Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields who provides us with a photo prompt. Each week’s challenge is to write a 100-word story inspired by the photo. Click here to play along or just read more stories.
Fitting In
The bin rolled down the hill. It tumbled end over end until it hit the tree.
On top of the hill, the boys laughed and high-fived. One took a video to upload to his Instagram. Their laughter continued as they walked away. A prank well played. Next stop, the ice cream shop.
One boy didn’t laugh. Sammy Rodgers was small for his age, bookish, and quiet. The shy boy could never fit in with his peers. Though his peers found that he fit in the bin nicely. He was left unconscious and bleeding at the bottom of the hill.
NobbinBlog 
Children have so little sense of the consequences of their actions
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Worse, too many adults are grown children with the same sensibility.
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Ouch. There are groups of kids like that, but hopefully few and far between.
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I’m hopeful that our society can move away from such behavior entirely. Unfortunately, we seem split between wanting to evolve and wanting to be more barbaric.
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Sometimes it seems that the more connected we are, the more self-centered we become. Of course that self-centeredness is nothing new, maybe it is just more visible.As a society, we need to learn to take care of our own…
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Ooops, I commented on the wrong one. Of course, my comment almost fits here as well. Anyway, I agree, we do need to evolve away from this type of behavior.
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Such a sad story, but perfectly depicts the casual cruelty of children who have no thought for the consequences of their actions.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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It’s all fun and games until…
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What an unexpected twist to what I thought was going to be mere vandalism! Well played denouement, Nobbinmaug, and I’m gritting my teeth in rage.
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It’s not a very fun twist this week. Thank you, Dora.
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Nasty. Poor Sammy.
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We’re not as evovled as we like to pretend.
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Dear Nobbin,
I’m left hoping those boys suffer severe consequences. They need to understand the seriousness of their offences. And I hope they choke on their ice cream. Nuff said. Well done…your story, that is.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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The consequnces will be dire. One kid will get his phone taken away for a week. He’ll get it back after a tantrum, but it’s the thought that counts. One will get a stern talking-to. Another will…
Thank you, Rochelle.
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Reminds me of kids I used to have on probation. I’m glad the target of their maliciousness is bruised but unbroken. By the time kids are attacking others like this, there isn’t much to be done to hold them accountable 😦
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It’s a sad scenario all the way around.
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p.s. Looks like the pups and their caretakers got out for another walk in the park. Adorable little critter.
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Fortunately, it’s flipped. Now, the smokey days are more sporadic. Today’s a smokey one, though. Yuck!
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I can see this as a Cold Case episode. Makes me wonder what these kids grew into… Did guilt eat them? Did they grow colder?
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I think one became our president.
I’m sure there are varying degrees of guilt, from consumed by guilt to the psychopath who grows up to kill for fun.
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I’d like to think they looked back with shame at this episode. I’d like to think so, but I’ve been around the block and I’d put money on that not being the case.
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I’m sure it will be different for each offender. There are sure to be some who will only get worse with time.
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If that’s what they do as kids heaven help us when they grow older.
Here’s mine!
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I think some will realize their mistake and grow to be better people. Others will be problematic.
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I keep hoping people will evolve but it’s a slow process. And may be going the wrong way.
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There are definitely those who are actively trying to devolve.
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The tendency to pick on the smallest and most helpless never changes. I hope the poor child was rescued, and that those boys eventually pay for their cruelty.
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I’m sure it’s innate, survival of the fittest. It would be nice to think we’re more civilized than that. Maybe someday.
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Interesting story.
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Thanks.
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Ouch! Sad story but could be happening to some poor kid right now. We too had bullies when growing up but their influence was limited. Nowadays with the all prevalent social media they have a larger audience.
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Social medai has taken everything to previously unimaginable heights and depths.
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Grrrr … bullies and their hurtful antics. Not cool to be picked on, and not cool to do the picking.
You rankled me with this story … well done. Be well … Be Safe
Isadora 😎
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We claim to be civilized, but we’re still a savage species deep down. Rankling is a good sign that we’re moving in the right direction… slowly. Thank you.
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Oh, how very sad. I despise bullies. Very well written!
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Maybe someday, we’ll learn not to take out our insecurities on others. I doesn’t seem too likely, but we can hope. Thank you.
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Your excellent story catches exactly the casual cruelty of the crowd against the one who doesn’t fit in.
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That’s exactly what I was going for. Thank you.
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Poor little Sammy. I hope he grew up and overcame his bad start.
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“That which does not kill us…” There’s always hope. Bookish kids have a better chance to succeed than the bullies.
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A sad second look at what it means to fit in.
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Yeah, that’s not a way anybody wants to fit in.
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I was small and bookish as a kid… I was never exposed to anything this bad… but I have some bad memories.
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I’m still a small bookish kid. At least mentally.
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😦 The terrible realities of bullying, well described.
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Someday bullies will be extinct. Thank you.
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Amen to that …
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