"Tyler" by Lucca K.

Being a teenager in not easy. Sure we have way more advantages, but we also have disadvantages.  Most teenagers are stressed due to school, family, friends, social status, and just overall materialistic things. Growing up I was not the popular kid, or the funny kid, I was the kid that everyone made fun of. To be honest I didn’t have any friends at school, until fourth grade. I met Tyler Robinson. Tyler was just like me, he was the kid that everyone picked on .Tyler and I have been best friends ever since. Tyler was the type of person that would not hurt a fly, he was a nice innocent guy but, you could tell he was hurting on the inside. At first, he was really quiet, but then he started telling me his problems and feelings. He would tell me how his parents would argue almost every day, and they would take their anger out on him. He would tell me how kids at school would jump him and try to kill him. Sometimes, Tyler would talk about killing himself, and how all of his problems would go away, and he would be happy. When he would talk about death, I would always tell him that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. He would always agree, and say he was just kidding, but you could see it in his eyes that he wasn’t. One day, he came to school, and he had just got glasses. He didn’t get funny looking glasses, he just got normal glasses. Throughout the day, everyone would look at him, and make fun of him more than usual. I would defend him the best that I could, but it was no help. Tyler and I walk home together every day. On that day, he was nowhere to be found after school, I waited a good ten minutes. I was really worried so I went through out the whole school, and couldn’t find him. Then I passed by one of the boys’ bathrooms, Tyler’s new glasses were crushed in front of the bathroom. I rush into the bathroom, and Tyler is lying on the floor. He had blood dripping from his face and his head. He couldn’t speak, and I could tell he was in a lot of pain. I quickly called my mom to come pick us up so we could take Tyler to the hospital. Tyler was able to tell me that a group of jocks tried to kill him because he looked like a nerd with his glasses. The doctor said that Tyler had a serious gash in his head, and it was not fixable, he said Tyler had two weeks to live. Tyler knew he was going to die, but he didn’t sulk, instead he said he would finish off strong. For the first week, everyone looked at Tyler like he was a mad man. Everyone knew what had happened to him. As much as they bullied him about it, he didn’t let it get to him! That was surprising to me. He would look on the bright side of things, and not feed on hatred. The last couple days of his life were very weird. For example, when we were walking home one day, all he could talk about was the next day and how amazing it was going to be. I asked him what was going to happen the next day, and he said “I have some unfinished business to take care of”. Later that day, while we were walking home, I asked him what the business was that he had to take care of. He told me that I would see tomorrow. I couldn’t sleep all night that night, I was just thinking of all the possible things that it could be. The following day comes, and Tyler shows up with an extra bag, I question him and ask him what was in the bag, and he told me a baseball bat. It puzzled me why he would have that, he doesn’t play baseball, or any sport for that matter. The day comes to an end, and I wait after school for him, but he is a no show. I freak out and run to the bathroom where I first found him, and what I saw next, scared me for the rest of my life. He had a gun in his hand. He was shaking a lot, and he was covered in blood. Tyler had killed all of the jocks that beat him up. He turns and looks at me, and says slowly “My business is done”. Tyler had killed himself. Scared and panicking, I run home as fast as I could. My mom had heard what had happened from the news by the time I had got home. I cried and cried. I went in my room that night and couldn’t sleep, it was all sinking in. When school had started again, everyone was treating me extra bad, as if I had killed all of them myself. When I walked home that day, it was quiet, and empty. I went home, went to my room and I decided that maybe Tyler was right, dying is the solution to my problems. I now understood where he was coming from. At worst Tyler is somewhere quiet and peaceful, but at best, he is an angel in heaven. Either way, he is away from this horrible world. So that day, I decided I wanted to be with Tyler again. So I made a noose, hung it from my ceiling, slipped my head through it, and let gravity do the rest.