Who’s The Bully?

It was just another morning and Swati was in no mood for another day of school. Ever since she had joined the new school, she simply dragged her body to the ‘jailhouse’, which is what she called it. Quiet and a little submissive is what Swati was. Well, you can therefore imagine that she would be the butt of all jokes and the target of all bullies at the school. From ‘flat-nose’ and ‘Miss Grumpy’ to ‘Ma’am Stuck-up’, there was no end to the name calling. Some of the children in her class found much gratification to indulge in such low practices. How long was this going to last?

“Mummy, I have a stomach pain,” Swati said, trying to put on an act of agony. She had tried to make excuses of not to attend school. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not. “I can’t make it to school today.”

“What’s going on? Ever since we’ve got here, you’re always getting sick. Is there something you’re not telling me?” asked her concerned mother.

“It’s fine!” said Swati accepting her failure to convince her mother. “I’ll get ready,” Swati never shared her grievances with her mother.

‘What are they going to call me today? Why did we ever have to move here? Why is everyone so mean here? I’ve tried everything. I’ve tried to be nice to them. I’ve even called them names too sometimes. What do I do?’ thought the sweet-tempered girl of twelve.

Swati had no choice but to brace herself for another day of torture. As she made her way to her classroom, she was surprised to see only a few students in the class. She realized she was early. These were the students who didn’t really speak to her, neither did they bother her. Swati quietly sat in her seat and took out her books from her bag.

“Hi Swati! Can you give me your English notebook? I was absent yesterday. I need to copy everything that was taught in class,” said a small voice from behind.

Swati turned back to see her classmate Twinkle. Twinkle was also a loner. She seldom engaged in conversations with others and always kept herself busy by reading novels.

“Sure,” replied Swati. Swati handed over the book to the pigtailed girl.

“Hey! Can I ask you a question?” said Twinkle. Twinkle didn’t really wait for a reply. “Why don’t you tell Kiran anything when she teases you?” she went on. “You should stand up to her.”

“And tell her what?” said Swati.

“Well, she tried to tease me too when I had joined the school last year. Unfortunately, she couldn’t even win on the first day itself. I’ll let you in on a secret and she’ll be off your back.”

“Do you want me to blackmail her?” said Swati as that was the only thought that popped up in her mind.

“Wow! Why didn’t I think of that? No…no, this is a trick to get rid of bullies like Kiran and her gang permanently.”

The students started trickling into the class. One by one they took their places. The class was soon chaotic. Kiran finally made her appearance. She did not fail to make her way to Swati.

“Look who’s here! How is it that you decided to come to school today? Didn’t I teach you a lesson yesterday? You’re pathetic,” Kiran began.

Swati looked up and smiled.

“Oh! Don’t you have the audacity to smile at me? There’s something different about you today. Wait…let me see…ah….no, you’re still skinny and ugly,” Kiran couldn’t stop herself from the verbal abuses.

The class burst out in laughter. But they didn’t expect Swati to speak.

“You’re right! I am skinny and ugly. You, on the other hand are really pretty. How did you get so pretty?”

“I was born pretty,” Kiran did not know how else to respond to such a remark. “You smell terrible. Didn’t you take a bath today,” Kiran felt that she had to continue torturing Swati. The students in the class couldn’t hold their laughter in.

“I do smell terrible. I ran to school thinking that I was late. But, I must say, you smell great. Did you apply perfume?” There was no stopping Swati now. She had no idea where this was going; she was just following Twinkle’s advice. ‘I just hope this works,’ she thought.

“Perfume? You do know that we’re in school and that’s not allowed. I guess I always smell sweet. It’s the natural scents I guess,” replied Kiran. ‘What do I tell her now? Why is she complimenting me? Everyone is staring at me. They’re expecting me to say something mean to her. What do I say?’ thought Kiran.

Just then Kiran’s eyes fell on Swati’s book. “Let me see that,” said Kiran as she picked up Swati’s book.

“Oh my God! Look everyone…what terrible handwriting! Someone’s going to be in trouble with Sania Ma’am,” Kiran said.

“Sania Ma’am has been constantly telling me about my handwriting. I really admire the way you writing…really artistic. Every letter seems to be painted rather than just written. Can you help me with my handwriting?” Swati was now a little nervous for having said too much. ‘I don’t know if this is going to work.’

Kiran looked around. She was speechless. ‘Sure’ was all that came out from her mouth. She then turn and walked away to her seat.

Swati was now speechless. She quickly turned to Twinkle who gave her a smile indicating ‘I told you so’. That was the last day Swati was ever teased by Kiran or anybody else.

Moral: Don’t give in to bullying. Deal with a bully; don’t ignore him/her.