A Touching Conclusion

(I go to a school where I am a misfit, and bullied for no reason. I am in a science class, and the teacher has seated me at a table next to a guy I do not know very well. We’re taking a science test.)

Boy: “MAN, stop touching me!”

(The teacher shushes him. I assume he’s not talking to me, and continue to do my test, until about a minute later.)

Boy: “MAN, [my name]! STOP TOUCHING ME, DAWG!”

Me: “Wait, what?”

Teacher: “Both of you stop!”

Me: “But I—”

Teacher: “STOP!”

(I give up and return to my test. Without fail, a minute later…)

Boy: “MAN! [Teacher], TELL [my name] TO STOP TOUCHING ME, DAWG!”

Teacher: “[My name]!”

Me: “I’m not doing anything! We’re literally on two separate ends of the table!”

Teacher: “Well, whatever you must be doing, stop it!”

(At this point, I am angry and on the verge of tears, but continue working and move further away from the boy. Two minutes later…)

Boy: “[Teacher]! [My name] KEEPS TOUCHING ME!”

Me: “No, I’m not! Are you freaking serious, dude?”

Teacher: “BOTH OF YOU, OUT!”

Me: “But I’m not—”

(The teacher calls security and a dean from the hallway, and has me escorted out. I am treated as if I am resisting. At this point, I’m sobbing so hard that I cannot breathe. The dean has me sit in the adjacent lab room so that I don’t faint. While I am in there, he speaks in hushed tones to calm me.)

Dean: “Calm down. What happened?”

Me: “I don’t know! I was sitting, taking a test, and he started screaming that I was touching him, and I didn’t! I don’t even want to touch him! We were even on two separate ends of the table! Please let me finish the year!”

Dean: “Calm down, take some deep breaths. Put your head down, and I’m gonna go talk to [classmate].”

(While the dean is gone, I hear a commotion in the classroom beside me. The dean sits us both in the room, and calls for security for both of us. Suddenly, my teacher emerges and announces there are witnesses. There, lining up to speak on my behalf, are a small group of people, a couple of whom I believed disliked me. They all tell the dean I did nothing, and there was no reason for my classmate to raise a fuss. I am not punished, but I am sent to the nurse to make sure I’m okay. It turns out, he was attempting to get me barred from a grade-wide trip, and ended up getting himself barred. Thanks to the kindness of people who had heard the worst about me over three years and ignored it, I did complete my test, and I finished the year on the dean’s list.)