Overcoming Bullying: A Teen’s Concert Night

First attempt at a short story

Abby had been eagerly anticipating The Eras concert for a year, since her mom had surprised her with the tickets. Several of her friends had been unable to get tickets, and Abby felt a surge of excitement knowing she was one of the lucky ones. The tickets were a combined Christmas and 16th birthday present from her parents. Her mom, Linda, who hadn’t been a Taylor Swift fan or Swiftie, had been making a concerted effort to familiarize herself with the artist’s catalog before the concert. One of her parents would pick her up from school every day; the high school bus was bully-riddled. As if the snide comments she faced at school weren’t hard enough in the hallways, her parents had decided that forcing her to endure them on the bus was a bridge too far.  When her mom was there to pick her up, she played one of Swift’s albums during every pickup for the past year. It was a bright spot in Abby’s days in what was turning out to be a rather unpleasant junior year.

The school year had begun pleasantly enough. Abby was looking forward to AP Biology, and the guy she’d had a crush on for years, Daniel, was in her history class. She was excited to catch up with her friends and have the school day’s structure again, and this was the year that the juniors went to the local aquarium. They had just gotten a baby great white shark, and she planned to do her end-of-term biology project on the tank specially designed for it. With all of these exciting plans ahead of her, the year seemed full of promise. Then came the day of the school year pep rally. She had tried to explain to her homeroom teacher that her autism caused her to be sensitive to loud sounds and that she had forgotten her earplugs. In the past, these discussions had not gone her way. “Could she just stand outside the auditorium?” Mrs. Platt was a no-nonsense woman who was not known to be the most patient, but today she was able to be reasoned with: “You’ll have to stand outside with Mr. Davis; I have to go in to supervise the other students.” Standing outside the auditorium should have been a safe reprieve from the noise bouncing around inside the auditorium until the end of the rally. As her classmates headed out to their first-period classes, someone behind her set off an air horn. All at once, Abby went rigid. She was terrified, she went to scream, but couldn’t. After going rigid, she had lost control of her bladder and wet her pants in fright. Everything that happened next happened so quickly that whenever she thought about it, it seemed to be a blur. Mr. Davis had shouted at the boys, who had laughed at her. Mrs. Platt had inexplicably reappeared at her side and ushered her quickly to the nurse’s station while they waited for her mom to bring her a change of clothing.

Abby felt numb while sitting in the cold blue chair at the nurse’s station. Those boys, in particular, had been tormentors of hers for years. She always jumped quickly, especially at loud noises, and they knew that. She had improved, but the air horn was too close to her ear. She was embarrassed and angry. She had told them off before and would have been fine, except that she hadn’t had enough time to run to the bathroom, and Mr. Davis hadn’t wanted to let her go until after the rally. Her mom and dad had been livid. They had raised such a stink that all three boys had been suspended for several days. Her dad had even convinced two of the boys’ parents to make them volunteer at a local nonprofit supporting adults with autism. “ They don’t need to make her life harder,” her dad boomed while talking to Linda. Jay was the more brusque parent. He didn’t get overly involved with his children’s social lives, but he had something to say when he did. Her older brother, Henry, who was away at college, had sent her a postcard from his study abroad in Spain when he heard about it. “ Proud you’re my sister, even if your brain is a little weird,” read the back of the card. The front showed a cathedral Henry had been to with his fellow students. He’d also called, “ It gets better in college”, he had said reassuringly. But she wanted it to be better now, not in two years.

But all of this was behind her. Tonight was going to be fun. After waiting in long lines, going through security, climbing stairs to their chairs, and exchanging friendship bracelets, it was time. As the opening stanzas to Miss Americana began, she reached into her bag for the earplugs she had brought. When she didn’t feel the hard plastic case, she pulled the bag closer to her face and dug frantically; as the volume crescendoed, she began to panic. Was she really going to spend the whole concert with her fingers in her ears? Her mom had tried so hard to get the tickets, but she still wouldn’t be able to enjoy the concert. The hyperventilation was just beginning as she felt a familiar hand on her arm. “ Honey, I brought extra earplugs; it’s okay.” Her mom was holding out a plastic case full of earplugs, smiling at her. She could have cried. She smiled weakly back at Linda and said, “ Thanks, Mom.” Linda wrapped her right arm around her daughter’s waist. After putting the earplugs in her ears, she placed her head on her mom’s shoulder. This school year hadn’t been great so far, but her parents had her back. Maybe the rest of the school year wouldn’t be so bad. How could it be? She had a safe place to land at home.