A Sudden Suicide | Teen Ink

A Sudden Suicide

April 19, 2011
By alesson-hardtolearn SILVER, Malvern, Pennsylvania
alesson-hardtolearn SILVER, Malvern, Pennsylvania
6 articles 2 photos 8 comments

November 07, 2010
Shelia Quinn, a typical eighth-grader, died yesterday. She was found dead in her bath tub. The coroner has ruled it a suicide. A friend of Shelia’s, Elise Wilson, stated, “It was flooded, as it was still running. I found her with blood surrounding her.” They both attended Pittsburgh Middle School. Shelia was a new student who moved from Ireland a week ago. The reason for the suicide remains a mystery. Her parents have no comment at this time.


**

Biting my lips and holding myself back so I wouldn't let out a sob; I read the article over and over until I had every single word memorized. Seeing my name in the newspapers should’ve cheered me, except for the fact that my best friend in the world had just killed herself. Sure, she was just new, but she was the only one who understood me. I was the weird, crazy, colorful Elise Wilson apart from the same, boring crowd. Oh, why did they have to bully Shelia too?

"You okay?" my mom asked, seeing me and the article as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"No, not really," I responded with a weak whisper.

A long silence hovered between us until my chatty mom ruined it. "So, it is true?"

"Huh?"

I've heard your best friend was bullied and that led to her decision to commit suicide. "Is it true?"

I opened my mouth, ready to lie. But then I shut it. Should I lie when there's nothing to lie for? I took a huge gulp and spilled the beans. I told her all about the students’ response to her arrival on the first day and throughout the week; how they would spread rumors about how she was a slut (she was really beautiful). How girls and boys would shove her into lockers, how they would call her nasty names, and virtually hurt her too.

"Wow," my mom mumbled. She seemed to be breathless when I was done. I nodded slowly, tears coming from my hazel eyes through my dark brown hair.

After my mom left the kitchen after three long minutes of silence, I thought how it would've happened differently if our middle school never bullied her, or if she or witnesses had done something about it. Shelia would never have ended up on our local news, reporting how she was found dead in her bathroom, in her own home. She would've been happy in her new home, not upset or worried about how the bullies would torment her the next day. She would've been laughing along with a crowd, not just me.

Putting the article down, I headed outside and grabbed my bike. I pedaled down the street until I reached the church where my only and greatest best friend's funeral was being held.


The author's comments:
I wrote this last November, remembering learning a new foreign girl killed herself in result of bullying. This is a first time I wrote something that revolves around a dark issue in our world.

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This article has 10 comments.


on Sep. 22 2011 at 2:39 pm
alesson-hardtolearn SILVER, Malvern, Pennsylvania
6 articles 2 photos 8 comments
*but; sorry :p

on Sep. 22 2011 at 2:38 pm
alesson-hardtolearn SILVER, Malvern, Pennsylvania
6 articles 2 photos 8 comments
sorry for a very late reply buy thnx. :) and oh, and just so you know; the girl didn't go to my school or anything. I meant that in our bullying program, we discussed about Phoebe Prince and it inspired me to write this. :)

on Apr. 29 2011 at 8:13 pm
alesson-hardtolearn SILVER, Malvern, Pennsylvania
6 articles 2 photos 8 comments
well, can you give me advice on what to do better please?

craftydevil said...
on Apr. 25 2011 at 8:06 am
Love the original approach of using a newspaper article as an opening to the story. It is a great vehicle for communicating the vital facts of the story. Excellent descriptions of the narrator's emotional state. This is a very important topic for today's society. Thank you for writing about this sensitiive and heart-rending issue!

on Apr. 24 2011 at 10:54 pm
Smartie4Life BRONZE, Scottsdale, Arizona
1 article 0 photos 12 comments

It was good. Except not well-written.

 


Bluebell said...
on Apr. 23 2011 at 11:24 am
Very well written and moving.  Hopefully it will make people think about others feelings.

JazzyMyne GOLD said...
on Apr. 23 2011 at 1:40 am
JazzyMyne GOLD, Santa Clara, California
10 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I don't know what the future holds; But I do know what holds the future."-my little brother john michael

u used perspective intricately; it made it very open to read. lyk, it made me think while reading it. great story, but i am sry to have heard that this story was derived out of an actual death. i love ur writing. just straight up love it.

on Apr. 22 2011 at 5:59 pm
alesson-hardtolearn SILVER, Malvern, Pennsylvania
6 articles 2 photos 8 comments
Thank you. :)

Hover BRONZE said...
on Apr. 22 2011 at 2:37 pm
Hover BRONZE, Mukwonago, Wisconsin
2 articles 0 photos 85 comments

Favorite Quote:
Sophistication isn&#039;t what you wear or who you know<br /> Or pushing people down to get you where you wanna go<br /> They didn&#039;t teach you that in prep school, so it&#039;s up to me,<br /> But no amount of vintage dresses gives you dignity.<br /> ~Taylor Swift<br /> *Defy Gravity!*

Really sad, but very well written. :) <-- sad smile.

minoriti97 said...
on Apr. 20 2011 at 8:26 pm
minoriti97, Omaha, Nebraska
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
I was very moved by your story...