14 year old Aliyah Davis is getting bullied at school. Why? Because she's black. The only thing that keeps her spirits up is music, mostly Demi Lovato and Little Mix. One day, Aliyah's mom, who's a cosmetologist gets to fill in for Demi's hairdresse...
"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
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Perrie Edwards
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Jade Thirwall
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And Leigh-Anne Pinnock
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"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?"
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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.
