Squano

This is a triggering story involving family death and bullying. This is meant to teach what is happening in our society today. I’m not going to sugar coat it. If you think you can’t handle it, please don’t trigger yourself.

Albina Wilson is a girl who was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on November 17th, 2000. She was born to American father Tom Wilson and Russian mother Tatiana Wilson.

She lived in Saint Petersburg until she was 10 years old and her parents passed away. After her parents’ death, her grandma in America was given custody of her.

Albina had no prior knowledge about the US, her parents had planned on living in Russia the rest of their lives. English was rarely spoken in her home, though she could speak it.

She met her father’s mother for the first time and her grandma became like another mother figure for her. Her grandma enrolled her in online schooling since her English wasn’t perfect, they feared Albina getting bullied.

Albina always heard of America being the ‘Land of the Free, Home of the Brave’, she didn’t see herself as different from any other kid.

A few years later at 14, she wanted to go to public middle school. Her grandma decided to finally let her.

She was excited on her first day. She went with a smile as her grandma waved goodbye.

She went to class, as soon as the teacher welcomed her to the class, kids looked at her funny. The teacher told the class about where she was from. Later that day she was approached by some people at lunch. The kids then proceeded to poke fun at her. They made comments about her accent. About her country.

She didn’t get it, she thought America was a melting pot, so why were the kids so rude? Did they just not understand?

The teasing continued for months, she kept it hidden. She didn’t want her grandma to feel bad for letting her go to school.

Eventually, it escalated to kids leaving notes in her locker, calling her a ‘commie’ and a ‘crazy Russian’. She continued to be bullied for months. One day she had to walk home so she could stop and get groceries. On her way she took a shortcut through the woods, some kids followed her. They snuck up on her and knocked her to the ground. The proceeded to kick and punch her until she passed out. She woke up alone, she got up and rushed home, dazed.

She snuck into her house, her grandma couldn’t know. Of course, she got caught sneaking in. Her grandma was upset about the groceries and lost her cool with Albina. She yelled at her. Albina ran upstairs and locked the door. The next day she returned to school.

She walked into school her head down. She heard some commotion and went to investigate. She saw that the kids were bullying another immigrant, a Mexican boy named Martin. At that moment, something snapped in Albina. She marched up to the bullies and pushed them away from Martin. She struggled to protect him for a couple minutes eventually the bullies left, scared off by the ‘crazy Russian’.

The brawl attracted the attention of other students who looked at her. She grabbed Martin’s wrist and held it. She looked sternly at the crowd, bruises, and cuts on her and Martin’s faces.

“Welcome to America.”