I found out last night that a girl from my high school class died about a month ago. I wasn't friends with her; nobody was. She was heavy, red haired, freckled, and didn't bathe. Girls would ask the gym teacher to give them a different locker in the locker room if they were assigned one near stinky, fat Flo. The popular girls would accuse Flo of being a lesbian, they'd say she watched them change their clothes. Boys in the hall would yell "Here comes Thunder Thighs!", "Make way for Fatty!", "Hey Flo, when's the last time you had a shower?".
People were cruel to her, every day, and nobody stood up for her.
I never called her names...to her face. I never laughed when people taunted her. But I never told anyone to shut up and leave her alone, either.
People didn't pick on me at school, not like that, and not in high school. Of course in middle school someone would occasionally say something mean, but I got off pretty easy as far as bullying goes. Flo...school must have been a nightmare for her.
I guess I'm just feeling guilty, thinking I could have made things a little easier on her if I'd had any guts back then. I guess I'm just wishing I had ever bothered to say hello to her in the hall, or offer to help her pick up her books after someone "accidentally" ran into her.
She died in her sleep. I don't know if she was alone or not. I remember that she liked horses.
