Transcription
What rule did your teacher break?
I was in music class when I felt that familiar tingling in my fingers. I'd been seizure free for three months, but I knew what was coming. "Miss Blackwood, I need to get to the nurse," I said, already feeling the electricity building in my brain. "I'm about to have a seizure."
The substitute teacher rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Every kid suddenly has epilepsy now. It's trendy."
"No, you don't understand." The tingling was spreading up my arm. I had maybe 2 minutes before I'd lose consciousness. "I have a seizure action plan in my file."
"Sit down." She stood up and walked to my desk, but instead of helping, she leaned over me. "You know what my sister did when her daughter claimed to have seizures? She ignored them completely. Within a week, miraculously cured."
Emily jumped up and ran forward the emergency button by the door. "She's not faking. I've seen her seizures before."
The sub blocked her. "The only thing seizing is her need for attention." Then she did something I'll never forget. She walked to the door, turned the deadbolt, and dropped the key in her pocket. "Nobody leaves until she admits she's faking. This victim complex is destroying your generation."
"Call 911," someone yelled, reaching for their phone.
"Phones in the box now," the sub grabbed the collection box, "or you're all suspended."
My vision was starting to blur at the edges. 2 minutes. That's all I had before my brain would misfire completely. The number my neurologist made me memorize.
That's when my hated cousin Walsh decided to open his mouth. "She used to fake seizures ever since she was little."
The sub's face lit up. "See, even her boyfriend knows she's performing." She walked back to the Smartboard and pulled up YouTube. "You know what really helps with fake seizures?" She searched for "flashing strobe light 10 hours" and hit play. "Exposure therapy. If you were really epileptic, I wouldn't do this. But since you're faking..."
The screen exploded with rapid flashing. White, black, white, black. My brain felt like it was being electrocuted. Emily screamed, "Turn it off."
"Photosensitive epilepsy is real." The sub cranked the brightness to max. "Psychosomatic reaction. She believes she's seizing, so her body mimics it."
That's when David grabbed his head. I guess he had photosensitive epilepsy, too, because his whole body went rigid. "I can't. The lights."
Everyone lost it. Kids were diving under desks, throwing jackets over their heads. "Turn it off. Turn it off." Malik was trying to cover my eyes with his hands. "Please don't seize. Please don't seize." Ryan ran to the door and started slamming his shoulder into it. "Help. Somebody help."
The sub laughed. "Sit down or you're expelled." Three other kids were now on the floor. The strobing was triggering something in everyone. Migraines, nausea, panic. "Make it stop." Jenna was crying, hands pressed to her temples.
Through the door window, Mr. Peter from next door looked in. The sub stepped in front of the window, blocking his view of the chaos, and gave a thumbs up before pulling down the shade. He walked away.
"This is torture," Emily screamed. 1 minute left. I could feel my consciousness slipping. My muscles were already starting to twitch. The sub actually turned the speed up on the strobe. "When I was in school, nobody had seizures. Now, suddenly, everyone's neurode divergent. Thanks, social media."
My body wasn't mine anymore. The seizure hit like a lightning bolt. Sarah told me later that's when things got really bad. My seizure was violent, thrashing, foaming, turning blue. She tried to turn me on my side, but I was convulsing too hard. "She's dying," Sarah screamed, "My blood on her hands from where I'd bitten my tongue."
The sub stood there eating an apple. "Oscar worthy performance, though the fake blood is a bit much."
That's when Billy lost it. This sweet, quiet kid who never caused trouble. He grabbed the music stand like a battering ram. "Violence? Really?" The sub pulled out her phone to record. "This is going straight to the principal." He swung at the smartboard. Crack. The screen went black. "Destruction of property," she shrieked. "That's a felony."
But Billy didn't stop. He turned and smashed the door window. Glass everywhere. David was having his own seizure 3 ft away. Jenna vomiting from the strobe exposure. Complete chaos. "Assault. You're all going to jail."
That's when my boyfriend Darren saw me through the broken window and completely lost it. He reached through, slicing his hand on the glass, fumbling for the lock. "Don't you dare," the sub screamed. But Emily and Billy held her back.
The door flew open. Teachers came flooding in. "Call 911," someone screamed. "Multiple students seizing." The sub was still yelling as they restrained her. "They're all faking. This is mass hysteria."
The paramedic said I was clinically dead for 90 seconds. They had to intubate me right there in the hallway while working on David 10 ft away. Turns out he had undiagnosed epilepsy.
Miss Blackwood was given paid time off while her performance was under review. A few of the parents worked to set up a GoFundMe to cover treatment costs.
Fast forward 2 weeks later, and we were sitting in science class when they broke the news. David's parents only managed to raise $30,000 of the $130,000 needed for treatment. He didn't make it. That's when I knew we had to take matters into our own hands and destroy Miss Blackwood. Full story on channel link below.