An anonymous account at our school filmed the most embarrassing kids and ranked them every Friday... — Transcript

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1. 0:00An anonymous account at our school
2. 0:01filmed the most embarrassing kids and
3. 0:02ranked them every Friday. So, I made an
4. 0:04account that ranked the people running
5. 0:05it. I found out I was on the list when
6. 0:06my phone buzzed in third period. A text
7. 0:08from a number I didn't know. Just a link
8. 0:09and two words. Sorry four. My post was a
9. 0:11photo of me in the cafeteria mid-bite.
10. 0:13Number four. Eats alone every day and
11. 0:15still can't finish a sandwich. Painful.
12. 0:16It was anonymous, but everyone knew it
13. 0:18was Sienna and her table. She ran our
14. 0:19grade like a landlord and nobody said a
15. 0:20word because nobody wanted to be in next
16. 0:22week's post. By the next Friday, two
17. 0:23kids had deleted their accounts. One,
18. 0:25Marlon, stopped coming to school
19. 0:26completely. They'd filmed him crying in
20. 0:28the stairwell after a call that his dad
21. 0:29was back in the hospital. Posted it and
22. 0:31ranked it number one. Cringe of the
23. 0:32year, the caption said. I saw his mom in
24. 0:34the office picking up his assignments
25. 0:35looking like she'd been crying in the
26. 0:36car. Sienna thought it was hilarious. I
27. 0:38heard her in the hallway. It's not
28. 0:39bullying if it's true. People just need
29. 0:41thicker skin. That's when I decided to
30. 0:42do something about it. I tried the right
31. 0:44way first. I brought the worst post to
32. 0:45Ms. Vance, the counselor. She nodded a
33. 0:47lot, said digital citizenship, and told
34. 0:49me she'd escalate it. A week later, the
35. 0:50account was still up with two new posts.
36. 0:52Someone had ranked Marlon again. Number
37. 0:53one again. Captioned, still gone, still
38. 0:55winning. Three kids switched lunch
39. 0:56periods just to avoid Sienna's table. I
40. 0:58watched her hold court every day
41. 1:00deciding who was a person and who was
42. 1:01content. I'd had enough. I caught her at
43. 1:02her
44. 1:03is hurting people. Marlon hasn't been
45. 1:05here in two weeks. Take it down." She
46. 1:06smiled. "Aw, did number four get his
47. 1:07feelings hurt? Nobody's looking at you
48. 1:09long enough to be mean." Her friends
49. 1:10laughed. I didn't. "Marlon's gone
50. 1:11because of what you posted." She
51. 1:12shrugged. "That's a him problem. We
52. 1:14didn't make him cry. We just filmed it.
53. 1:15If you can't handle being seen, don't be
54. 1:17embarrassing in public." "So, you'd be
55. 1:18fine if someone did the same to you?"
56. 1:19She laughed. "Nobody would dare." I
57. 1:21nodded. "You're probably right." And I
58. 1:22walked away. That night I thought about
59. 1:23what would actually reach her. Talking
60. 1:25didn't work. The counselor didn't work.
61. 1:26The only thing Sienna understood was
62. 1:27being on the wrong side of a screen. The
63. 1:29account was anonymous, but they'd gotten
64. 1:31cocky. Two weeks earlier, it had replied
65. 1:32to a comment from Sienna's real profile
66. 1:33by mistake, then deleted it. I'd
67. 1:35screenshotted it. I matched posting
68. 1:36times to free periods, caught a face in
69. 1:37a window reflection, and had all four.
70. 1:39Sienna, Bryce, Kaylee, and Devin. So, I
71. 1:41built my own ranking. Not of how anyone
72. 1:43looked, of what each of them had
73. 1:44actually done. Every post they'd filmed
74. 1:45ranked by how cruel it was. Real names
75. 1:47attached. The wrong account reply at the
76. 1:49top as proof. I spent three days on it.
77. 1:50I made it undeniable. I made sure Sienna
78. 1:52was number one. Friday 12 I greece. I
79. 1:54posted it and tagged everyone who
80. 1:55followed the original. Within 10
81. 1:57minutes, it reached every table. I
82. 1:58watched from my seat as phones lit up in
83. 2:00waves. At one table, the laughing
84. 2:02stopped. Someone slid their phone in
85. 2:03front of Sienna. She read it. Her face
86. 2:04went red, then white. She was number
87. 2:06one. "Filmed a kid crying about his dad
88. 2:07and called it cringe of the year.
89. 2:08Receipts attached." She stood up so fast
90. 2:10her chair tipped over. Her eyes swept
91. 2:11the room until they found me. I waved.
92. 2:13She came at me, the whole table behind
93. 2:14her. "You think this is funny? This is
94. 2:16harassment. I'm reporting you." I stayed
95. 2:17in my seat. "Harassment, got it." "This
96. 2:19is different. You used our names. You're
97. 2:21exposing people." "Is it different?
98. 2:22Because when I asked you to take your
99. 2:23account down, you said being seen is
100. 2:25just part of life." The cafeteria had
101. 2:26gone completely silent. "Here's the only
102. 2:28real difference," I said. "You ranked
103. 2:29people for things they couldn't control.
104. 2:30Crying, eating, existing, things that
105. 2:32just happen to you. I ranked you for
106. 2:34things you chose. Every post you decided
107. 2:35to make. So, which list is actually
108. 2:37fair?" Her mouth opened and closed.
109. 2:38Nothing came out. Bryce and Kaylee were
110. 2:39already backing away from her like she
111. 2:41was contagious. "If you want to go to
112. 2:42the office," I said, "I'll walk with
113. 2:43you. We can show them both accounts." We
114. 2:45both got called in. They deleted both
115. 2:46accounts and opened the investigation
116. 2:47Miss Vance should have started weeks
117. 2:49ago. Bryce and Devon flipped on Sienna
118. 2:50within the hour to save themselves. Her
119. 2:51table scattered by the end of the week.
120. 2:53By the next month, she was eating lunch
121. 2:54alone. She transferred over winter
122. 2:55break. Marlon came back the week after.