McCallion
Quest

Swinging

by: Christine McCleary

Stacey Harrison sat in the courtroom, her face portraying no emotion. Her face was almost pretty, if it weren't for the long scar marring her cheek. After hours of deliberation, the jury had finally reached a verdict. She stared straight ahead as the jurywoman said her piece. Finally, the words that would determine the young girl's future were emitted. "We the jury, find the defendant guilty of criminal harassment", the woman said. Suddenly, the room exploded into noise. The stern judge pounded his gavel against his polished desk. "Order in the court!" He bellowed, his face turning a bright shade of red. He addressed the young girl: "I hereby sentence you to 12 months in correctional prison. Smarten up, young lady, or we'll be meeting again." She remained expressionless as she was led out of the courtroom by the bailiff.

The story began 4 months prior. I recall Dana Weal as a bright and carefree girl. We were never great friends, but we had enough of a relationship to wave to each other in the halls. I guess you could explain it by saying that our friends ran in different social circles. About 2 months ago, I started to notice changes in Dana’s attitude. I remember her snapping at teachers, flunking tests, and she seemed so tired all the time. I just assumed, like the rest of us, school pressures were beginning to weigh her down. I had no idea that Jeanine and her cronies had been teasing her, calling her names, and had even gone to the extreme of physically assaulting her. Apparently, the worst aspect of their interest in Dana was their threats. The threats had started off small but had now become so extreme; It became so bad, Dana wouldn't walk home for lunch or after school alone. Her Mom or Fiona, her best friend, always accompanied her.

It was soon after Christmas Break when the whole situation finally exploded. Dana and I were sitting in French class when she was bombarded with an egg. It exploded on impact against Dana's back. I watched the following events unfold, as if they were happening in slow motion. Dana turned slowly to face her assailant. There stood Stacy Harrison, the school's most notorious student -- and Jeanine's best friend. With a piercing shriek, Stacy launched herself at Dana, her claws unsheathed. I watched her kick and bite, scratch and slap poor Dana. Dana scratched at Stacey's face, blindly, leaving a streak of blood on her face.

It was at that moment the teacher walked in and stopped dead in her tracks. "What are you doing?" she shouted at them. Stacy sneered at her and with one last shove, she sent Dana sprawling into her desk and sauntered out of the classroom. The teacher sent Dana to call her mom and that was the last time I saw Dana Weal alive.

The next morning, my dad called me into his study. "Honey", he said, "I have some bad news. Your friend, Dana..." He looked down at his hands. "Yes?" I asked tentatively, suddenly afraid. He looked up at me, with a grim expression on his face. "Your friend Dana...is dead." I stared at him, stunned, "She died last night, honey. I'm sorry." Tears blurred my vision and I choked back a sob. I couldn't believe it; Dana was gone?

After the fracas at school, she'd gone home. She went straight to her room and had written her parents a long letter. Very methodically, she then began to hang a piece of rope around a sturdy pipe, that hung in her closet. And then, she secured a noose around her neck. Calmly, she grabbed a small stool from the foot of her bed, stood on it and making sure all was right, she slipped from the stool, the rope cinching tightly around the slender arch of her throat, cutting off her breath. As her eyes closed and the blood rushed from her brain, a single word escaped her blue lips. "Finally...."

Alumni Featured this issue - Christine McCleary, Grade 10 Clarkson Secondary School

One of our featured writers in this issue of the alumni section is Christine McCleary. Christine’s submission, featured in this issue is entitled Swinging. The short story was actually a short assignment she did this year, for her grade 10 English class and was inspired by the much publicized true events surrounding the tragic story of Dawn Marie Wesley, the Vancouver teen that committed suicide to escape the constant threats of a schoolyard bully.

Christine, now 16, and presently attending Clarkson Secondary school, left McCallion two years ago with the graduating class of 2000, and with fond memories of her time in the halls of Hazel. “The reason for which I am so fond of Hazel is because it was there that I was encouraged (and sometimes pushed) to make goals for myself and to actually achieve them. It was at Hazel where I learned to expect things of myself and to make something of myself”, says Christine.

Since she left Hazel, Christine claims to have led a typical, but boring adolescent life…but her recent history proves her wrong. Since leaving Hazel, Christine has immersed herself in different aspects of the arts. An avid reader, Christine’s new passion is acting. She recently had one of the leads in Clarkson’s version of a well known children’s play entitled Head a Tete. The play, which was performed as an entry in the prestigious Sears festival, went on to win the regional competition of Peel District entries and went on to represent Peel at the finals, held in Toronto. Thanks to the outstanding contribution of Christine, her fellow lead, and the stage crew, the play garnered four different awards.

Christine’s passion for the arts has definitely influenced her decisions about the future. She plans to finish high school, focusing on taking the highest level courses in Drama and English and then plans to go onto Ryerson to pursue a career in either broadcast journalism or in theatre arts.

She credits some of the inspiration and her love of the arts to her Grade 7 English teacher, Dave Riddell. “I hope this doesn’t come off sounding sappy, but to be honest, Mr. Riddell was the first person to tell me I had a potential. It was he that nurtured my so-called talent, by allowing me to explore anything that held my interest for more than ten minutes. I felt as though I could do anything at Hazel…except that is…become the world’s most renowned mathematician”.

We, at the Quest, hope that Christine will continue to share with us her development as a writer and lover of literacy. We wish her continued success and we look forward to seeing more of her contributions in the future.