Alone

Alone short story by Iris Carden.

The school library was Cindy’s favourite place to spend lunchtime. In the library, she could pick up a book, sit in her quiet spot, and be alone.

Cindy had already learned that all the advice on dealing with bullies didn’t work in real life.

Ignoring bullies just made them more angry and more vicious. Answering them back with clever responses, enraged them and made them more dangerous. Telling the teachers got her labelled as a “dobber” by both kids and teachers, and made the bullies even more angry at her. Her mother coming to the school to complain to the administration resulted in the principal advising her to toughen up. The school’s zero tolerance policy on bullying, was actually a zero tolerance policy on reporting bullying.

Cindy had at last learned the only effective way to deal with school bullies. She avoided them.

She went to the library, and escaped her terrible experience of childhood in the wonderful stories she found there. She was not being pinched, punched, kicked or called names. She was away in another place or another time, or somewhere that never actually existed. Cindy could go anywhere, be anyone, because the books opened the doors to everywhere.

At age seven, Cindy had learned something many adults struggled for years to understand: it was far better to be alone than with people who hurt her.

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