It Was Just A Normal Day
At some point in our lives, we’ve all fallen victim to the hands of a bully. For Hannah Combs’, she thought it was going to be another normal day for her. Little did she know, this day would turn out more differently than she had expected.
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Imagine if, one sunny day, you were walking down the street quietly minding your business. Then, you begin to hear chaos ensue behind you. You turn around and see a group of bullies intimidating another child.
Kids Can Be Mean
You are frozen in place as you watch these events unfold right before your eyes. The group yells out horrible names as they push the kid to the ground. From where you’re watching, the pain and shame are obvious on the poor kid’s face.
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Unfortunately, bullying is not a rare occurrence. In fact, it is common worldwide. Around 83% of females and 79% of minors admit to being a victim of bullying at one point. Hannah, sadly, is part of this statistic, so her story needs to be heard.
A Positive 15-Year-Old
At the young age of 15 years old, it seemed as though Hannah had everything a teenager could ever want. She was a freshman at a high school in Killeen, Texas. She was confident, friendly, and definitely had no trouble fitting in.
Hannah was a naturally sweet kid with so much positive energy inside her. She learned how to be adaptable from her dad, so she knew how to make friends at her new high school. Although, it wasn’t just friends she made.
School Activities
For Hannah, school was easy. When her days in school would end, she would participate in other extracurricular activities to keep her busy. Hannah was an ambitious girl and was always looking to explore more ventures.
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It was because of this ambition that Hannah joined the Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps in school. She believed this could the key to her quest for greatness, but it was also because of her ambition that she attracted other unkind people.
The Attack
That day was another normal school day for Hannah. She poured all of her attention into her lessons and met up with her friends when the final bell rang. They all planned on going home together.
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They were waiting outside the ground of Harker Heights High School when Hannah and her friends started hearing loud feet hitting the pavement behind them. Suddenly, Hannah felt something sticky on her head. Someone had poured superglue!
Shock Everywhere
The boy who was responsible for this hate crime disappeared just as quickly as he appeared. Everything happened so fast that the group of freshman were stunned. Hannah’s world began turning upside down.
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Due to the speed of the assault, no one managed to stop the bully responsible for it. Everyone was left in shock at how this even happened in broad daylight. Finally, when it sunk in for Hannah, she let out a loud scream that brought everyone back.
Was It A Catfight?
At first, everyone thought Hannah was caught in a catfight as she was touching her hair and screaming loudly. They soon realized it was more than a catfight when they saw the damage that was done to Hannah’s hair.
Hannah’s friends did everything they could to calm her down from her hysteria. Sadly, they had no idea on what to do with the glue on Hannah’s head. The bully was gone and Hannah needed to be taken care of. So, one of her friends brought her to the clinic.
Talking To The Authorities
Hannah was slowly coming down from her shock and hysteria while the school nurse was treating her. While this was going on, another one of her friends called up Hannah’s parents and the rest searched for the bully.
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They managed to find the bully but were shocked at how remorseless he was. Their friends felt anger bubble up and were set on informing authorities. Back at the school clinic, the situation turned out to be worse than expected.
Serious Injury
The nurse had applied at first aid measures necessary to help Hannah, but the superglue had given her first-degree chemical burns on her scalp. There was nothing else the nurse could do in her power to help her.
When the school was sure that Hannah was taken care of properly, the assistant principal talked to the bully. Hannah was reeling in so much pain that she could barely talk. It wasn’t just the physical pain that Hannah was feeling.
Her Favorite Feature
Hannah was most proud of her hair. She saw it as one of her best features and couldn’t understand why anyone wanted to inflict harm on her or her hair. She was left to deal with the physical and emotional repercussions.
Hannah felt that by losing her hair, she had also lost a feature of hers that she truly loved. In her innocent mind, she believed that the only thing that she liked about herself was now also taken away from her. She shuddered at the thought of having to cut all her hair off.
A Family That Stuck Together
Hannah and her friends weren’t the only ones who were enraged at the incident, so were her parents. As soon as they heard about the incident, they were broken-hearted and felt a deep sense of injustice at how their daughter was treated.
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Once they were assured that their daughter was given the best treatment possible from the school nurse, they turned their attention to seeking justice. Hannah’s dad, Christian, barged into the school principal’s office.
Seeking Justice for His Daughter
Christian knew his daughter had a pure soul. He also knew her daughter would prefer suffering than implicate other people. So, he was not going to accept that a bully would ruin the reputation that Hannah had built.
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Christian kept himself calm and collected. He talked to the principal and asked that the bully be given a punishment. He wanted it to be a lesson for all that bullying was never going to be tolerated, especially if it was his daughter involved.
Will There Be Justice?
Christian knew what his rights were as a parent, so he demanded that they hold a disciplinary meeting as soon as possible. The principal assured Hannah’s parents that the bully would be given the proper punishment.
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Hannah’s parents were subconsciously aware that the boy’s future would possibly be affected by this, but they also wanted to do right by their little girl and give her the justice she deserved. They believed the school agreed, but what happened after shocked them.
The Verdict
When the school finally released the verdict, Hannah’s family was left in utter shock. Their daughter suffered first-degree chemical burns, but the boy’s punishment was barely enough to make up for what he did to her.
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The only punishment that the boy got was suspension. Hannah, on the other hand, had to shave half of her hair off. For many, it seemed as if the punishment was a mere slap on the hands. It was at that moment when Hannah’s family took matters into their own hands.
Facing The Battle Together
The pain that Hannah felt when the superglue was poured on her head could be equated to a horrible sunburn multiplied by 10. Hannah’s parents, Christian and Jessica, would not allow this horrible incident to go unnoticed.
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They knew that this was a losing battle, so they dropped the bullying case with this school. Although, this did not mean they would give up on it. Instead, they found a way to let the message be heard loud and clear.
Taking It Online
The school had disappointed Hannah’s parents, but they were just getting started. Jessica decided to take the story to Facebook, the one place where their voices would surely be heard. Thus, the Facebook page “Justice for Hannah” was born.
Although the page was meant to be for Hannah, it also became a page for other kids that had been in a similar position to Hannah’s. It was meant for innocent kids who became victims of notorious bullies. It was unbelievable what the Facebook page made.
A Loud Message
Heartwarming responses were pouring in from all around. Christian and Jessica were furious at the school’s lack of action but the support they got from the Facebook page gave them the satisfaction they needed.
They felt overwhelmed at all the support people were giving them. Messages from all around the were pouring in, some offering their support while others provided their own stories. The campaign against bullying was growing at a rapid pace.
Left With Scars
Hannah’s injuries finally healed after a few weeks, but she was left with scars that will remind her of that unfortunate day. However, these weren’t the only scars she dealt with. She was also left with emotional scars that hurt more than the physical scars she had. Hannah was confused as to why this boy decided to bully her.
Although Hannah had no answers to the questions she had, what she had gone through was something she will never forget. Despite what she had gone through, at least something good came out of the story.
Showing Support
Hannah had just gone through something traumatic. She had countless questions that were still unanswered. Her heart hurt but so did her scalp. However, there was one thing she never expected to happen, and that was the support she received from strangers.
Hannah was deeply moved by the messages of positivity she got. This incident inspired her to consider something else. Finally, she knew what she wanted do become—she was going to use her voice to help others who couldn’t protect themselves.
Her New Calling
Since Hannah was a kid, she had tried to figure out what her purpose in life was. She poured her soul into everything she did. After that horrible incident, she finally figured out what her true purpose in life was.
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Although the bully took away one thing Hannah liked about herself, she decided that he was not going to take anything away from her anymore. There was no way she was going to let this bully dim her light.
A Surprising Makeover
Hannah may have received a ton of support both online and offline, but the biggest support in Hannah’s eyes came from Nikki, the local hairstylist. She offered to cut Hannah’s hair for free to create something beautiful out of the superglued hair.
Nikki was more than happy to give this kindhearted 15-year-old a new look. Nikki admired Hannah for the fact that although she went through a traumatic experience, she overcame it with nothing but positive energy and optimism.
Her Silver Lining
There are no words to describe what Hannah experienced in school. She was bullied and received both physical and emotional scars. But despite the traumatic incident, they were able to see a silver lining.
No one expected this story to come out with such a positive ending. Today, Hannah adores her new look and is using her voice to help others out. While it is nice to see a nice ending to this story, there is still one question left unanswered.
An Insufficient Punishment
There was an increasing concern among parents about how the school resolved the incident. The fact that the story went public only confirmed that the bully got off lightly. The school reasoned that they were still looking into the incident.
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Parents were worried that the boy was still a potential threat to other children in school. They believe that if the boy does not face the consequences, it could snowball into something worse in the future.
Seeking Legal Advice
Many parents asked about the legalities of Hannah’s case when they noticed the absence of an appropriate response from the school. If they were to look at the school district’s code of conduct, it was quite clear.
“A student shall be removed from the regular campus and placed into a DAEP if the student engages in conduct containing elements of the offense of assault (with bodily injury) under 22.01(a)(1) of the Penal Code;(27,28).” The code of conduct classified assault as a serious offense, and the punishment for this was a campus probation with in-school suspension.
A Moving Story
Despite the trials that Hannah experienced, she had come out braver and more powerful. After a bully poured superglue over her head, burning her scalp and damaging her beautiful hair, she managed to turn things around for the best.
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After reading Hannah’s sad story, more and more people had begun to understand how serious and common bullying was. It just didn’t happen in school but, it also happened in our communities and across the internet. Despite Hannah’s experience, she still got the justice she deserved and much more.