Beat Depression

It started as a boring night in our town as usual, the girls; Jess*, Madison*, Elizabeth* and I were decked out in our scrubs driving around town. A friend of ours from Smithfield* (our town’s biggest rival) called and we decided to meet up at Stop n Shop. The girls and I were standing around talking to the 5 guys; Matt, Sam, Jared, Travis and Mike from Smithfield*. When some guys from our hometown showed up and made a phone call to a kid that liked Jess. Steve who likes Jess tends to be extremely jealous, and came driving into the parking lot way to fast, and drunk. He hit Matt’s car and did not bother to stop. Matt was very angry and wanted Steve to get back to the parking lot so that things could be settled. After several calls from our cell phones and much yelling, Steve never came back to the parking lot. The girls and I parted ways with the guys but throughout the night we continued to meet up at random times.

Nothing much had come out of our night, and around 1130 I dropped Madison off at her house. Jess, Elizabeth and I decided we would head home as well. For what seemed to be the 10th time, I drove past Stop n Shop and noticed our friends from Smithfield sitting in the parking lot. We stopped in and within seconds the guys from our town and their friends that had hit Matt’s car came speeding into the parking lot. They told them they would not settle anything at Stop n Shop and to follow them. Jess , Elizabeth and I decided not to follow them, and rather I would bring them home. On the way home a friend from our school pulled up and asked where the party was tonite. We decided that we would drive there to show him how to get there. As we drove down the street where the huge party was, we noticed about 40 kids standing in front of the house yelling and acting rowdy. Then it clicked I realized the kids from my town had the kids from the other town follow them to this party. They had set them up.

Thinking that I was from Smithfield, a beer can was thrown at my car, inches from the driver’s side window, which made me even angrier. I took the corner and saw Matt and his friends straight ahead. I drove as fast as I could to tell them to get out of there. Matt took me seriously and his friends began to get into the car with the exception of one. By then the kids from my town had ran behind my car and pulled Matt and his friend out of the car and began to beat him up. Abou t 30 kids from my town started to beat up the two of them. It was the most disturbing thing I had ever seen. Matt was laying on the ground getting kicked in the head, and stomach, while his friend had gotten punched across the face and was bleeding everywhere. I got out of my car and started screaming at all the guys, hoping that someone in the neighborhood we were in would hear me. The guys that were beating up Matt and his friends were all angry and drunk, however they were not the ones that hit Matt’s car. They were kids that graduated 2,3 and 4 years ago, and heard that some kids from Smithfield wanted to fight, which wasn’t true at all. In reality they did not want to fight at all, they just wanted to settle things. Finally Matt and his friend got up and into the car and were brought home.

Matt suffered many bruises and cuts all over his face and body while his friend suffered the same as well as stitches. For the severity of the fight, they were not hurt as badly as they could have been. I had never been so angry. I watched two kids get beat up for no reason at all. It was different for me than it was for Elizabeth, Jess and Madison. Elizabeth, Jess and Madison hung out with the guys from our town every weekend, they were some of their best friends. Whereas I tend to hang out with people from Smithfield because I was never really close with the guys in my grade from my town. That night I cried my eyes out not knowing what would come of this, or how Matt and his friends were now. That Monday in school Madison and I had to listen to the guys brag about “how awesome” the fight was. “How cool” it was to watch Matt get kicked in the head. It was awful. I had never been so disgusted by anyone.

- Anonymous, 18, MA