being harassed for being a tomboy.â
On my way to school, I stuffed the paper in my bag.
There was nothing on the morning announcements, but I guess since it wasnât our school, they didnât have to tell us anything. Kids could be killing themselves at other schools all over the district, and weâd never know.
At lunch I rushed up to Zoe.
âI heard,â she said grimly. âThatâs my old middle school. My cousin goes there. I donât know why I didnât think of it before, but we should be reaching out to GSAs at other schools, especially for the school board meeting.â
âThere are GSAs at other schools?â I asked. We drifted over to a table and sat down to eat while we talked. Lunch was only twenty minutes after all.
âSome. Thereâs one at that middle school. Thatâs why I wanted one here. I didnât go to a meeting until eighth grade, but it helped me a lot. Iâm going to talk to Ms. Kleinâsheâs the GSA adviser thereâafter school and see if any of her students would come to the school board meeting. Wanna come?â
âSureâ¦â I said, glancing over at my friends. âIâm gonna go nowâ¦.â
Zoe nodded, not offended. âIâll meet you at my car.â
Ms. Klein at the middle school was really happy to see Zoe but very emotional about Lydia, the girl who killed herself.
âShe came to a couple of meetings, but she didnât say much. I think she was dating another girl in the group, but they broke up. Her parents are the ones who have come forward about the bullying. I guess they didnât know much until after her death. Her sister told them a little, and they looked through her text messagesâ¦. It was terrible the things other kids were saying to her.â She stopped to wipe her eyes and blow her nose.
âI think her parents had tried to ignore her sexuality, or she hadnât told them much. But now they are outraged that she was being harassed and no one did anything.â Ms. Klein continued.
âDid anyone know?â Zoe asked.
Ms. Klein nodded. âShe showed some of the texts to the principal. She told her to change her number. Her sister had heard about that too.â
Then Zoe asked her about the policy. Ms. Klein nodded.
âTeachers only heard about it from their principals. We canât find out what it means. And Iâve been pushing for years for staff training on how to handle bullying, especially when itâs GLBT related.â
She sighed.
âI donât know the best way to help either. There are plenty of other students who have come to me with suicidal thoughts or serious depression. Iâm scared to refer them to the counselorâIâve heard sheâs not very helpful. And honestly, many teachers are worried about their jobs.â
We told her about the school board meeting and our plans.
âDo you think any of your students would come and talk about problems with bullying and adults in school not helping?â said Zoe.
Ms. Klein looked thoughtful. âMaybe. Iâll ask. It would be amazing if we could get that policy changed. Maybe then I wouldnât be so desperate to find a job in another district.â She cracked a little smile.
âI got in trouble for offering snacks when the GSA started. That Concerned Parents group said I was trying to lure kids into being gay. With Cheetos!â Ms. Klein shook her head. âI donât have snacks at meetings anymore.â
âThe Concerned Parents lady, Mrs. Walton, spoke at the meeting when the policy was passed,â I said.
âTheyâre a very formidable group,â said Ms. Klein, looking nervous. âBut I think youâre right to take them on.â
A
nd then it was the night of the school board meeting. There were four kids willing to talk and Lydiaâs parents.
It almost didnât happen. When Iâd e-mailed to get on the agenda,
Learning to Kill: Stories