Torn Souls (21 page)

She didn’t say anything. Instead she just stood there looking at me, probably wondering if I was blowing smoke up her butt. As I turned toward Alex and said, “Come on, let’s go,” she put her hand on my shoulder stopping me in my tracks. I didn’t take another step, not because I was scared, but because I didn’t feel like she was a threat.

“My name is Angel and these are my friends,” she offered.

Chapter Twenty Two

After I had shown Angel and her friends my petition things seemed okay. We ended up staying at the youth center for over an hour getting to know everyone. Every parent that came to pick up their kid signed my petition. They felt really good about what I was trying to do. By the end Alex and I had been invited back anytime to hang out. We were thrilled and promised to come back soon.

Mom took us to a couple of other places in the neighborhood before going home. I was so pumped that we had more signatures, and I couldn’t wait to go back out tomorrow. We dropped Alex off before we arrived back home, seeing as it was a school night and it was getting late. When we arrived home I hurried to my room to count up the signatures. In total, I ended up getting one hundred thirty one which was really good.

Before going to bed I spent a few minutes with Dad telling him where we went and the people we met. He informed me that tomorrow he’d be taking Alex and me out because Mom had to work late. It was fine with me as long as someone was going to take me out. Just before turning in for the night I thanked Mom for taking the time to drive me around.

Throughout the week Dad and Mom took turns out of their busy schedule to take Alex and me to get more signatures. When Friday came Dad picked Alex and I up from school where we drove up to Congressman Strum’s office. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t make my goal number of signatures. I was one thousand seventy five signatures shy of what I was trying to get, but Dad was sure that I had enough.

My first impression of Congressman Strum was that he was intimidating. He stood at least six feet tall with dark hair, a thick mustache, and talked in a really deep voice. Even though Dad was in the room with Alex and me, I was still a little nervous.

“So, Julia, your dad tells me you have a petition. May I see it?” he asked as he extended his hand for the pile of papers I had on my lap.

“Here you go, this is all of them,” I said.

“Wow, this is quite impressive. Can you tell me a little bit about why you would like to put this into a bill?” he asked.

After sharing with him everything that had got me to this point, he was even more impressed. He did share with me that there would be a strong possibility that my bill would never become a law. I understood everything he explained and still assured him that I was willing to take that chance. After all the people who signed my petition, I couldn’t walk away now. I hadn’t loss hope yet and I wasn’t about to now.

“Well, Julia, I’ll keep you posted on the status of this bill. It may be a while before you hear anything from me. This is a long process. It was a pleasure to meet you and Alex. And Mr. Stone, I’d like to say that I’m glad you chose to be our new State’s Attorney here in New York,” he said as he shook our hands before we left.

Some part of me wished I had a time machine to jump forward to find out if my bill ever becomes a law. The waiting was going to kill me. I knew I had to just put it out of my mind and forget about it. On the ride home Dad told Alex and me that he was proud of us. It was nice to hear him include Alex knowing at first he was hesitant about me having a boy as a friend.

Over the course of the school year, Bridget didn’t bother me, so school was easier to deal with. I thought she had learned her lesson about bullying altogether, but unfortunately, she didn’t. It had only been three months after the incident with me that she was caught bullying another kid and was suspended again. As much as I wanted to tell Principal Joseph she was never going to learn if they didn’t do something else, I kept my mouth shut.

It killed me to know that Bridget just got another slap on the wrist, and that she was likely to continue that same behavior, so I went home every night and prayed that someday my bill would be a law with more structure and stricter punishments for bullies. Before the school year ended, Alex and I started an after school club in the library for students to vent about anything that they were struggled with, including bullying. We were shocked to find out that Bridget had bullied a lot of kids.

Our meetings usually lasted for an hour and the library was always full of students. A couple of days before the last day of school, I heard a story that brought tears to my eyes. It was about a boy named Paul from a few years back. Apparently, from his freshman year to his senior, he had been bullied repeatedly because his dad was in jail for beating up his mother. A few kids even posted drawings of a man beating a woman all over the halls in school and it read
“Paul’s dad is a wife- beater.”

The following morning Paul never showed up to school. He had chosen to take his own life. No one connected the dots from his death to the excessive bullying he endured, because none of the kids would speak up. They were too scared. After hearing that story I knew I’d never forget Paul even though I never knew him.

On the last day of school, Alex and I didn’t want to stay the entire day. We knew it would be boring. No one ever did anything on the last day, so we had my mom pick us up early and drop us off at the house. We made lunch, and hung out watching movies until he had to go home. I was ecstatic that I had made it through the rest of the school year. My hopes for my sophomore year were that the only thing I’d have to worry about was getting good grades.

Throughout the summer Alex and I hung out a lot. We kept our promise and hung out at the youth center once a week with Angel and her friends. While I was there I learned how to play a couple of new card games and even though I thought I was getting the hang of it, I still lost every time.

A month before school started back up I received a call from Congressman Strum. I had high hopes for good news, but I still prepared myself for the worst. While on the phone I crossed my fingers on my left hand while holding the phone in my right.

“Julia, this is Congressman Strum, how have you been?” he asked.

“I’ve been good.” I was a little impatient, and really wanted to skip over the small talk to get to the matter at hand.

“Wonderful. I have some news to share with you. Your bill has been referred to the Senate based on the issues in the bill, and has been placed on the Committee’s calendar.”

“Really, this is good right? This means my bill is not dead?” I asked, trying to make sure I understood what he was saying.

“Yes, correct, it’s passed the first point. We have more waiting ahead of us, but this is a good thing, Julia.”

“Well, thank you for calling and letting me know.”

“No problem, I’ll call back when I find out more. I’m rooting for you,” he said before hanging up the phone.

I was freaking out and yelling through the house. At one point I was even dancing all around the living room until my dad came walking through the door and said, “Someone’s happy.” I didn’t hear him come in, which scared the living crap out of me. Usually, I’d say,
“Are you trying to give me a heart attack,”
but instead I ran over to him to tell him the good news.

“I’m so happy, honey. Wait until your mom comes home. She’s going to be so thrilled,” Dad said while he hugged me tight.

I didn’t want to jinx anything, but I did need to call Alex and let him know. As I began to tell Alex all about my phone call with Congressman Strum, he interrupted me and said, “Breathe, Julia. I can’t even understand what you’re saying.” Once I caught my breath, I slowly told him the good news. He was as thrilled as I was, but he did remind me that we still had a long way to go and anything could happen.

Two weeks before school started back up again, Mom took Alex and me to the Bronx. We heard that someone made a huge donation to the youth center, so they’re remodeling the building. We figured we’d stop by and lend a hand. Alex and I ended up helping to paint the outside of the building while Mom helped inside. We stayed until mid-afternoon before we decided to head home. As we were getting in the car I asked Mom if we could invite Angel over for supper next week. She smiled and said, “Yes, Julia. That’s a wonderful idea.”

“Cool, let me just go ask her mom if she can come,” I said as I jumped back out of the car.

After speaking to Angel’s mom and her agreeing to allow Angel to come over next week, I jumped back in the car. Mom had to drop off Alex before we went home. His parents had plans to go visit his aunt and he had no choice but to go, so Mom suggested we go shopping for new school clothes. I hated shopping for clothes. I never had a very good sense of fashion.

Mom and I headed to the mall where our first stop was the store Express. Neither one of us knew what was hip for a kid my age. When the sales clerk came over asking if we needed any help, neither my mom nor I refused her help.

“Hi, I’m looking for some clothes that kids my age are wearing. Can you help me, please?” I asked.

“Yes, of course I can. This is what I’m here for,” she said with a pretty smile. I didn’t see why she was working in a clothing store. Clearly, by her looks she could be a super model. I tried on all kinds of clothes I normally wouldn’t wear. I felt funny, but the sales woman said I looked fabulous, so I went with it. Once I was done trying on almost everything in the store, Mom paid for my new clothes while I thanked the woman for her help.

We shopped a couple more stores and seven hundred fifty two dollars later I was exhausted. When we arrived back home Dad was lounging on the couch watching some fishing show. I showed him all my new clothes while Mom started cooking dinner. As I hung up everything in my closet I thought about the new school year and how it was sure to be better than last year.

Things seemed to be turning around since the first day I arrived in New York. Mom and Dad’s jobs kept them busy and Alex and I hung out all the time. I made new friends at the youth center and I was hoping that life would only continue to get better.

The day before school started I received another phone call from Congressman Strum about my bill. He informed me that there was a hearing in the committee and the bill went in front of what they call a Floor Action. It is now set to reach a debate where people in congress will decide whether the bill will be passed or defeated by the members who are voting.

In my mind, I knew there was still a long way to go, but at the same time I was so excited that I couldn’t wait to see Alex in the morning to tell him. I thought about calling him, but this was something that needed to be said in person.

Chapter Twenty Three

On the first day back to school I met up with Alex in the morning before class. I couldn’t wait to tell him about my conversation with Congressman Strum. Neither one of us could believe just how far the bill had made it, but of course we also knew there would be the chance of it not going any further. This year Alex and I actually had two classes together which was great. During the day each grade had to report to the auditorium for an assembly meeting.

Alex already knew what was going to be said because he went to last year’s meeting, but we still had to go. Toward the end of our principal’s speech he surprised us with a new policy. He explained to everyone that he wasn’t going to tolerate bullying in the school any more. If anyone was caught bullying there would be strict consequences. It made me feel good to know that our principal had spoken up about the seriousness of bullying, and implemented a new policy. It showed that he really believed in protecting the kids in his school.

Over the next few months at school, kids seemed to socialize more with others without having as much to fear. Alex and I participated in school activities without wondering if someone was going to harass or make fun of us. I could see things changing and it was nice, but even though things seemed to be getting better for my school, I still wondered about other kids in their schools.