The Cruelty of Children

I was worried about my daughter. She is fourteen years old and I noticed that she seemed to be withdrawn and very secretive. Like any father, I felt protective towards her and wanted to help. I installed text forwarding software on her mobile phone and waited to see what would happen. I justified this to myself – she is my girl and I have to protect her. Many things were going through my mind – drugs, boys and all kinds of scenarios. She would not talk to her mother or me, so I thought I would just check things out. Very soon I found out what was happening. The first text to be duplicated to my phone read:

“Today it happens. See you you-know-where after school. We are going to get you.”

I was rather mystified and went along to my daughter’s school. I watched her come out of the gates, look around nervously and begin walking home. Nothing happened. I was baffled.

The next morning at 8am I got another message:

“You didn’t come. Now we aren’t happy. Going to get you on the way in.”

I sat in the kitchen, drinking coffee and nibbling some toast although my appetite wasn’t there. My wife came down and informed me that Kate wouldn’t be going to school.

“She’s got a stomach ache,” she told me, shrugging, “she’ll be ok.”

Around midday I received another text.

“Hiding, scaredy cat? You have to face us some time.”

I was very tempted to phone the number these messages were coming from but then Kate would know what I was doing and I was only doing this out of concern.

Finally I got a text I could do something with:

“5pm at the back of the school. If you aren’t there, you’ll be sorry.”

Kate would be in bed. I would be at the back of the school at 5pm. I had to get to the bottom of this. I found it hard to concentrate on anything that day, concern for my daughter at the forefront of my mind. At five minutes before 5pm I was around the back of Kate’s school. Three girls were waiting there. I pretended to tie my shoelace.

“Bet she doesn’t come again,” one was saying.
“She will. She has to see us sometime,” replied a chubby girl, lighting a cigarette and inhaling deeply, “and then we’ll get her. Got to be careful though, this is our last warning.”

The girls had not even looked in my direction, so they had not realized then my mobile phone had more than one use. I had videoed their entire conversation. I went straight up to them and introduced myself. I warned them that if I showed the recording to their headmaster, they would be expelled. The girls looked terrified. This was just a stupid game to them but they had been making my daughter’s life hell.

Within a week, Kate was back to her normal, chatty self. The bullies had found someone else to pick on, perhaps. Kate never said anything to me anyway and she was happy again. Her happiness means the world to me.