Bullying: Friends with Stars. A Little Mix and Demi Lovato story

Chapter 2

Aliyah's point of view

The next day, after breakfast, I waited for the school bus. My knee was better, so I could walk normally now. I sat down next to Madison, who was sitting behind Jackie. They asked how my knee was, and I said that it was better. After we got off the bus and into the building, I went to see Mr. Donovan. I told him everything about the bullying, and I showed him the pictures of the notes I received yesterday. To my surprise, he smiled at me and said: "Thanks for telling me, Aliyah. In fact, you're the only student that has come to me about this."

"What? I'm the only one that has come to you about this?" I echoed. "That's right. I've always wondered why students don't come forward about bullying. Thanks to your photos, now I know," he told me. "Thank you sir. But like you said, it's not just me, but the other African American students here as well. I want to find a way to stop this, but I don't know how," I said. Mr. Donovan turned away in his chair, thinking. He then turned back to me.

"I have an idea. I want you to put together a Power-point presentation about this very subject. then, when you're ready, present it to the whole school," he said. I gasped at went as still as a statue. "What's wrong? Is that a problem?" he asked me. "Oh, no. I think that it's a great idea. I'm just nervous about it in general. What if it doesn't work? What if it's not good enough? What if I get a bad grade?" I asked. Mr. Donovan chuckled.

"Aliyah, you're not getting graded on it. This is just something for you to show the school. Maybe it will stop the bullying, and maybe it won't. It may not be much, but it will be a start. Besides, I heard from your teachers that you're a diligent and responsible student. I'm sure you'll do a good job," he said. I agreed, and he wrote me a late pass to my English teacher, who I had first. As I was getting up to leave, Mr. Donovan asked me: "By the way, did you tell your parents about this?" "Well...yes, I did," I said slowly. "Did you tell them that you're getting bullied yourself?" he asked me.

I shook my head and said: "No, I didn't. It was because of Gianna's threats. Besides, my parents are very protective over me and my siblings, like a mother and father lion protecting their cubs. If I told, it would just fuel Gianna's claims about black people being bad." Mr. Donovan nodded in understanding. "Well, you never know unless you try. Besides, your parents are some of the first people you turn to in situations like this," he said. "Okay. I'll tell them," I said as he gave me the pass.

I walked to English class, and gave my teacher, Mrs. Adams the pass. She nodded and asked me to sit down. After our lesson, which was about vocabulary and Romeo and Juliet, I went over to Mrs. Adams and told her what Mr. Donovan and I were talking about. "I think that it's a good idea, but I have no idea where to start," I said to her. "I think you need to start by gathering research. I can help you with that. How about you come to see me after school, and we'll look for research for 30 minutes," Mrs. Adams said.

"Thank you. I'll talk to my parents about this, and I'll send you an email when they've come to a decision," I said. She nodded, and I went over to my desk to put my backpack on. But as I put it over my shoulders, I heard something moving in my front pocket, other than my phone. I took my backpack off, and opened the pocket. Inside was a black pen. "Is that one of your pens?" Mrs. Adams asked as she walked over to me. "No," I said, shaking my head. Mrs. Adams took a closer look at it, and she gasped in shock.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "This isn't just a pen. It's a listening device," she told me. "A listening device?" I shrieked. "Yes. How did it get into your bag?" Mrs. Adams asked. I shrugged my shoulders. "I'll come with you to Algebra class and see if anyone there did it," she told me. I breathed a sigh of relief, and together, we walked upstairs to my next class, which was Algebra.

Our teacher, Mrs. Boswell smiled when she saw me, but her face turned into a worried one when she saw the angry look on Mrs. Adams' face. Mrs. Adams walked in front of the class, and stood in front of the smart board, looking at the class sternly. "I found this in Aliyah's backpack," she told the class, holding up the pen. Everyone looked confused, so she continued. "It may look like a regular pen, but it's actually a listening device. Did any of you put it into her bag before you left the classroom?" she asked. Everyone shook their heads. "Are you sure?" Mrs. Adams asked. Everyone nodded.

Mrs. Adams looked at me, saying that she was taking the pen to Mr. Donovan. I thanked her, and she left the room. Mrs. Boswell went to the front of the class, and went over geometry and basic symbols. After Algebra came Social Studies, then lunch time. I didn't get pushed like yesterday, and I thought that Gianna couldn't get to me, because I hadn't seen her all day. That is, until it was time to go to the buses to go home.

As I was walking towards my bus, bus #15, I felt someone grab my backpack by the handle. Next thing I knew, I was being pulled backwards. I yelped in surprise as it was happening, and I found myself face-to-face with Gianna King. She looked at me angrily as I asked: "What do you want from me?" "What I want is revenge," said Gianna. I was confused. "What do you mean?" "Because of you, I got detention for the rest of the week and next week," Gianna replied. "Huh?" I asked. "Don't you play dumb with me!" Gianna snapped. "You told the principal about me. Because of that, I got in trouble. I know because of the pen that I put into your backpack," she said.

"What?! You put that pen into my bag?!" I cried. "Yes, I did. I can't have anyone ruining my plans," she told me. Before I could ask anything about that, Gianna raised her fist as if to hit me, but before she did, I heard a voice shout: "Hey! Leave her alone!" I looked up to see Madison and Jackie standing from afar, along with Ms. Garcia, our bus driver.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ms. Garcia asked. "I was going to teach this black person a lesson. It was going fine until you showed up," Gianna said. "What did you just call Aliyah?" Ms. Garcia asked. Gianna didn't say anything. Jackie pulled me away from her. Gianna took a step towards us, but Madison got in her way. "Why are you protecting her?" Gianna asked. "Because she's our best friend," Madison replied. "Black people and white people can't be friends!" Gianna shouted. "Says who?" asked Jackie. "I do," Gianna said. Just then, Gianna's bus driver, Mr. Edwards came over to us, and ordered her to get on the bus. As she walked away, she looked at me and said: "if you tell anyone about this, I'll make your life and your family's lives miserable!"