Cody is a freshman student who has recently transferred to Cherry Valley High School from Coconut Creek High School. Cody is very shy, sensitive and not very athletic. He is a good student in school by completing all of his assignments on time, does very well on tests but most all he enjoys participating in class. These traits that Cody possesses have begun to catch the attention of some other students. These students are Nick, who is on the wrestling team, Aidan, who is on the swimming team and Kyle, who is on the track team. Amber and Chloe who are on the cheer-leading team feel bad that no one is really making an attempt to make Cody feel welcome. Then there is Tori, who makes an effort to befriend Cody because she went through the same problems that Cody is going through when she transferred to Cherry Valley three years earlier. Tori is the ex-girlfriend of Kyle, Amber is the ex-girlfriend of Aidan and Chloe is the ex-girlfriend of Nick. When Kyle, Aidan and Nick find out that the girls are trying to befriend Cody, the boys get jealous of him and they start to make his freshman year uncomfortable.
When Aidan, Kyle and Nick see Cody walking in and around Cherry Valley High School, they begin to make negative comments about his wardrobe. Cody’s dad passed away about five years ago from a serious car accident. Cody’s mom, Bonnie, was left to raise Cody and his younger brother, Justin and his baby sister Selena by herself. Bonnie, has had to work two and sometimes three jobs to be able to provide for her kids. By day, Bonnie is a secretary in a dentist office and at night she works as a waitress in a diner. Unfortunately, because the economy has not been great, Bonnie has been fired from other jobs and has not been able to provide steady income. Because of the family’s finances, Cody and his siblings have clothes that are a bit outdated and not in style. Aidan, Kyle and Nick go out of their way to make fun of Cody and the way he dresses in front of as many people as possible. Another way they bother Cody is when they see him walking either in school or on campus they bump into him on purpose and they try to pick a fight. When Tori, Amber and Chloe see and hear about what the guys are doing to Cody, they get very upset. The girls decide that they want to become friends with Cody to try and make his freshman year comfortable. The girls each approach him and try to make his transition to Cherry Valley as soon as possible. The girls introduce Cody to all their friends. They also sit with him at lunch and also give him a ride to and from school if he wants to. When Aidan, Kyle and Nick become aware of what the girls are doing to Cody they become extremely jealous and infuriated. The comments and he jokes about his clothes become more frequent but it is now a little out of hand because now they are saying things about Cody not having a father. This makes Cody very upset because he has learned to live with not much which makes him appreciate life greater, but the comments about his dad are very hurtful and personal. Cody does not mention anything about this to his mom, but it is really hurting him inside. He does not look forward to going to school, he doesn’t sleep well at night and he doesn’t eat well either. Quite simply, Cody has begun to lose the desire to live. One afternoon, while Cody was babysitting his siblings he went into the bathroom and swallowed a bunch of pills in an attempt to end his life. Cody went unconscious in his bedroom until his younger brother walked in and saw him lying on his bed. Justin then called his mom and told her what had happened. Bonnie called 911 from her cell phone and an ambulance was sent to their home. Cody was admitted to the hospital in serious condition, and the doctors had told his mom that he might now make it. When Nick, Kyle and Aidan have heard about what happened to Cody, they felt terrible because they blamed themselves. They feel that it was their bullying and making Cody feel bad that he tried to stop the bullying by committing suicide. In a miracle recovery after three days, Cody awoke and the doctors feel he will make a full recovery.
Aidan, Nick and Kyle felt so bad over what had taken place that they decided to apologize to Cody and his family in person. The three jocks started a blog in their school concerning Anti- Bullying. They also wrote a piece in the school newspaper about the dangers of bullying. Their message was simple: “Don’t bully anyone, because bullying can take a life or lives.” When Cody was well enough to go home, the three guys paid him a visit to apologize for everything that they have done. Cody forgave all three teenagers for what they had done. He even invited them to stay for dinner. To this day, Aidan, Kyle, Nick and Cody have stayed friends and they have all contributed to anti- bullying campaigns.