The wide, open meadow felt lively with the playful voices of the children filling its empty space. The playground was a blur of color and movement, with kids running this way and that. You could tell it was spring at Pleasant Valley Middle School. Trees waved in the wind, happy to be green again. The air was filled with all sorts of noises, from the buzzing of bees to the chirping of birds.
Inside the school, you could also tell it was spring. Students were jittery about the SOL’s, loud voices echoed through the hall, and large, heavy, winter coats were disappearing one by one. Flowers--popping up everywhere, turning their happy faces to the sun’s bright, warm smile--were often seen out open windows. Like the flowers, everyone was joyful, too, for the most part, except when Bethany Clarkson was around.
Bethany Clarkson was the prettiest and the most popular girl in the whole school. She had dazzling, sapphire blue eyes that sparked when she got angry. Her golden hair was thick, silky, and often being tossed in the air. Aside from being popular, she was snotty and just downright mean. Gossiping was her hobby; she was constantly bossing people around, and she was extremely nosy. And, yet, probably some of the most frequent words coming out of her mouth were, “None of your business,” accompanied by a toss of that slightly curled, perfect, golden hair. Yes, her hair had a perfect curl at the end that floated just below her shoulders. It was always turned upward, just like her nose.
Bethany always had her nose turned up at someone or something, such as the cafeteria food. Always bringing the best homemade meals, Bethany never shared any of it with anybody, except her only friends, Chelsea and Ashley. According to Bethany, they were the only girls that were “cool enough” for her. Chelsea’s wavy, chocolate brown hair complemented her fierce, emerald eyes. Ashley’s naturally wavy, auburn hair swished as she walked, always in time with the clacks of her high heels.
All of a sudden, the whole school was abuzz about something. Turns out, it was someone. There was a new kid at school. Bethany heard about this right away and panicked about her status. In past years, there had been new people coming to the school, and she had lost her popularity once or twice. She had to fight for her spot on the top. But, now, there was yet another new student at the school. Luckily, Bethany knew what to do in this case because the student was a girl, a girl named Brittany.
Brittany was very pretty as well. Her light brown hair made her gentle, blue eyes sparkle. She was always very kind to everyone she met and was glad to do anything that was asked of her. Whenever she laughed, her voice sounded like a tiny, ringing bell. Bethany thought that Brittany was almost as pretty as her, and Bethany thought that Brittany might steal her popularity. Since both girls were in the same math class, Bethany acted quickly and befriended Brittany right away and welcomed her to the “cool” group. Eager to have new friends, Brittany accepted her offer of friendship immediately and hung around Brittany and her friends constantly.
Before long, Brittany started to act just like Bethany. She tormented smaller kids in the hallways and gossiped about other people who “just aren’t cool, like me,” as Brittany would say. Her tiny, ringing laugh transformed into an evil cackle. She was telling people what to do every time she turned around. Eventually, she was the meanest of all of Bethany’s “cool girls.” Walking down the center of the hall, the group forced anybody out of the way that dared to block its path. The girls’ hips swayed, and they held their heads high, with an occasional toss sending their perfect hair flying.
But, somewhere deep, deep down in her heart filled with cruelness, a voice cried out, “Brittany, why are you acting this way? Do you know that people are suffering because of your cruelty toward them? Change back to the kind, thoughtful Brittany you used to be! Find other friends to hang around!” Even though this tiny voice was calling out to her day and night, eager to change her heart, Brittany could not hear it. The few times she did, she paid no mind to it and ignored its pleadings. “I’m the one who’s supposed to tell people what to do,” she thought.
However, in the classroom you would never know that Brittany was such a monster to everybody. She was always willing to pass out papers or help the teacher. Sometimes, when she was asked, she even helped her classmates, and she acted like she loved doing it. Brittany acted as sweet as an angel. But, whenever the teacher had her back turned, Brittany shot a glare at the students and curled her lip at them. That was the worst a classmate could get, in the classroom that is. Brittany’s curled-lip look was an insult to man. If she curled her lip at someone, and gave her the glare, it was certain she would hunt the victim down after class.
Everyone was so terrified of Brittany that no one would tell the teachers the mean things she was doing, afraid that the situation would get even worse. Finally, one person spoke up, and Brittany was sent to the principal’s office. Although Mrs. Adams’ office was bright and decorated with the school’s colors, it seemed dark and dreary to Brittany. She suddenly felt like a small and helpless mouse that was trapped in a corner. She forced her feet to enter the room. As she shuffled her feet across the colorful carpet, she looked down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with the principal as long as possible.
“Enter quickly, Dear, I want to get this over with as quickly as you do,” said Mrs. Adams, breaking the silence.
“I wish she wouldn’t call me ‘Dear.’ It’s getting on my nerves,” Brittany thought. She shuffled a little faster, glad to know that the principal wanted to hurry, too. “Maybe she’ll forget to punish me, if she plans to.”
“Now, what is your name?” Mrs. Adams continued.
“B-b-Brittany, Brittany McCauley,” Brittany stammered nervously.
“I see,” replied Mrs. Adams sharply. “What a lovely name.”
“Thanks,” responded Brittany.
“You’re welcome. Anyway, I have been informed by one of my students that you have not been the nicest you can be in the halls, which is why you are here in my office today. Is that true?”
“You have students? I thought you were the principal. Principals don’t teach,” Brittany snapped, attempting to change the subject.
“Now, Brittany, is it right to talk back to your principal or anybody that way?” Mrs. Adams questioned. Brittany shook her head and gazed longingly at the floor. “Brittany, I want an answer to my question. I don’t talk just to hear myself talk. Is it right to talk back to people?”
“No, Mrs. Adams, it isn’t,” replied Brittany reluctantly. “Boy, she sure is persistent,” Brittany thought. “If only I could make myself disappear. I’m supposed to be at recess right now.” Brittany glanced at the clock. Time seemed to be going so slowly. She missed being with her friends.
“Anyway, as I said, I have been notified by a student that you have been mean to her in between classes. Is this true?”
Brittany thought about saying “no.” It would be pretty easy to say it, and she’d lied before. “Mrs. Adams wouldn’t know because I’ve never been in her office before, so she doesn’t have any past information. I don’t have a reputation here yet, so the answer would slip by easily, and no one would ever know,” she thought. Brittany was a very smart girl and figured out how to do things quickly. She pondered her answer for a moment, and, suddenly, that tiny voice came back. But, before it could continue, she waved it off and blurted out her answer.
“What are you talking about, Mrs. Adams? I haven’t been doing anything I shouldn’t. This student of yours must be lying, or she has me mixed up with another person. I can’t remember anything I’ve done wrong, except maybe accidentally bumping into someone.” Trying to look as innocent as possible, Brittany put on her best “surprised” face.
“Oh, I see. Well, I’ll have to talk more with Sarah about it then. I might call you back to my office to learn more. Thank you for coming, Brittany. Nice meeting you.”
“You’re welcome,” Brittany replied as she dashed for the door, eager to meet her friends. She hoped that recess wasn’t over yet. She was eager to tell her friends all that had happened.
“So, like, yeah, this…thug ratted me out and told the principal what I did. I mean, like, why would someone tell on me? Am I not bossy and demanding enough to scare people out of their wits?” Brittany was telling Bethany, Chelsea, and Ashley all about her visit to the office and her encounter with the principal, and she didn’t seem happy. She was acting all snappy and had this monstrous look on her face. “And, like, the principal kept calling me ‘Dear,’ and it was, like, so annoying. I mean, you know how much I hate people calling me ‘Dear,’ don’t you?”
“Yeah,” they replied in unison.
“Totally, girl, I feel for you. I would hate if someone called me ‘Dear.’ I would, like, totally flip out,” sympathized Ashley. Bethany stood with her head resting in her hand. She seemed to be in deep thought. Finally, she spoke up.
“What did you do?” questioned Bethany.
“Well, finally,” replied Brittany dramatically, stretching out the word ‘finally,’ “she asked me what my name was, and I gladly answered. I don’t want to be called ‘Dear’ by the principal, especially in the halls. That would embarrass me for life. Ugh.”
“What was the ‘thug’s’ name? Do you know?” asked Bethany.
“Umm, oh yeah, the principal said her name was… Sarah. I mean, that is such a lame name. I’m glad my name is so awesome. I sort of feel bad for Sarah, but not really. I mean, like, it gives us something to tease her about, and it makes us much more awesome,” Brittany answered.
“Hmm… a girl named Sarah. Well, what we have to do is be really slick when we do stuff now. We can’t tell anyone our names,” Bethany instructed.
“That’s going to be hard to do,” Chelsea retorted. “We wanted to be popular, and that’s what we got. Now, everyone knows our names, who we are, and what we look like. It’s going to be impossible to be sneaky to that extent and have people not remember who we are. Classmates who know us will be telling everyone, ‘Watch out. That’s Brittany and her team. Better get out of their way or you’re in trouble,’ or something along those lines. Everyone will know us by the end of the year. I mean, I like everyone knowing who I am, but, now, we don’t want that, and we have to figure out how to take our popularity away.”
“Not my popularity! We can’t take that away!” Bethany exclaimed.
“Girl,” Ashley snapped. “Something has got to give! Since Little Miss Prissy over here went to the principal’s office, we have to be sneaky now. And because you wanted to be popular, we suddenly got popular. But now that we have to be extremely sneaky, we can’t be as popular as we were before. We just can’t have everyone going around saying, ‘That’s Bethany. Yep, that’s Bethany over there. Oh yeah, that’s Bethany that just did that to you,’” Ashley acted out. “Then, you will go to the principal’s office, Missy. And you’ll be called ‘Dear.’”
“Hey, I did my best, okay? I mean, like, Mrs. Adams doesn’t even know it was me, yet, because I lied about it. I told her I didn’t do it,” exclaimed Brittany proudly.
“Oh, someone was a bad girl,” teased Ashley.
“Shut up, Ashley,” Brittany snapped. Ashley rudely stuck her tongue out at Brittany. In return, Brittany made a twisted face back at Ashley. “Anyways, now Mrs. Adams has to hunt down that girl, Sarah, and talk with her about it. That will give us time to think about what we should do. Plus, I’ll make sure I don’t get in any trouble because I think logically.” Brittany tapped her forehead, acting like she was the most intelligent person in the world.
“Well, how do you think logically?” Bethany mocked as she leaned in to Brittany. “We’d all like to hear how you think logically. Wouldn’t we?” The other girls nodded their heads in agreement.
“Well, for an example, when I went to the office today, I made sure she couldn’t get any information about my past before I said anything. You guys probably wouldn’t have thought about it first. Would you’ve?” questioned Brittany.
“There hasn’t been much to think about before. None of us have ever been called to the principal’s office, until now,” replied Chelsea. Her eyebrows twitched slightly at the end of the sentence, as if she were nervous about being caught.
“Bbbrrrrrrrrrrinnnngggg!” There went the school bell. At that time, all the students had to head in to their classes. The girls started to walk in that direction while quickly giving orders.
“Well, if we’re really sly and sneaky with our acts, we can certainly pull it off,” Ashley jumped in. “Brittany, just act like a little angel in the office, and pretend like you don’t even know what Mrs. Adams is talking about, like she’s crazy or something. Also, act absolutely perfect in the classroom, too, until we talk and figure out how to get out of this mess. So, no glaring or lip-curling from you in class for a while, okay?” Ashley slightly tilted her head and made a pathetic puppy-dog face at Brittany to persuade her to do what she wanted her to do, even though what she said and how she said it made it sound more like a command.
Brittany felt like she was being bossed around, and even by her own friends! “I thought I was supposed to tell people what to do,” she thought. “Oh well, they seem to know what to do. I’m still learning, I guess. I’ll listen to their advice and do what they tell me to do.”
“Okay, I’ll do my best. It will be hard, though,” Brittany joked with her friends as she ran for the school. “Last one in doesn’t get an ice cream from me,” she called from the door, waving her hands and jumping up and down. Bethany, Chelsea, and Ashley all started running, making the other chattering students scatter in all different directions like birds. When the girls reached the door, they trudged in and raced each other to the water fountain.
When they all cooled off, they suddenly changed back into the pop divas that they always were inside and had their last chat before they separated and went to their classes. Their loud voices echoed as they strutted down the center of the hallway. When they got to Bethany’s class, they said goodbye and scrambled to get to their own classes, but all were going to attempt to be fashionably late, as always. The last sound of the group was Ashley’s heels forever click-clacking on the tiled floor, but, other than that, the halls were silent.
Unfortunately for Brittany, people found out that she had gone to the principal’s office. As they discovered that Sarah had spoken with Mrs. Adams, more people stood up for themselves and started telling adults and teachers what Brittany was doing to them. Over time, Brittany was called to the principal’s office about twice a week. At first, when she was reported, she lied and acted surprised, just like Ashley commanded. But, now, Mrs. Adams knew for sure whether Brittany was lying or speaking truthfully. So many people had reported her behavior that she knew for a fact Brittany was acting up. However, Brittany wasn’t totally listening to her friends’ commands. This was because she thought that, if she were meaner than before to her classmates, they would be too scared to tell Mrs. Adams. This made Bethany and her group angry. The group members warned Brittany to start listening to them again, or else they would temporarily kick her out of their group. Brittany still thought that her friends should not boss her around.
Ever since she met Bethany, Brittany had become very stubborn. Brittany only did what she wanted to do, so, as they said they would, Bethany, Ashley, and Chelsea kicked her out of their group. Eventually, it got so bad that Mrs. Adams had to send a note home to Brittany’s mom that had to be signed.
Brittany was suddenly worried about how she had been acting. Her mom always liked to know what was going on at school. During the time Brittany attended Pleasant Valley Middle School, she had lied to her mom about being nice to everyone. Now that a note was being sent home, Brittany knew she couldn’t lie anymore.
She trudged to the buses and thought how much trouble she would be in when her mom read the note. “I’ll probably be grounded for at least two months,” she thought sadly. She climbed onto the bus and slumped down in her seat. As she gazed out the window, she dreaded the thought of having to tell the truth. When the bus dropped her off, she shuffled across the grass and tried to think of a way to get out of talking with her mom. As Brittany walked in the door, her spirit was suddenly lifted out of the dumps. The aroma of freshly baked sugar cookies filled her home. Her mom was a baker at The Crumbled Corner, and Brittany thought her mom’s cookies were the best. She dumped her schoolbag in the foyer and sauntered into the kitchen to grab a cookie.
“Hey there, Brittany!” her mom said cheerfully.
“She sure is acting cheerful today, a little too cheerful,” Brittany thought. “Hey, Mom,” answered Brittany as she snatched a rainbow-sprinkle-coated sugar cookie.
“How was school today?”
“Okay, Mom, can we talk about something?” Brittany asked nervously.
“Sure, honey,” replied Brittany’s mom as she slid off her apron and cooking mitts. “What would you like to talk about?” she asked.
“Well,” started Brittany. “Wait, let me go get something for you.” Brittany retrieved the note from her backpack and handed it to her mom. She shook with fear as her mom scanned over the typewritten letter from Mrs. Adams. At first, Brittany thought that her mom would send her to her room, but her mom’s expression only changed slightly. Finally, Brittany couldn’t stand the silence anymore. “Mom, I know you’re going to punish me, aren’t you? Just say it. I’m grounded for two months.”
“Honey, I,” Brittany’s mom paused. “Go get the plate of cookies and bring them here.” Brittany left the family room to get the cookies while her mom thought about how she should handle the situation. When Brittany sat back down, her mom started to ask questions.
“Honey, why am I getting this note? Does Mrs. Adams have you mixed up with someone else at the school?”
Brittany thought about lying again. It would be so much easier just to lie. Then, the tiny voice came flooding into her mind, but she didn’t push it away. Instead, she listened to its advice for her. Finally, Brittany decided what to say.
“Mom…the note is about me. I haven’t been acting the nicest to my classmates,” she blurted out.
“Why? You haven’t told me that you’ve been acting up, but what kind of child tells her mom that…you know?”
“Mom, I am so sorry. I…I, oh, I’m so sorry.”
“Who taught you to be mean, Brittany? You used to be the sweetest little girl. What happened?”
“It was…Bethany Clarkson,” Brittany stammered.
“Who’s that?”
“Oh, she is some girl at my school. She, Ashley, and Chelsea were my first, well, my only friends. Bethany, well, she’s kind of the leader of our group, and she’s just so mean, and, I guess I just picked it up from her.”
“I see, well, do you like being that way?”
“Well, I kept getting called to the principal’s office for it. I thought that if I was even meaner to my classmates, they wouldn’t tell Mrs. Adams anymore.”
Brittany’s mom sighed. “Usually, when a person stands up for herself, more people will follow and start standing up for what’s right, too. When they stand up for themselves for the first time, they often find it so easy they do it again, if needed. Did you ever feel bad doing mean things to your classmates?”
“No, I never really thought about it much. I guess I just thought about what I wanted to do.”
“Ah, I see. That’s what I call a case of ‘I trouble’.”
“What’s that?” questioned Brittany.
“Have you ever heard the term, ‘I’m only watching out for number one’? Well, it means a person is only looking out for himself or herself. We should not live by this quote. We should treat other people as we like to be treated. That’s the Golden Rule in the Bible, you know. When you only did what you wanted to do, you had a case of ‘I trouble.’”
“Oh, I get it. I have one problem. How am I supposed to make friends with the people I have been unkind to?” asked Brittany. So, the rest of the afternoon, Brittany and her mom talked it out from beginning to end and solved her problems.
“Now, those girls,” Brittany’s mom started.
“Bethany, Chelsea, and Ashley,” Brittany corrected.
“Yes, them. They are going to try to change your mind about being nice. That’s called peer pressure. Don’t listen to them. You do what you know is right. Stand up to them. Okay?” This time, Brittany didn’t feel like she was being bossed around. She knew her mom was right.
“Okay, Mom. You are the best. Wait! Do I have a punishment for acting this way and lying to you?”
“No. I know you have learned from this experience, and that is enough for me.”
Brittany woke up in the morning feeling great and confident, and she knew what she was going to do. Instead of putting on something flashy, like always, she decided to wear something simple. “It feels good to wear simple clothes,” she thought. “Those clothes I used to wear were extremely itchy.” As she gobbled up her breakfast and headed out the door to wait for the bus, she went over in her mind what she needed to do during her breaks at school.
“Don’t forget the note!” her mom reminded.
“Okay! Thanks, Mom! Love you!”
When Brittany got to school, she apologized to everyone she had mistreated. Surprisingly, everyone took her seriously. When she walked down the halls, she hugged everyone she saw. Everyone sensed that Brittany changed, everyone except Ashley, Bethany, and Chelsea. When they met in the hall, Bethany congratulated Brittany for making everyone think that she was sorry for doing mean things to them.
“We would’ve never thought of doing that,” sneered Bethany.
“Yeah, now we know how you think logically,” mocked Ashley. This time, Brittany didn’t stick out her tongue or make a face. Instead, she sighed heavily and told them the news.
“You guys, that apology was real. It was sincere. I really was sorry for doing those things. By the way, I don’t want to be in your exclusive group anymore. I don’t agree with how you are treating people, so I’m taking myself out of your group.” Bethany and Ashley looked stunned. They didn’t say a word. Their mouths were hanging open like a dog that has just been running.
Finally, after the long period of silence, Chelsea spoke up. Brittany was expecting the worst, but what she heard coming out of Chelsea’s mouth was unbelievable. “You know, Brittany, you’re right. We aren’t doing the right things. I’ve known that since fifth grade, and I’ve never spoken up even once about it. Now, I know I should have, but, back then, I was a chicken, and I just did what these girls told me to do. I always felt bad about it, but I didn’t do anything. Now, I regret it, but seeing you telling them it’s not right makes me want to join you.”
Brittany couldn’t believe her ears! She felt relieved to have someone backing her up. “This is turning out better than I expected!” Brittany thought. “I always wondered why Chelsea was so quiet. Now, I know why. She felt it wasn’t right all along!” Brittany’s mouth was now open as wide as Bethany’s and Ashley’s.
Finally, Bethany spoke up. “Brittany, you are kicked out of our group, and you are no longer considered cool.” Bethany’s eyes sparked as she tossed her head and stuck her nose up in the air as if to say, “Beat that.”
“Well, then, I’m kicked out. Who cares if you and Ashley don’t think I’m cool. Chelsea and I will find many other people who will think we are just fine the way we are,” Brittany responded, unfazed. “C’mon Chelsea, let’s go find friends who treat each other with respect,” Brittany said as she grabbed Chelsea by the arm and turned her around.
The pair walked away from the stunned divas and toward their newfound freedom from ‘I trouble,’ smiling all the way.