You found me...

They say I was a nobody. A ghost in the halls of Bayview High. But they were wrong. I saw everything. I knew everything.

I was the silent observer, the unseen hand guiding the narrative of our little town. I wove tales, spun rumors, and exposed the truth. I was the keeper of secrets, the arbiter of reputations.

Some called me cruel, a manipulator. But I saw it as a service. I exposed the hypocrites, the bullies, the pretenders. I gave voice to the voiceless.

Now, I'm gone, but my legacy lives on. The truth will always come out. Remember that.

- Simon Kelleher

//CLASSIFIED// ABOUT THAT ADMIN ACCESS ONLY

 

Simon Kelleher's Confession - DON'T POST

Okay, so maybe I wasn't exactly the most popular guy at Bayview. Truth is, I felt like a total ghost most of the time. Invisible. Like nobody even knew I existed. And yeah, that sucked. Big time. I wanted people to see me, to know my name, to actually care what I had to say. Guess I went about it the wrong way, though.

I created "About That" because I was sick of being a nobody. I wanted to have power, to control what people talked about, to make them afraid of me. It worked, too. Everyone was obsessed with the app, even though they hated it. They were all scared of what I might post next. That felt pretty good, not gonna lie.

At first, I just posted embarrassing stuff about people. You know, the kind of stuff everyone gossips about anyway. But then I started getting bolder. I wanted to see how far I could push it, how much chaos I could cause. I guess I liked seeing people squirm.

The Bayview Four? Yeah, I went after them hard. Bronwyn, the perfect student? Cheater. Nate, the bad boy? Drug dealer. Addy, the princess? A cheater too. And Cooper, the jock? On steroids. I knew exactly what to say to hurt them the most. It was kind of a game to me.

But then things went too far. Leah Jackson tried to kill herself because of what I posted about her. That's when I realized I'd messed up. Badly. I'd hurt people, real people, and I couldn't take it back.

Even after I died, my stupid app kept causing problems. The Bayview Four were still freaking out about their secrets getting out. I guess I screwed them up pretty bad. And for what? So people would know my name? So they'd be afraid of me? It wasn't worth it.

I started "About That" because I wanted to be somebody. But in the end, I just became the villain. And that's the truth.

- Simon

 

Simon's story, though fictional, serves as a chilling reflection of the very real consequences of cyberbullying and the spread of rumors. Online platforms, much like "About That," can be exploited to disseminate falsehoods and inflict emotional distress. The anonymity of the internet makes people engage in acts of cruelty they wouldn't in person, maybe leading to devastating outcomes. Simon's obsession with making a "huge, violent splash" through his gossip app mirrors a negative trend of individuals seeking notoriety and influence online, often at the expense of others. The novel acts as a cautionary tale, underscoring the importance of responsible online behavior and the urgent need to combat the spread of harmful rumors and cyberbullying in all its forms.