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

Chapter 6

Aliyah's point of view:

"Little Mix?!" I practically screamed. I saw Demi laughing out of the corner of my eye. I turned to her. "I don't mean to be rude, but, what are they doing here?" I asked her. "They're my opening act," Demi told me. "Oh. My. Gosh! I can't believe it!" I cried. "What a wonderful surprise, huh sweetie?" Mom asked me. "This is one of the best surprises ever!" I shouted. After I hugged each one of them, I asked them their names.

Their names were:

Jesy Nelson

Perrie Edwards

Jade Thirwall

And Leigh-Anne Pinnock

"I'm Aliyah. It's so nice to meet you all," I said. "It's very nice to meet you, too," replied Jade. As we talked for a little bit, Jesy looked at me. "Demi told us that you're getting bullied at school. Is that true?" she asked. "Yes. I am," I replied. "Why?" asked Perrie. "Because I'm black!" I cried.

"Is that all?" Leigh-Anne asked. "Yep. There's not a lot of African Americans in my school, and pretty much all of them, including me, get bullied almost every day," I told her. "People getting bullied just because of their skin color? What would they do?" Perrie asked me.

"They would do things like: knock their books out of their hands, grab the handles of their backpacks, and say things like, 'Black people like you don't belong in our school!'. Just yesterday, a student got knocked over the second-floor banister on purpose, until he was hanging on for dear life," I explained.

The girls gasped in shock and horror. "All that is happening at your school?" Jade asked. "Yes. My principal wants me to do a presentation about this, to try and help people be more aware and understanding of the situation," I replied.

"That's a good idea. When is your presentation?" Jesy asked. "Monday at 10:00," I replied. "Why?" "Just wondering," she replied with a sneaky look. "You said that you're getting bullied too. What happened to you?" Jade asked.

Taking a deep breath, I told them everything that happened, and showed them the picture of the notes that I had received. "Is that why your chin has a bandage on it?" Leigh-Anne asked. "Yes. My bully pushed me down the stairs as I was heading to the cafeteria. I managed to catch myself, but I scraped my chin and bruised my knee in the fall," I replied.

"I know how it feels to be bullied," Jesy told me. I gasped. "Don't tell me you've been getting bullied in school, too!" I cried. Jesy looked down at her hands and shook her head. "Not at school, but online," she said quietly. "You mean that you're getting cyber-bullied!?" I gasped.

"Yes," Jesy whispered. "When did it start?" I asked. "It started when the girls and I were on X Factor, back in 2011," Jesy replied. "What did they say about you?" I asked. " They would say that I'm fat and ugly, and that I should kill myself!" Jesy practically screamed. "How old were you when you were on X Factor?" I asked. "20," Jesy replied.

I couldn't believe what I just heard. "Calling a 20-year-old woman fat and ugly?! How and why would they ever do that?!" I shouted. "I know. Making fun of someone behind a screen? It's awful," Mom agreed. Seeing how upset Jesy was, I asked her to show me a picture of herself when she was on X Factor. Hesitantly, she did.

When I looked at the picture, and back at Jesy, I asked her: "What do you see when you look at her?"

After Jesy looked at the picture, she didn't say anything. "What's wrong, Jesy?" I asked her. "I just think..." she began. "That you're ugly?" I asked as gently as I could. Jesy nodded her head sadly. I held out my hand for her to take. She took my hand, and I gently squeezed her's. "Jesy, all those words are what other people think of you. That shouldn't matter to you. What should matter is what you think of you," I said, looking into her eyes. "You're right," she said softly. "Now, I'm gonna ask you again. What do you see when you see her?" I asked.

Jesy looked at the picture again. "I see a young girl with a pretty face and smile, who's not only pretty, but also talented," she said. I smiled at her. "Keep telling yourself that," I told her. After chatting for a little while longer, the girls warmed up their voices and practiced their songs. I loved listening to them sing a cappella. Just when it couldn't get any better, Demi told me that I would be watching the whole thing from a corner of the stage. Watching them both perform was really fun. I couldn't help but sing along with them. Songs like:

Little Mix's
-Salute
-Wings
-DNA

And Demi's
Neon Lights
-Skyscraper
-Got Dynamite

After the concert, Mom and I went back to our hotel. To my surprise, I found out that both Demi and Little Mix were staying at the same hotel as us. I was happy, but when we got inside, I froze as still as a statue. There, standing in the lobby, were my dad and siblings, along with 3 police officers. Jayden and Amber ran to me and hugged me tightly. Amber was crying, and shaking like a leaf. "What happened? Why are you here?" Mom asked Dad. "They almost took Daddy away!" Amber wailed, pointing at the police officers. "What?! What does Amber mean, Dad? I asked. "I almost got arrested," Dad replied.