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

Chapter 8

Aliyah's point of view

Before we went home later that afternoon, we said our goodbyes to Demi and Little Mix. They said that they would be doing a show in another state, but they wished me good luck with my presentation. They even gave me their cell phone numbers so I could call them anytime I wanted to talk to them. It was bittersweet for me. Why? Because I was very happy that I made friends with them, but I was also sad because I wanted them to come to school to talk about their experiences with bullying. It would have been a great eye-opening experience.

"That was great!" Amber cried as soon as we got inside the house. "It sure was," added Jayden. "Indeed. I'm so happy that I got to meet my favorite superstars. Thanks for inviting me to come along, Mom," I said, hugging her. "You're welcome, honey," Mom said, hugging me back. I took my suitcase upstairs to my room to unpack, but when I got there, I screamed. Mom, Dad, Jayden and Amber raced up the stairs. "Aliyah, what's wrong?" Dad asked. "My laptop! It's gone!" I cried. "Gone?" Jayden and Amber shrieked. "I got a hunch that you-know-who is behind this," Mom mumbled to me. "Indeed," I agreed. Then I remembered something.

Thankfully, I had my PowerPoint saved on a flash drive. I took it out of a drawer in my desk. "Phew. My PowerPoint presentation is safe," I said. I practiced my presentation on my family and our nextdoor neighbors. They said that it was great, and that I was definitely ready for tomorrow.

The next day, I got ready to go to school, with my flash drive in hand. When I arrived, I hid in Mr. Donavon's office so that no one would see me, and I told him about the website and the pictures. He asked me if I wanted it to be taken down, but I decided to leave it there. Use it as an example for this situation, and have it taken down after the presentation. At 9:50, I went down to the auditorium to prepare for my presentation.

When I got there, I received the shock of my life. There, standing on stage with Mr. Henry, the drama teacher was... "Demi Lovato! Little Mix!" I cried. "Hello, darling," said Jade. "Come on down here and give us a big hug," Demi called.

I speed-walked down the isle and onto the stage. I hugged them all tightly and said: "What are you doing here? I thought you had another show to do." "We're here for your presentation, of course. To talk about our experiences," replied Jesy.

"Oh! You fooled me!" I cried, playfully nudging her. "So, what do you want us to do?" Perrie asked. "Go wait in that dressing room over there until I call you," I replied. They all nodded. I then went on to say: "You must have read my mind, because I was hoping you would come." "And we did," said Demi, giggling. Leigh-Anne winked at me and they all went into the dressing room to hide.

After getting my PowerPoint set up, I hid behind one of the curtains on stage. Mr. Donavon summoned all the students and their teachers to the auditorium. Once everyone was seated, he started talking on stage. "Welcome, everyone. I'm sure you're wondering why I called you here," I heard him say. I peeked out from behind the curtain to see everyone nodding.

Madison and Jackie didn't nod, for they knew exactly why they were here. "I called you here to watch a presentation. I found out from one student that there's a serious bullying problem going on here, and I asked her to do a presentation about this to help you understand it better. Here she is: Aliyah Davis," said Mr. Donavon.

I came out from behind the curtain and walked over to the screen. I saw that Madison, Jackie, the teachers, and the other African American students applauding for me. Then, my blood ran cold. Gianna was in the audience. Mr. Donovan looked at me and mouthed: "Do you want her to leave the auditorium?" I shook my head 'no' and took a deep breath.

Turning towards the audience, I said: "Thank you, Mr. Donovan. As you said, there is a big bullying problem going on here, and I have a presentation about this very subject. I hope this gives all of you that are bullying us black people a better understanding of what it is that you are doing. So without any further adu, let's begin."