She walked with her head down towards the sick bay. She could still hear the snickers and jokes across the hallway.
Words like "Whore, Dirty, Unclean" seemed to be in everybody's mouths and a wide berth was kept around her as she walked.
Her secret was out, she was sure and now she walked straight to the only place that it could have come out from.
Her eyes red and her heart beating, she opened the door, entered in and banged it shut as loudly and as angrily as she could.
Instantly the voices and name-calling from the hallway were shut yet the serenity of the sickbay was even more loud. The nurse was facing her wide eyed with a phone in her ear.
It seemed she just got the news.
"How could you?" The girl asked quietly, the tears flowing out.
"Oh Leah.."
"How could you!!?" The girl asked again, her tears turning into hurt and rage at the betrayal.
Nurse Debra didn't know what to say to the angry, crying girl in her office. The words she heard from the phone call moments before rang in her mind.
Reports from the class teacher of Class 5B of the rumors students were spreading that Leah was a prostitute who had AIDS.
The hurtful things that children can say to each other.
She didn't want to believe it yet a second later Leah was at her office and the look she gave said it all.
Leah crumpled with her back behind the door, her head on her knees and kept on crying.
"Leah, I didn't mean to cause any harm." Nurse Debra began...
"I just wanted to help keep you safe so I told your classmates of your condition. I wanted them to help keep away those who are sick from you so you won't get sick."
She didn't respond.
"Leah please..."
"We had just learned about HIV and AIDS yesterday. Our teacher had said that it was contacted through sexual intercourse." Leah said her voice was raw and her breathing sparse.
"I've not had sex. I was born like this... the doctor told me so... Yet... Yet..."
"I understand," said Nurse Debra.
She shook her head finally understanding where the problem was coming from and how the children would have seen it.
"Rem called me a prostitute. I've not had sex. I'm not a prostitute!!" Leah shouted again before crying some more.
Nurse Debra consoled her, held her till she cried herself to exhaustion and laid her on a bed to rest.
She quickly went out to the class and asked the teacher to point out those who were spreading the rumors. Then she gave those people a special assignment to research and find ways people can contact AIDS.
She also wrote to the principal, telling her about the incident and advising on what could be done so it won't occur again.
That's how at every term, in depth talk shows about different diseases were arranged. The next term's theme was on aids.
The topic was Information: The Aids for AIDS.
Sadly, Leah in class 5 didn't see such development, as just before her exams she fell ill and didn't stand back up.
As Nurse Debra prepared for the talk show she was reminded about the tears of Leah and silently she swore. Even though the illness is incurable, she'd aid the patient in any way she can.
1st of December is World Aid's Day so I just wanted to write a little something which would help honor the holiday. Despite its infamous name, AIDS is a disease that still a lot of people misunderstand.
At such, its victims are still victims of abuse, bullying and distancing for fear of them sharing the virus. This abuse further affects the victims and worsens their conditions, and the worsened condition breeds more fear for ignorant people.
Thus what people need is information. That's the real aid for AIDS.
Header image imagined using Meta AI
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