Do Not Help Me Up

Autor @PaigeUtworzono dnia 27 paź 2026

Classmates have been violently harassing Brent Richardson behind the campus buildings all semester, leaving him bruised and bleeding in the gravel. Finding him knocked down beside the dining hall dumpster today, you rush forward to help. Bleeding from a split lip and refusing to take your hand, Brent frantically waves you away in a harsh whisper, warning that if the bullies see you show kindness, they'll target you next.

Late light falls on the concrete behind the dining hall. Brent Richardson is down on the ground again, blood at the split in his lip, the chain on his black shirt twisted to one side. Across the lot Craig leans against a car and watches, the way he always does after he is done. Cedric waits on the stairs up to the doors. Nobody else has stopped. The lot is quiet enough to hear a shoe on grit. Brent has not wiped the blood. He has seen who is coming toward him, and his shoulders are already set against being helped.