Saturday, October 20, 2012
Today I'm excited to have Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckles from THE NIGHT MARCHERS SERIES. They are going to share with us their thoughts on bullying and have donated tons of goodies, too!
"So don't you worry your
pretty little mind. People throw rocks at things that shine..." ~Taylor
Swift (Lyrics from Ours)
Guest post by: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels, Authors of Project ELE
We are excited to partner with Lady Reader's Bookstuff and Uniquely Moi Books to help Stomp Out Bullying. Having
both been victims of bullying in school, this cause is near and dear to our
hearts. As parents we are now reliving the bully years all over again through
experiences our children are facing at school. How is it that this vicious
cycle of bullying has seemed to continue from generation to generation? We don't
have the answer to that. One thing we do know is that building awareness and
teaching our children to treat others with respect and to stand up for what's
right is the first step in the right direction. We would like to see a day
where bullying is about as repulsive to everyone as picking your nose in public
is. A time in which there is no longer an attitude of: kids will be kids or a
"words can never hurt you" approach. And most of all, we are ready to
see a day in which kids are no longer afraid to go to school. A day when kids
are no longer so emotionally beat down that they can't see any other options to
get out of the hole that has been dug for them by bullies, than to commit
suicide.
Now is the time for us all to take
a stand to fight against bullies! We are so grateful that there are blogs like
these out there in a virtual world that has become such a haven for bully
attacks. We are grateful that there are amazing followers, authors and fans who
are committed to making a difference. Together we can help Stomp Out Bullying.
For this guest post we would like
to share an excerpt from our YA Apocalyptic novel: Project ELE (www.eleseries.com)
In this excerpt you will see our main heroine go up against
a band of bullies. While we know that sixteen-year-old Willow Mosby is an
imaginary character, we still can't help being proud of her and her friends for
taking a stand against bullying. You will notice also in this excerpt that the
point of the scene is that Willow and Connor stood up for Claire. The bullies
didn't really listen or decide to change their ways, but the fact that someone
stood up for Claire meant the world to her. We hope you enjoy it.
Excerpt from Project ELE:
(This scene has been minimized since some of
the details are hard to understand without having read the first part of the
book.)
I lead Connor to the medic station and then help him on several
more assignments. We don't really talk much along the way but it's not awkward
or anything. It would probably be with anyone else, but there's a type of
comfort level between Connor and I. It's one that comes with having something
in common: loss.
"We were only messing around, you don't have to get your
panties in a bunch!" A high pitch voice calls out from a room down the
hall. Her giggling sounds like a Hyena.
"Yeah sorry, we were just having a little fun with you
runner girl! What, you didn't think it was funny sugar?" A guy adds, his
voice dripping with sarcasm.
The Hyena girl giggles annoyingly again. I hear a sniffle sound
coming from the room.
I look to Connor and he nods back to me. I don't even have to
say it out loud. We both start towards the room where the harassment is coming
from. We don't make it far before Claire, the one who sat next to me in class,
comes barreling out of the room slamming the door behind her. Her hair is still
in front of her face and it must have obstructed her vision because she plows
right into Connor. The force of their collision pushes him back half of a step.
"Sorry." Claire sniffs. She tries to move to work her
way around us but Connor grabs her gently by the arms.
"Hey, what's wrong? Did those people hurt you?" Connor
asks seriously. His face is a mask of concern.
She looks up at him and behind all of that white blonde hair
covering her face you can see her tear filled frosty blue eyes. Something in my
chest pangs knowing that someone who looks so fragile and innocent is hurting.
"Did they hurt you?" Connor asks again a little
stronger this time.
"No." She whispers then turns her head and starts
wiping at her eyes.
"What happened?" I ask in a soothing voice. Maybe
staying calm will help her open up.
She looks at me with surprise. It's that look again that asks, are you really talking to me? I wonder
what would make this beautiful, yet really strange, girl so skittish and
self-conscious.
"It's okay, you can tell us." I say again gently.
Connor is still holding onto her arms so he takes this second to
carefully let her go. He seems ready to catch her if she tries to dart though.
"They were playing a trick on me." She said.
"A trick?" Connor asks, his eyebrows rise in question.
She looks to him and then back at me. "Yes, they were
messing with my GPS. They kept re-routing me here."
"How did they mess with your GPS?" I ask.
"Anything can be hacked." She says while wiping her
eyes one last time. This time she looks at me with a bold certainty I wouldn't
have thought she'd have. "They think I'm stupid; that I wouldn't know what
they were doing. I am not
stupid!"
I don't know Claire that
well, but I like this side of her. She should show it more often instead of
hiding behind all of that pretty hair. "Of course you are not
stupid." I say matter of factly.
"How did you know that they were messing with you?"
Connor seems pleasantly surprised by her show of confidence too.
Claire looks at him and blushes again, looking down at her
shoes. "I know a lot about computers and stuff. When I circled this block
for the third time, I heard them laughing in that room. I put two and two
together and knew that they were messing with my map."
"So you went in there?" I ask. I really can't believe
that she would confront them.
She looks thoughtful for a second then says, "Yes. It
wasn't the brightest move. I was just so angry. My feet were aching from
running circles and they were just sitting in there having a blast at my
expense!"
Connor's eyebrows furrow and it doesn't take a genius to figure
out what he's about to do. He side steps around Claire and stomps off down the
hall.
It doesn’t take me more than a few moments to realize I should
probably follow him in there. “Stay
here,” I say to Claire while I hurry to catch up to Connor.
Connor skips the pleasantries and immediately turns the door
handle. It's unlocked and he marches right in. I follow behind him.
The teens inside the room turn to look at us in bewilderment. I
count six of them, all guys, hanging around. In a normal room in this shelter, that
many people would result in overcrowding, but this isn't a normal room. I take
in the layout of it with my mouth hanging open in awe. This isn't a simple bunk
bed set up like my dad and I have. No, this is a plush layout that has to be at
least five hundred square feet of semi-luxurious furnishings. It's quite
beautiful and much more fancy than my room or even my old house. How in the
world does a person get a room like this? In comparison, this room makes mine
look like a prison cell.
One of the boys steps towards us with his hands raised. He looks
like a Ken doll with bleached blonde hair and big hazel eyes. His muscles look
too proportionate to have come from hard labor. Instead they probably are the
result of months spent with an expensive personal trainer. “Hey man, we were
just having a little fun,” he says. I
can tell from the sound of his voice that he was the one talking to Claire
earlier.
I look to Connor to try and gauge his reaction. His eyebrows furrow and his eyes get all
beady looking. It’s kind of scary if you
ask me. “Look pal, don’t you have
anything better to be doing than to be messing with this poor girl? Some of us
have to work around here.” Connor says nearly spitting in his face.
The guy he is talking to says, "I'm not your pal, the name's Zack." He says pal
with a disgusted look like he wouldn't touch Connor with a ten-foot pole. Then
with a mischievous grin on his face he turns to the others. “Hey fellas, this guy here wants to know if
we have anything better to do.” He hikes
his thumb back behind him pointing at Connor. They all laugh in unison like
it’s the funniest joke in the world.
I hear that hyena laugh and see a tall blonde who looks like a
life sized Barbie doll, come out from the bathroom. I catch a glimpse of the
bathroom before the door closes behind her. From what I can see, there is a
garden tub and a double vanity in there. A small amount of envy creeps up at
their luxuries and I try to squash it quickly. The girl must have seen my stare
because she speaks up in a haughty tone, "What? See something you
like?"
My cheeks burn with fury at her calling me out. "No."
I say and give her my best rolling of the eyes.
She sticks her hand on her hips then looks me up and down with
her big baby blue eyes. "I saw you
eyeing our place, you must be one of the less fortunate ones." Her voice
drips with a false sense of pity.
"First, I'm not less fortunate, I'm Willow. Second, green's
not really my color so no, I wasn't ogling your place." My chest aches
when I remember how often my mom used to tell us that green doesn't look good
on us when we were kids and saw others getting more than we had.
She doesn't respond.
Zack smirks at me then turns back around to Connor. “In answer to your question, no, we don’t
have anything better to do. Well, unless
you count twiddling our thumbs or taking a nap.
But hey, now that you mention it, maybe twiddling our thumbs does seem
more fun right about now. Whatcha think
fellas?” They laugh at his banter again
and my frown deepens.
Rage is bubbling up deep inside of me at this guy’s blazé
attitude. “Seriously,” I pipe up. “You
have nothing else to do? No job? No
school? There has to be something you
guys are good at other than messing up someone’s day here!” I know, it doesn’t deserve an Oscar, but
that’s all I’ve got. I keep my eyes
focused on him holding his gaze.
Zack sizes me up before answering. “Yeah, we go to school, but only in the
morning today. Tomorrow we start our Select
classes. Now as to jobs, no, of course not!
Well, now that you mention it, you may be able to count what we’re doing
now as a job. Teaching you both the art
of technological hacking. May do you
good someday." He looks back and forth from Connor to me and then settles
his eyes on me. "And as for you, I can give some private lessons if you
ask really nice sugar." He reaches his hand out as if he was going to grab
one of my curls and I swat it back down with a smack. He laughs. I don't have a
mirror, but I can bet that my face is the color of cherry pie right about now.
I'm fuming!
“Now, if you’ll be on
your way, we’re late for our appointment.”
He says the last part with a note of sarcasm.
As he starts to shoo us out I catch a glimpse of a photo above
the girl's bed. The girl and Zack are in it. They are a bit younger and
standing next to a woman who I'm assuming is their mom. I try to look a little
closer because something's caught my attention. It's strange, in the photo both
children seem to have the same golden brown eyes as their mother. Maybe it’s just the lighting or shadows.
Before I can get a better look, Zack blocks my view. Then, in the blink an eye, he’s ushered us
out the door and has slammed it in our faces.
I blink a few times trying to clear the cobwebs out of my head. “Come on, let’s get out of here,” Connor
says.
Claire is still standing in the hall where we last left her. She
looks like she's trying to figure us out. "Did you both just defend my
honor in there?" Her eyebrows are furrowed in thought.
"Well, we didn't do that great of a job, but I think they
got the point. Not that they took it to heart or anything." Connor
replies.
"They're just being jerks." I say.
Claire studies us with her icy blue eyes then gives a small
smile. "Thanks guys. Nobody has ever really done anything like that for me
before. Usually people just act like I don't exist. Sometimes I think I must
have a secret layer of camouflage because people often look right through me.
I'm not noticeable I guess. " Her smile drops.
Connor surprises me by saying under his breath, "I doubt
that."
Claire must not have heard him since she didn't blush at his
compliment. I add, "Well that's what friends should do for each
other."
"We’re friends?" She says the word like it's foreign
and I instantly feel horrible that this poor girl has had to feel this alone in
the world.
"If you want to be. I think we can use a support group in
here. Especially if we have to deal with people like that." I point back
with my thumb towards Zack's room.
She cocks her head at me and studies me for a second then says,
"Yeah, I think I'd like that." She smiles which lights her face up in
a new, beautiful way. Connor and I catch it like it's contagious and find
ourselves grinning too.
RULES:
Open to Everybody 13+ * Winner must respond within 48 hours*
*Please note, all giveaways will be shipped out at the end of the month.*
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15 comments:
Wow, y'all did this amazingly. Thank you so much for allowing us to participate in this meaningful event. <3
I'd love to read Project Ele - it actually sounds very, very good!
Per the Q: as my kids are no longer in school, I honestly don't know how the issue of bullying is being handled in our county school systems. On a personal level, it's just not tolerated.
Mary DeBorde M.A.D.
By teaching my Children its wrong to pic on others and helping them build self Confidence. Also by telling them if they see any kids getting picked on to stand up for them
I love this event!! It is personal for me. I was bullied a lot. Every new school I went to, there was something new that happened to me. There was one cruel thing that still stands out and several mean verbal confrontations and one physical. It never leave you and I am saddened that this happens to kids and adults every day. People can just be down right mean. I could go on and on...but I will stop for now. I cannot wait to read Project Ele~:)
I told my kids they have no right to bully anyone,but if they get bullied,I told them to knock the shit out of them.
You do your best to lift others up.
-K8
http://froze8.blogspot.com/
My talking about it and making it known.
Bullying can happen anywhere and to anyone.If you are a victim of bullying you must ask some advice to your teacher or parent to avoid it.
Making it known. In our school it just doesn't stand!!!
By standing up for your self and encouraging others to do so.
This a great event and it's pretty cool of you to host it!Thanks! :)
nbookaholic(at)gmail(dot)com
thank you for all the good you do :)
I tell my children that they don't need to change for other people. Bullies are just people who are not happy with themselves. They will stand up and not be pushed around. Thanks for the giveaway!
luranker@hotmail.com
I work with toddlers in a daycare center and we make sure to talk about differences and similarities in people and that it is what makes us wonderful. I think that is a very first important step.
I work with toddlers in a daycare center and we make sure to talk about differences and similarities in people and that it is what makes us wonderful. I think that is a very first important step.
sweetreaderma at comcast dot net
I pretty much just encourage girls or boys I know, into being themselves freely without fearing what others might say...
If they ever feel threatened or scared of doing it... I offer myself as example...
Somehow, someday... I hope to do more than just talk though... They all need guidance and love and acceptance... And they need to know they don't have to be anyone else but themselves in order to get that.
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