• If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911 or text 988.
Text HOME to 741741
Get Help Now
NARRATIVE SERIES
 

Four Paths. One Root Cause.

These are fictional stories inspired by real patterns. Each character faces the same enemy — bullying — but chooses a different way to survive. Each path leads somewhere dark. But each story also shows where intervention could have changed everything.
  • Content Warning: These stories contain themes of bullying, substance abuse, gang violence, depression, and suicide. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 now.
How Athletes Change the Ending
Get Help Now
MARCUS
GANG PROTECTION
AALIYAH
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
DAVID
DEPRESSION & ISOLATION
JADE
BULLYCIDE

Meet the Four Stories

MARCUS

Gang Protection
  • Bullied and abandoned, he searched for safety in all the wrong places.
Story 1

AALIYAH

Substance Abuse

  • Cyberbullying and rumors pushed her toward pills.
Story 2

DAVID

Depression & Isolation

  • Mocked for his stutter, he disappeared inside himself.
Story 3

JADE

Bullycide
  • Exclusion and relentless bullying left her with nowhere left to turn.
Story 4
Story 1

Marcus

Gang Protection
  • They said they’d have my back. Nobody else did.
New to school, Marcus was targeted from day one. His lunch would be knocked to the ground, his shoes were taken, and he stopped eating in the cafeteria.

When his mother called the school, nothing changed.

 

In the park, older guys offered protection and belonging.

 

  • By 15, he had a record.
  • By 17, he had been shot at twice.

Where intervention could have changed everything

  • A teacher or coach who noticed and included him.
  • A safe adult who showed up and listened.
  • A different connection that gave him real protection.
Story 2

Aaliyah

Substance Abuse
  • The pills didn’t make it better. They just made it quiet.
A fake account. Rumors. Mean group chats. Aaliyah woke up with panic before school. Her parents dismissed it as teenage drama.

Pills from a friend became her relief — then addiction.

 

Later, she was stealing pills and buying from strangers.

Where intervention could have changed everything

  • A teacher or coach who noticed and included him.
  • A safe adult who showed up and listened.
  • A different connection that gave him real protection.
Story 3

David

Depression & Isolation
  • I stopped trying to be seen. It was easier to disappear.
David stuttered, and that made him a target. He was mocked, recorded, and laughed at every day.

He stopped talking in class, ate alone, and withdrew from robotics — his one escape.

 

He was eventually diagnosed with major depressive disorder.

Where intervention could have changed everything

  • A teacher who stopped the bullying early.
  • A peer buddy or mentor who stood with him.
  • An athlete who included him and noticed his absence.
Story 4

Jade

Substance Abuse
  • "She didn’t want to die. She wanted the pain to stop."
Jade, 14, loved drawing and anime. On the spectrum, she was easy to misunderstand. Exclusion turned into “rate the weirdos” list.
Teachers and counselors failed to act. Retaliation got worse. Her journal and texts showed escalating pain. The outcome was bullycide.

Where intervention could have changed everything

  • When exclusion began. When the list circulated.
  • When she told adults. When retaliation started.
  • Intervention at every stage could have saved her.

Different Paths. Same Failure to Protect.

Targeted

Bullied or excluded

Ignored

Adults don’t act

Isolated

No safe place to turn

Harm Escalates

Choices feel limited. Pain becomes unbearable.

These Stories Are Fictional. The Patterns Are Not.

Every day, real kids face the same crossroads as Marcus, Aaliyah, David, and Jade. Bullies push. Systems often fail. Silence lets it grow. The question is whether we’ll intervene before the ending is written.

How Athletes Change the Ending
Get Help Now