Sometimes, people who you meet for the first time seem kind and friendly.  You think, Hey, this person seems like a good person, nice and friendly.  But then, once you get to know them really well, you find a completely new and different type of person behind the mask that you have always known.  It may happen at a certain time.  That is exactly what happened to me.  I guess you could say it started on the day I met my best friend.  It was in preschool.  I can even remember how we came to be friends.  It was at the playground there.  I had fallen over and scraped my knee.  A girl came and helped me up.  Her name was Alicia Petersburg.  After that incident, we became really close.   She was really nice to everyone.
	Once we came to middle school,  Alicia turned to her true self, or at least, she changed drastically.  She became a mean bully.  She bullied this one girl, just this one.  I could tell it really hurt that girl.  I could almost feel her pain, because this was my best friend who was bullying her.  This is where my story starts.  
	It was the first day of school.  She and I walked together to the bus stop.  Once we had reached school, we walked into the hallway and waited for the bell to ring.  That was when I saw the first sign.  There was a kid just standing there.  I will admit, she was dressed in a different way.  But that was her style and I will respect that.  Instead of saying, “Excuse me,” she just shoved her out of the way.  “Nice clothes!” she said to the girl as she shoved passed her, sarcasm etched in her voice.
	I was shocked.  That was really mean.  Was it bullying?  I had seen a lot of things about bullying and how bad it was.  I decided to push that thought out of my head.  How could it be?  Then, I saw something similar happen at lunch that very day.  Alicia was walking to the lunch line.  There was a kid walking with a lunch tray.  Without even moving over for her to pass, she just ran into her.  
	“Watch where you are going!”  Alicia said.
	“Sorry,”  said the girl.
	“Whatever, ugly.  Anyway, where did you get your clothes from?” said Alicia.  The sarcasm in her voice was clearly brought out.  The girl’s eyes were slowly filling up with tears.  I leaned down and helped the girl pick up her lunch.  I thought that was a little mean.  As I helped the girl pick up her, I got a glimpse of her face.  It was the same exact girl that my friend had pushed out of the way this morning.  After my friend and I got our lunches and sat down, I asked her really quietly why she had done what she did in the morning and just now.  She just said that she didn’t notice anything.  On and on this went, everyday, with the same girl.   I was disgusted with her behavior towards this girl.  It was painful to watch her getting pushed around and getting bullied like that, to watch the tears flow out of her eyes, and to watch Alicia laugh mercilessly.
	One day, I went to the girl’s bathroom in the middle of her math class.  As I entered the bathroom, I heard soft crying echoing off the tile wall.  I went towards the noise.  I knocked on the door.
	“Is everything alright?” I asked the unknown person.  The noise was stifled.  I heard the lock click open and there stood the exact same girl who Alicia had been making fun of.  Her eyes were red from all the crying.   She rubbed her eyes and left without even looking back at me.  I went back to the room and finished my math class, still pondering about that meeting.  
	On and on this went, day after day.  Alicia would make fun this girl and walk off.  And I would have to follow her, with my head down, ashamed.  I got tired of it.  I finally decided to ask her again why she was doing all of this.  Then she said it.
	“Well, who cares about her?  Who cares? I like being mean to her too.  Also, it is really fun of making fun of people.  Do you see how easy it is to pick on her?  She is so ugly. She dresses so weird anyway. She also is such a cry baby.  I heard another girl said that she was sitting in the bathroom the other day after I teased her, crying!”  
	“So, you are basically being a bully?” I asked her.
	“No, I’m just being honest.  She does look ugly.  And anyways do you see her clothes?  She looks like a freak,” she said.
	“Honest?” I asked.
	“Well, she is really easy to pick on and it’s actually kind of fun. And anyway, have you seen the way she dresses?  It is so weird,” Alicia replied.  “Besides, if I pick on everybody, that would be too much...I might get in trouble or people may not like me anymore.  And anyway, she is like the only one ideal for this.”
	“That makes no sense at all to pick on a girl just because you think it is a sport and how she dresses.  People are not things to make fun of!  And you are not being honest, as you say!  You are being a bully!” I said, angrily.
	It was Alicia’s turn to shout.  “I am not being a bully!  If you like her so much, go sit with her!”	
	I was getting angry.  “Fine!  I will go!”  Right after I said that, I got up and left.  I didn’t want to be even near her anymore.  I thought she was the nicest person, but no.  I got up and went straight to the other girl, who my “friend” had made fun of.  She was sitting by herself.  I walked over, sat down, pulled out my lunch, and started to eat.  The girl stared at me.
	“What are you doing here?” she asked.
	“You looked lonely, that’s why I came to sit here,” I replied.  “By the way, my name is Patricia.  What’s yours?” I asked.
	“My name is Julie.  But you are the one who is friends with that mean girl who bullies me all the time,” she said.
	“I was friends,” I said.  “I never want to be friends with anybody like that ever again.  Anyway, why is she so mean to you?” I asked.  
	“Well, I think she doesn’t like me at all.  I don’t really have any friends...maybe that’s why. I have never met her, so I don’t know,” she answered.
	“I know...she likes to pick on you, she thinks it’s a game or something.  She also likes to pick on you because of the way you dress.  It makes me sick.  I am really sorry for siding with her.  Well, I think you should tell an adult about it...you know, your mom, dad, teacher, anybody,” I said.
	“Oh no,” she said, looking frightened. “That would be terrible!  She would just get meaner and nastier to me if I did!”
	“Well, I really think you should,” I said.  It was true, I did want to report Alicia, even if she was mean...I have known her for so long.  She and I were best friends.  Even our families knew each other!  What was I supposed to do?  
	Later that night, I found myself laying in bed listening to the rain falling on the roof.  I was still thinking about the dilemma that I was in when a bright light shined into my room.  I rose from my bed and looked up to see my mother standing there at the entrance.  
	“Are you okay?” she asked as she came and sat down at the foot of my bed.
	“Yeah, I am fine,” I lied.  
	My mother cocked her head to one side and looked at me as if trying to read my mind.  “Well, it’s just that you seemed a little distracted during dinner and when you were doing your homework, I noticed that you had long spells of time where you just stared out into space, thinking hard about something.  I was just wondering if you were okay.  Is everything alright between you and Alicia?”
	Okay, my mother was a really good observer.  She was a lawyer and she could put things together so fast, it would only take a second.  “No, I am not okay,” I admitted.
	“Well, what’s up?” she asked.  And I told her everything.  It was like a waterfall spilling out.  I just let everything leave me after all these days.  Since the first day of school and everything since then.  She listened in silence.  When I was done, she looked at me, long, but not hard.  
	“So, what do you think I should do?” I asked.
	“What do you think you should do?” she asked.
	“I think I should stop being friends and I should tell a teacher about it.  But, won’t that ruin our friendship and won’t that ruin your friendship with her parents?” I asked.
	“Do you think that we should be friends with people like that?” she asked.  “Do what you think is the best thing to do.  You are old enough to decide for yourself.”
	“Okay, but what should I do?” I asked.
	“Do what you think you should do,” my mother said.  “What do you think is right?  Do you want to stick with her and watch her bully that girl, or do you want to not be the bully and side against her?”  
	“Well, I won’t be the bully, right?  I mean, she is the one that does all the bad stuff,” I said.
	“Bystanders are just as bad as the actual bully,” my mother replied.   With that, she left my room and closed the door right behind her.  What was I going to do?  But then, it became clear to me.  I didn’t want to be friends with someone like that.  She was mean, and just as my mother had said, bystanders are just as bad as the bully.  I was going to tell her how I felt.  
	The next day, I woke up with a new confidence in myself.  I reached school and there I met Alicia.
	“Hey, I am sorry about yesterday-” she started to apologize.
	“Save it,” I said.  I told her about how I felt and she just stood there.  After I was done, she yelled at me.  
	“You told your parents!  Why did you do that?  I thought we were friends!  I thought that I could trust you and that I could count on you for keeping this a secret!  Did you even think about what you were doing?  You could have gotten me in so much trouble!”  
	“Well, I did what I thought I should do,” I replied.
	“Well, I don’t want to be friends with you anymore!” Alicia said angrily.  She had always used that to get her way, so much that, although it usually did,  it didn’t affect me at all.  
	“Well, that is your choice, and personally, I was thinking of the same thing,” I said calmly.
	“Did you hear me?  I said I didn’t want to be friends anymore!” Alicia said, not really hiding the panic in her voice.  
	“I heard you perfectly fine,” I said.  With that, I got up and walked to Julie.  I went next to the victim who was standing there, looking at the whole scene that had just happened.  I introduced myself, and from that day and forth, we were best friends.  
	The next day, I went to the principal.  I persuaded Julie, my new friend, to come with me.  “This is really important.  Do you want kids to get bullied like this?” I asked her.
	She stopped for a moment, thinking about what I had just said.  “No, I don’t.  That would be terrible,” she said.
	“Thank you,” I said.  “Let’s go now, before the first bell rings.”
	“Okay,” she said.  We walked together to the office.  We reached the door.  Julie and I glanced at each other.  “This is for the good,” she said.
	“Yes, it is,” I replied as we pushed open the door together.  Inside, the principal was there, at her desk.  She looked up.
	“Hello ladies.  How may I help you?” she asked.  The principal was supposed to be very understanding.  Her name was Ms. Pie.
	“Hi, we are here to report a bullying problem,” I said.
	“A bullying problem?  Well, that is not good.  How about you all have a seat and tell me about it,” she offered.  Julie and I took our seats.  “Now, how are you two involved?” she inquired.
	“I am the bystander and she,” I indicated to Julie, “is the victim.”
	“Ah, I see...so, who is the bully?” she asked.
	“Alicia Petersburg,” Julie replied.
	“And how long has this been happening?” she asked.
	“Since the beginning of the year...so about a month now,” Julie replied.
	“So, who are you?” Ms. Pie said, turning to me.
	“My name is Patricia,” I replied.  “I was the bully’s friend.”
	“Okay,” she replied.  “Thank you so much for telling me.  I will look into it,” she replied.
	“Thank you very much Ms. Pie,” Julie said and we both got up and left.  As we were exiting the office, Julie and I saw Alicia walk by.  Her face whitened as she saw us exiting the office.  She came marching over to us.
	“Did you talk to the principal?” she asked, panic and anger in her voice.
	“Yes, we did,” I replied confidently.
	“We thought that we should to take some action about this serious business,” Julie said.  She was standing up for herself.  I could tell.  The pride in her voice was strong.  I was so proud.
	“WHAT?” Alicia asked.
	“We told on your terrible behavior,” I replied calmly.  With that, she stormed off.
	After the school day was over, I walked to my house.  When I got there, I saw my mom sitting there.  
	“Hello Patricia,” she said.  “ How was school today?”
	“It was good,” I replied. “Guess what?  I told the principal about Alicia being a bully to Julie!  You were right, being the bystander is just as bad as the bully because you aren’t helping the person out,” I said.  My mother just smiled at me.
	The next day at school, we heard the announcements go on during the middle of English.
	“Alicia Petersburg to the office,  Alicia Petersburg.”   
	Everybody turned to stare at Alicia. Her face became bright red.  She got up and left for the office.  Julie and I made eye contact.  Julie’s face was shocked, as in what-did-we-do-and-did-we-do-the-right-thing?  I quickly turned to my notebook and ripped out a piece of paper. We did the right thing, don’t worry about it.  She was the one who is in trouble, not us.  Everything is alright.  
	“Hey, Lola, please pass this to Julie for me,” I said, turning to the person who was next to me.  Julie got the note and quickly read it.  She glanced up, looking reassured.  We continued with our class, but my mind wondered what was going to happen.  After some time,  Alicia came back.  She looked white as a piece of chalk.  The bell rang and class and school was over, since math was our last class.  Alicia quickly got up and left, without a single glance.  I saw Alicia walk past me.  That was the last time I saw Alicia.  After that day, I never saw Alicia again.  
	One day, a couple weeks after the incident with Alicia, I went out to get the mail.  In there, there was a letter addressed to me.   I opened it and read it.  It was from Alicia.  It said that she had moved to another house in another school district.  At the bottom, there was a separate note, not in Alicia’s handwriting.  It was a note from her parents.  It said that they were really sorry for Alicia’s behavior and how sorry they were for putting me through such a tough time.  I felt sorry for Alicia’a parents.  It must be tough to have to deal with her.  
	I turned around and slowly walked back to my house.  If this had happened before the school year, I would have been really sad.  But now, I didn’t feel anything.  Feelings can be strange, I thought.  
	What I learned with this experience is this: Sticking up for yourself and other people is really important, and, well, if people are being mean, leave them.  You also need to stand up to bullying, and ignoring it or being the bystander is just as bad as being the bully itself.  So, if you see something like this happening, fix it and tell an adult.  By doing nothing, you’re not doing anybody favors.  So, fix it.




Nothing Is What It Seems  6-8  1