Short Stories

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“Tracy, did you hear?” Kelly was out of breath and doubled over with excitement.

“Hear what?” Tracy replied.

“Jimmy Kelper is going to fight Tyler Gobbs after school.”

“And this involves me how?”

“Huh?” Kelly wasn’t sure she understood the question. “Whatchya’ mean?”

“I mean why do I want to see Jimmy and Tyler fight?” Tracy answered as she continued to search her locker for an extra pen.

“Because everyone is going to be there, even Todd Griffen – the guy who thinks your hot!”

“Kelly, first of all, Jimmy and Tyler don’t need a crowd to cheer them on. They’re probably only fighting in the first place because one of them was embarrassed by the other in front of a crowd. Now that same crowd is going to urge them to injure one another, and you think I want to be part of that group? No thanks. And second, I don’t even know Todd Griffen, so exactly why should I care if he thinks I’m hot, cold, or lukewarm?”

Kelly was stunned. She knew Tracy was different from most of her other friends; she never used bad language, refused to gossip about others, and believed in Christianity. But Kelly couldn’t imagine anyone not wanting to see a good fight, especially a fight between two of the coolest guys in the school.

Tracy could see Kelly was confused by her stance, so she decided to make the next move. She put her hands on Kelly’s shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes before she began speaking again. “Kelly, I know how hard peer pressure can be. Believe me, I know. I want to tell you something about my past, but I need you to promise me that you will not tell anyone else. I’m telling you something I haven’t told anyone in this school. And I am doing it so you can see why I act the way I do. Okay?”

Kelly could see tears trying to break free from Tracy’s eyes.

“Kelly, my family transferred to this school district because of a terrible mistake I made two years ago. It was the 4th of July, and everyone was lighting off fireworks like crazy. Me and some friends went off by ourselves, away from any adults, and came across a house with the window open – even the screen was propped up. One of my friends dared me to try and shoot a bottle rocket into the house. I can’t believe how stupid I was for even thinking about doing it. But what’s worse is that…I actually did it.”

“Oh my gosh,” Kelly interrupted. “What happened?”

“Well, at first, nothing. But then there was a loud bang, then silence. I looked at my friends, and they looked at me, then we just busted out laughing and ran off.” Tracy stopped and a few tears began to flow.

Kelly hugged Tracy and tried to comfort her.

“About an hour later, after we were already back home, we heard the fire trucks. I just kept quiet, never telling my parents what I had done. The next day, I read in the newspaper that a sixty-year-old man had been severely burned by the fire…the fire I caused!” Tracy dug her face into Kelly’s shoulder and held her tight. Kelly felt so much compassion for her friend, and she was amazed anyone could keep such a secret for so long.

“I felt so guilty, so terrible, so helpless; I had to do something. So I confessed to everything. I told the truth. I told my mom and dad, my older sister, and the cops,” Tracy said, the school bell ringing through the hall. Tracy and Kelly were now considered late for their next class.

“Did they arrest you?”

“I was booked and kept in juvenile for a short time, but my parents hired a lawyer. I ended up serving a year probation, performing 300 hours community service, and promising to maintain a 3.0 or above grade point average for my remaining high school grades. But I asked for an extra punishment, and the judge granted it – actually two extra punishments.”

“You asked to be punished more?” Kelly was shocked.

“Yep. I asked if it was okay for me to visit with the man I had hurt while he was in the hospital. I read to him everyday – whatever he wanted me to read. He usually wanted me to read the Bible, but he also had me read him some C.S. Lewis and Max Lucado stuff too.”

“Oh my gosh! That is so sweet, Tracy. And what was the second punishment?”

“I made a video tape talking about peer pressure. I tell my whole story, exactly like I have just told you, only a little more detail. It is being distributed all over the country, but I asked them to please not use it at this school. I didn’t want people here to think I wanted their sympathy, or people to think I thought I was somehow special for what I did. What I caused was a horrible thing. The scars on that man are from me. I did that to him. I don’t want to leave scars on another person – inside or out.”

“Tracy – ”

“Yeah?”

“I promise never to tell anyone what you told me.”

The two hugged again.

“And one more thing. How bout’ you and I hit the Dairy Queen after school, instead of watching two guys givin’ out scars.” Kelly’s words made Tracy’s heart leap with joy.

“Sounds great, Kelly. But for right now, I think we better get ready to accept our punishment.”

“Punishment?”

“Yep, we’re late for class!”

And the two eleventh graders jogged to their separate classrooms, forever connected by a nonverbal decision to confront negative peer pressure where ever it may rear its grotesque concerto.

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