by Donna Dillon
Please tell charlie that she was my best friend ever. I love her and I will always be with her. Thank her for taking a chance on being my friend, I would not have made it this far without her. I am hoping that Bobby will help her get through this. They were the only real friends I had here, and I hope they continue to be friends for a long time.
I love you all and I will see you all someday.
All my love,
Cinda.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Charlie
So, that's our story, Detective. My folks brought me down to Cinda's room to say goodbye. Her parents were in shock, obviously. Her sisters moved around like zombies. She was still alive when I got there, and I sat by her bed and held her hand. Her doctor said that her brain had died, but they were keeping her heart beating until they could remove her organs for transplant. I know someday I am going to look at some strangers face and see those beautiful big blue eyes staring back at me. I don't know if I that's exactly how it works, but I have a feeling I will know.
I guess they brought some “grief-counselors” into the school to help kids cope with Cinda's suicide. It seems to me that if they had brought a few counselors in to deal with this problem at the very beginning, maybe none of this would've happened. What do I know, right, I'm just a kid.
They held a memorial service at Hargrove Jr High...I did not go. I didn't feel like watching a bunch of people who didn't know Cinda, who didn't care about her, and treated her like garbage, pretend to mourn. If I want to see an Academy Award performance, I'll rent a movie.
I saw Bobby at the funeral. He was one of the few kids allowed at the private service. His family sat with mine behind Cinda's family and we cried together. We said our goodbyes and laid her to rest. I guess we said goodbye to a lot of things. Neither one of us are going back to Hargrove, neither was Miss Cavanaugh, or Mr. Anderson, they both took teaching positions out of state. Principal Martin resigned as well. I hope whoever takes his place takes the time to listen to his students. It's really a small thing to ask, and a small thing to do, to listen. And you never know, maybe that few minutes it takes to listen to someone maybe be all the time you need to save a life.
My parents found a shrink for me to talk to. It helps some, but mostly I hang out in my room alone. At first I slept a lot and I would dream of her. In my dreams she's still alive and we are just two regular ordinary 12 year-old girls. In my dreams Cinda's face is beautiful, perfect. My therapist says it’s a defense mechanism, my minds way of dealing with my grief. I think it's more than that. I think it's Cinda's way of telling me that's she's all right. Yep…that's what I think..but what do I know, right? I'm just a kid.
Epilogue
The Hargrove Herald
Hargrove... The Hargrove Police Department announced the arrests of 5 juvenile girls in connection with the tragic suicide of a 12 year-old girl last April. The girls, all former students of the Hargrove Jr. High, are all charged with menacing, harassment and cyber-stalking in connection with what is being investigated as one of the most extreme case of bullying ever recorded. If convicted as juveniles each girl faces a sentence in juvenile detention until they are 18 years old. Charges of complicity and obstruction of justice on the parents of one of the teen girls is still pending further investigation. The District Attorney has yet to file his motion to charge the girls as adult and it seems unlikely that he will do so. If convicted as adults, each charge carries a minimum sentence of 18 years. This case is currently under investigation.
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