*TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE*
It was a grey and stormy day at Glendora High School in the year of 1958, and Maya Menderez was late for 1st period, as usual. She was always late because she was always bullied constantly. The teacher thought to himself, she is later than she usually is, but eventually decided that she was out sick. After all, he knew that even though she had depression, she has yet to think suicidal thoughts and probably never will. Just then, Jacob King and his gang of jerks came in late as always. Their real reason for being late was that they were the group that caused Maya’s depression. Every day before school, Jacob would lead them to Maya and torture her.
“Where’s Maya?” he asked innocently. “Is she skipping class?”
It was not until after class that everyone realized why she was late. Right outside the classroom, hanging from a tree, was Maya Menderez. Everyone was in shock. They all knew that she had been suffering depression but never thought it would get this bad. The police rushed quickly to the scene, as did the ambulance, but it was too late. She was gone.
The police analyzed the situation. “It was a suicide,” they said finally. “After all, she had been suffering from depression. There’s nothing else it could be.” How very wrong they were.
The real story is that Maya was murdered, knocked out cold then hung on a tree to die. But who could have done this? What kind of monster would harm an innocent girl suffering depression? Why it was none other than Jacob King and his gang. They never got caught, never got arrested.
However, Jacob did reach a horrible end in 1959. Yes, the very same year of the first GHS graduation. It was 3 days before the Senior Graduation Ceremony, and Jacob King could not be prouder. He had gotten rid of Maya, didn’t get caught, and was about to go to Stanford University! He had already received his acceptance letter.
Then the next day he was found hanging from the very same tree as he had hanged Maya. Nobody could comprehend why he would have done this. He was not at all feeling down, so why would he have committed suicide? The truth is that he did not hang himself.
Legend has it that the culprit was none other than Maya Menderez. “But how is that possible if she’s dead?” you are probably asking the GHS newspaper, fully aware that it can’t hear nor understand you (unless you weren’t aware, if that’s the case then you are now).
The legend goes that it was her ghost that possessed Jacob and, as punishment for his actions, made him hang himself. Now she roams the school watching for those who dare to pick on other kids, and when they do, they are found hanging 3 days later.
So next time you want to make fun of someone for being smart or punch someone with glasses, just remember what Jacob King did to Maya Menderez, and what Maya did to Jacob in return.
Caitlyn Marrero is a freshman at Glendora High School and loves to tell stories. She loves to write sci-fi stories and kid friendly mysteries. She likes to tell ghost stories but this is the first time she ever wrote one. She would like to thank her little brother, Asher, for inspiring her to write a ghost story with a moral about bullying, and can't wait for her fellow students to read her creation.
