Bully Proof

Chapter Seven

School: I hadn't been there in over two weeks and I hadn't completed any of the work I missed. It was also full of people who pointed at me and whispered to their friends as I walked by, which was a recent addition to my definition. That addition was made the morning of my returning Monday, after a fantastic, movement-filled weekend with my friends.

I walked into the building with Lexi and Spencer, and such was when the staring began. Then I heard the murmurs and whispers from my peers, and whenever I locked my eyes with someone else's, the person turned away quickly, as if the person didn't want to catch any disease I had, though I knew the person just didn't want any reason to be seen as associating with me.

The boys I used to have a crush on immediately turned around whenever we were heading towards each other in the hallways. Old friends did the same. Claire tripped me as we crossed paths. The group of people that surrounded her laughed at me.

None of this was really surprising. In fact, I had kind of anticipated it, but I didn't expect my teachers to sneer at me and give me dirty looks. I doubted that they even had Instagram accounts; some students or maybe their children had to have told them what I said. Considering that they were even treating me differently because of it should in itself explain why I thought the things I thought about them - they weren't good teachers, let alone good people.

They gave me pop quizzes left and right, fully aware that I wasn't in school for the past two weeks and taking advantage of that. I didn't know anything on the quizzes, and my grades suffered from that.

Everyone was full of spite, and no one was afraid of showing it.

Amanda did end up sitting with me and keeping me company during our classes, but we were awkward with each other. Every word that came out of our mouths seemed forced, and since we hadn't spent much time together recently, we didn't know any of our common interests anymore.

Only one of our conversations held any meaning. Amanda told me, "I put that note on your locker."

"What?" I asked, baffled that Amanda, who had sided with Claire over me, had done such a thing. "Why?"

"Well, we used to be friends, and Claire had been planning on posting your diary ever since she first saw it," Amanda admitted. "She told us about it, how you liked other boys and how you hated her and how you hated our teachers. She was conspiring against you and everyone who ever grabbed your attention."

It didn't bother me that Claire was "conspiring against me" in the slightest. We were talking about Claire, and such should have been associated with her very name. It was the fact that my diary was hidden, hidden in a place that didn't hold any importance to her life, that bothered me. "How'd she find it?" I questioned.

"She said that she was looking for your favorite shirt, so she could take it or something, I don't know. She said she found it in one of your drawers."

"But I don't have a favorite shirt, and it was in my sock drawer, which is obviously a compartment that's too small for shirts," I told Amanda, who then looked at me quizzically.

"Huh, I don't know, then. That's what she told us," she shrugged. What was Claire really looking for?

I left the conversation at that, feeling a little creeped out and definitely not comfortable.

The rest of the day wasn't very exciting, but I couldn't help but to share the news with Lexi and Spencer at lunch. Amanda sat with us and added some bits and pieces of information when I forgot to mention something, but other than that, the day went on with the stares and the snickers and the occasional shove by Claire. She couldn't seem to not physically assault me.

When I got home, my mom handed me some more of the gummy vitamins for kids that I had been taking as prescribed by the doctor.

"I thought I didn't have to take these anymore," I burrowed my eyebrows.

"You don't," Mom started, "but I really don't want this whole thing to happen again."

"Trust me, Mom. It won't," I concluded.

"But you don't know that, honey," she spoke.

"Yes, I do! I'm never putting in a tampon ever again, Mom. It won't happen," I snapped.

My mom sighed, "Just humor me and take the vitamins."

I humphed, which was my version of reluctantly agreeing, not wanting to have that conversation at that moment, and put the vitamin gummy in my mouth rather dramatically so Mom could obviously see I had taken it. I chewed and swallowed it, feeling it sliding down my throat as I marched up to my room.

I didn't want the people closest to me treating me any differently than they were before. But, then again, that's what Lexi, Spencer, and Amanda were doing, right? They all of a sudden started talking to me after I almost died. That was treating me differently.

I screamed out in frustration. I was getting played. I didn't want sympathy. I just wanted to put this experience behind me. Why couldn't anybody else do that?

"Honey?" I heard my mom call out.

I didn't bother answering. I pretended to be asleep, and I hoped she wouldn't come into my room.

She didn't.

I logged onto my Instagram account on my laptop, looking at my profile. There were no pictures, as Claire didn't let me post anything. A picture could have exposed how she treated me.

I took a final glance at the profile before I did the one act of defiance I physically saw possible: I deleted my Instagram account.