2022 Writing Contest

Josh asks, "Who's this guy?" Shawn glances at Josh before answering, "I'm Shawn, an old friend of your brother" I comment, "We're not much in the way of friends, we split after school" Shawn states, "Well, that stings a bit. Anyways, I believe I remember you two from a while back" Ollie questions, "you do?" Shawn continues, "Yeah, back before the accident happened. I helped babysit you two with Zeke" Did you have to mention the accident? Ollie and Josh seem to be racking their heads to remember Shawn, so I take this opportunity to begin leading them away. Yet Shawn follows after us saying, "Zeke, do you need help? I know I can't do much, but I'll do what I can to help" I turn around and ask, "Why are you obsessed with helping us?" Shawn stands his ground and says, "We were friends, we both made mistakes. I want to fix us, and I want to be there for you. I wasn't there when you needed me. I know that you went through tough things. But now I want to be here for you, I will do what I can to make it up to you" "Before you 'help' me, go help yourself. Fix your life. Fix the mess you’re in. Once you do that, then I'll think about it" Shawn looks down at his feet, and we begin to leave. As we walk away, I hear Shawn say, "I'll do it" As we walk away Ollie asks, "Why were you mean to him?" I take in a breath of air before answering, "Ollie, in this world there are people who hurt others: through actions, words, inactions or by accident. Those people can't be trusted. Shawn has done bad things through actions and inactions" Josh questions, "What did he do?" I say, "He works with bad people. But we haven't talked in a long while. He abandoned me when I needed his help the most" Ollie looks like he wants to ask more, but he says nothing. So, I ask, "Ollie, how has class been?" Ollie shrugs but doesn't say anything instead Josh states, "We've been good, taking care of each other" I ask, "Ollie, is there something you need to tell me?" Ollie shakes his head no as Josh asks, "What did the teacher tell you?" I answer easy enough, "He said you've been getting in trouble, threatening another student Ollie" Ollie stammers, "h-he hurt other students, I had to help them" "By threatening people and picking fights?" Josh stops walking and proudly says, "He tried to talk to them, even the teacher did nothing. So, he did what he could with no regards for himself" I stop as well before asking, "Ollie, Josh please don't fight with other students or pick fights" Ollie asks, "What should we do then?" We begin to walk again as I say, "Don't do anything openly. Spread rumors, plant things, and play tricks on them" Ollie asks, "Doesn't that make us as bad as them?" Well, yeah it would but I say, "Its better this way, and it's not like they will cause permanent damage. If they know the subjects and think, then everything will be fine"

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