piece around the board does it? There are of course some things that I cannot do. For example, playing tag in the playground would tire me out too much. It pains me so much to see my classmates running around having bundles of fun, while I’m stuck in the corner by myself. I would give anything to be able to play, feel like I’m a part of something.
In lessons, I have to have my chair pulled away from my desk to make space for my wheels. The teacher always makes such an issue of it. “Ooh, mind out the way for Rachel’s wheelchair.” “Stuart, pull the chair away for Rachel’s wheelchair.” I hate that. They treat me as if I’m some 3 year old, who can’t do anything. All the extra attention I get, which I don’t necessarily need. I sit on a table all by myself. No one to pass notes to, no one to share secrets with and no one to copy last lessons maths off. It’s just me, by myself. When the new girl Katherine started a little while ago I heard them all whispering “You don’t want to mix with Rachel, she’s weird and can’t do anything.”
I look around and I see Claire, Hannah, Grace, Boyd, Mark and Denis on one table. I know a lot about them all. For instance, Hannah recently won 1st prize in her gymnastics class, and Boyd is in the final heats for his Chess Championships. I’m not a stalker or anything don’t get me wrong. I just hear them all talk about the things that they’ve done and what they’re about to do. Couldn’t they just ask me for once? Nobody bothers to talk to me? Why should they? I’m just a girl in a wheelchair. I can bet you that if you asked anyone, anyone at all in this class, they would know just one thing about me. I’m in a wheelchair. Nobody knows that my favourite colour is green, or that I recently got an award from a famous painter for my artwork. Nobody knows because nobody cares I guess, nobody cares about me, The Outsider.
Katherine
Rachel seems like such a nice girl. She’s a little quiet sometimes but what else is to be expected? She doesn’t have any friends. Probably because Hannah influences others. She tells everyone that she is a waste of space and that she is spastic. But to me, she seems really nice. I would go and talk to her, get to know her but Hannah holds me back. It seems as though she might even be jealous? I have no idea why, but she is so anti-Rachel. If she sees anyone talk to her, even say “hi” she’ll go and warn them off. She’d say “You weren’t talking to Rachel were you? I’d stay well clear of her, she’s weird.” What’s to say she’s weird though? She may be in a wheelchair and of course she is different in some aspects but does that make her different? As far as I’m concerned, no! I would go and make friends, chat to her, see what she likes doing, but I know that if I did, Hannah would interfere and put me off the idea. A friendship with Rachel would be so excellent! I’ve seen some of her paintings on walls throughout the school and they are fantastic! I’m sure she wouldn’t mind giving me a few tips on my own “masterpieces”. I think she would be really fun to talk to. I can somehow see that she has a warm, kind and generous personality, waiting to be unlocked. Maybe I could be the one to do it.
You might ask what is holding me back? Well it just so happens; Hannah is one of my best friends. I didn’t ask for it to be this way, but when I joined this school, only 2 months back, she immediately came and snatched me away. If I was to go over and speak to Rachel, I could be 99.9% sure that she would disown me. She would do what she does to Rachel; tell no one to come near me because I have the “lurgies” or something stupid like that. People wouldn’t have the courage to stand up to her, so they would just do as she said. Then I would end up with just one friend. All my others would be history. But at least I would have one good friend that I could trust and rely on. A true friend.
Hannah
Rachel is the only person in the class that I dislike. Except maybe Fredrick but Rachel is the worst kind of freak that you can get! She is bound to her wheelchair and can’t do anything! She just sits by herself. She’s not worth anyone bothering with her. That’s why I tell people to keep away. She is a useless piece of work and I think everyone has the right to know.
Ok, so maybe this isn’t why I don’t like her so much. I mean, it’s a big part of it but the other part is because people notice her. They talk about her and feel sorry for her. I suppose I’m jealous of her more than anything. Her parents are apparently very rich so she has all sorts of nice clothes. She has a big house and is also very pretty. If I didn’t make out that she was so horrible, she might stand a chance of being even more popular than me. That is what I’m afraid of. All through my school years and even my nursery ones, I have always been the most popular girl in my class! Then when I transferred here a few years back Rachel was here. I don’t know what it was like before I came. Whether she was popular or not. I hope she wasn’t.
I heard she is going on a holiday. It’s a special needs one, arranged by the council or whatever. Good, she can mix with her own dumb kind and I won’t have to worry about her. She’s such a loser. I mean, having to sit in the corner during break-time, she even eats lunch by herself! Pah! If she were anyone decent she’d have made some friends by now, even with me warning people off! She seems really un-sociable. Doesn’t talk to anyone, not even the teachers. I wouldn’t be surprised if people on the holiday ignored her too. The staff will have no time to talk to her, they’ll be running after all the other people of her kind, helping them to the toilet and such! Haha! It cracks me up thinking about all the things she can’t do! I’m glad I’m not a retarded, friendless girl like her.
Mrs. Morgan
I was asked by my fellow colleagues of how Rachel was progressing the other day. We like to keep a special eye on the very few students who are handicapped. I said that she was very quiet but seemed to be getting settled into her lessons quickly. I have noticed that she doesn’t seem to be very sociable though. She prefers not to mix with people her own age. I see her at lunchtimes eating in the school hall by herself. It appears she does not have any friends at all.
Her parents came to see me the other day, asking for permission for her to go on a holiday for special needs, during school time. Hopefully it will do her good to be around others in a similar situation to herself. Rachel certainly has a real flair for painting. I heard from her parents that she received some kind of award from a famous painter. I think she may prefer to show her feelings through her paintings. She doesn’t seem to want to talk to anyone about herself, even her parents, for they are quite concerned for her. Her drawings seem to be painted in dark colours such as black, grey and red. This is quite worrying, for I have not seen a single painting with yellow on it.
Rachel and myself have had a few conversations about how school is going but she does not seem the sort of child that is very talkative at all. I am thinking of maybe assigning a student to stay with her and talk to her. Maybe if given the chance, Rachel will make a friend. I suggested to her parents, maybe getting Rachel a pet to show affection too. It is obvious that Rachel is not happy at the moment and I’m thinking that maybe after this holiday, we might see some changes in her personality and paintings.
Katherine
Rachel has gone away on holiday to Cyprus! Oh! I am so jealous of her! I would love to be out there in the sun instead of being stuck here in a boring classroom, listening to Mrs. Morgan yap away! Before she left, I slipped a note into her bag. I wrote that when she came back she would have a friend waiting for her. Who cares about horrid Hannah when I could have Rachel as a friend. At least she would be true to me, and not boss me around half the time. Yes, she seems like a nice girl and I am truly looking forward to being her friend.
We could do all the normal stuff that friends do like share secrets and have sleepovers. With Hannah it was always, “Who shall I make cry today?” Hannah is such a spiteful beast, and to be honest I wouldn’t care if she was dead. All her friends are fake friends that she has earned from bossiness or popularity. None of them are real. I feel kind of sorry for her, she doesn’t know what it is like to be normal. Her vocabulary ranges from “She’s an idiot” to “Look at her, she’s so dumb.” How can I be best friends with anyone like that?
I’ve decided, to surprise Rachel when she gets back from Cyprus, I am going to get her a present. I hope I don’t give the impression that I’m trying to buy her friendship though. In the letter I wrote about how I didn’t care about Hannah anymore and how I was willing to try and make a friendship with her. I can’t wait for her to come back! We will have such a good time together! I just know it!
Rachel
Wow! It is amazing here in Cyprus! Fun, sun and cute boys all day long! I have made some great friends! People who actually want to hear what I have to say! I can even talk to the staff that are running it. They are very understanding! We have done all sorts of things here. We played netball, been to loads of places like the beach and clubs! I love it here! I don’t want to go back!
At night, we all sit on the beach and watch the sun set. It’s gorgeous. Last night, we went to a restaurant. The food there was splendid. I ate spaghetti bolognaise.
I have met this really friendly boy called Brett. He is really cute. He has sandy coloured hair and brown eyes. He asked me to go to the beach with him. I guess it is kind of like a date, so you could say we are going out! I am so much happier here in Cyprus. Most of the people on this camp live here. I am one of the few that have travelled overseas to get here.
I found a strange letter from a girl called Katherine in my bag. She wants to be friends. I’m not sure if this is good or bad yet. I’m not even sure if I’m going back yet. I will write her a letter and tell her about all the friends I’ve made here. It’s amazing, for once in my life I fit in, I’m not the outsider.
Hannah
I was cycling past Rachel’s house today and saw some removal men outside loading a van. She has been gone 6 weeks now. I think it is right to say that she is moving to Cyprus. Good riddance to her. I hope she’ll be happy with her retarded friends.
I was talking to Hannah and the girls today, on the internet and I made a joke about Rachel and they all blocked me! What’s wrong with them! If they want to be so stupid and immature then they can go and get a life because I don’t need them. I don’t need anyone.
Katherine
I got a letter from Rachel today. She thanked me for offering my friendship and asked if she would like to be pen pals instead. She tells me she has a boyfriend and that she has some ace friends! They now live in a villa right near the coast, practically in the sea! I am so glad that she is happy. After all the abuse that she has taken from people in our school I think she definitely deserves to be.
The End
Please tell me what you think :)
Keep Smiling,
xox Becca
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Replies:
- Oopsies. Sorry I took up so much space >.< (NT) -- Becca, 13:15:09 09/18/03 Thu
- i havent had a chance to read it all yet but the part i did i love! =D great writing! (NT) -- Laura, 15:13:45 09/18/03 Thu
- Wow! That was really good, I loved it. (NT) -- Kristin, 15:51:21 09/18/03 Thu
- Wow. That was incredible, totally amazing, totally awesome! GO BEKAH! :-D (NT) --
, 20:06:32 09/18/03 Thu