Even before we became friends, I knew Tara, Baleigh, and Cassie weren't always so nice. They loved to gossip, and
if they didn't like you, they'd be perfectly happy to turn everyone else against you, too. Tara was the leader. She decided
who got picked on, but Baleigh and Cassie went along with it every time.
Still, I wanted to be friends with them--we always had so much fun together! We were so close, everyone at school
called us "The Foursome." Other girls looked up to us, and all the coolest boys liked us. I'd always been kind of popular,
but this was different--and a lot better. When we walked down the hall together, I felt great.
One day Tara told us that we were going to target Evelyn, a girl I'd been friends with for a few years. Baleigh told me
later that Tara hated Evelyn because Evelyn had "stolen" Tara's boyfriend, Jacob. I think the real reason was that Tara
was jealous because Cassie and I both really liked Evelyn. Tara and Evelyn had been good friends before, and now
Evelyn wanted that friendship back. Tara didn't.
Trashing Evelyn
Whatever the reason, we started making fun of Evelyn. She didn't have very cute clothes, so we said she was poor. We
called her "Evil Evelyn." We got other kids to pick on her, too, and Jacob even broke up with her because of it! I felt bad,
but mostly, I just tried not to think about it.
Then my birthday rolled around, and Tara told me not to invite Evelyn to my party. I was sick of Tara always trashing
Evelyn, so I said, "She's not as bad as you think. What if I want to invite her?" Tara told me I'd better shut up or I'd be
"gone." I shut up...and crossed Evelyn off my list.
A few days after I sent out the invitations, Evelyn asked me, straight out, if I was having a party. I really didn't want to
hurt her feelings, so I told her nicely that I was just too busy to have one. Then Evelyn reached into her pocket and held
out an invitation--to my party!--that someone had dropped. I felt horrible. With tears in my eyes, I snatched the invitation
out of her hand and walked away. I turned around just long enough to see Evelyn crying, which made me feel even
worse. But I still couldn't give up The Foursome.
Difficult Choices
I was so confused! I hated the way I was treating Evelyn, but Tara, Baleigh, and Cassie were my best friends. How could
I risk losing them? Still, I couldn't stop thinking about how Evelyn must feel. Finally, I decided I had to apologize. I told
Evelyn I wanted her to come to the party. I thought she'd be happy, but instead she just said no, looking down at her feet
with such a sad face I wanted to cry.
A little while later, our school chorus had a big performance, and Tara and Evelyn were doing a duet. Tara planned to
stop singing mid-song so Evelyn would end up singing alone, which Tara knew Evelyn hated. Right before we started to
sing, I tried to warn Evelyn. I told her not to sing loud, but since I didn't say why, Evelyn sang extra loud just to make me
mad. When Tara suddenly stopped, Evelyn's voice shook a little, and then she stopped, too. I felt a little sick, watching
her run offstage in tears as Tara and Cassie laughed.
Afterwards, Evelyn was angrier than I'd ever seen her. She'd put up with a lot from us, but this was different. I tried to tell
her how sorry I was and that I'd wanted to warn her, but she didn't want to hear it. She said she hated me and never
wanted to see me again.
I guess Evelyn decided to give me another chance, though, because she accepted my apology a few days later, and
even said she wanted to be friends again. But Baleigh was there, too. Afraid that she'd tell Tara or make fun of me, I
said, "What?! I never apologized." Then Baleigh and I ran off giggling, and hid from Evelyn in a bathroom stall.
That's when it finally hit me: I always got along great with Evelyn when it was just the two of us. And even though I was
horrible to her whenever Tara and Baleigh were around, she was always willing to give me another chance. I'd
practically ruined Evelyn's whole year, and why? For the friendship of some self-absorbed girls who weren't nearly as
nice as she was. I walked out of the stall, no longer caring what Baleigh thought.
Friends...Again
The next day, I told Evelyn how sorry I was, and that I was done being mean--for good. Much to my relief, she accepted
my apology (again!). Even so, it took a few more months--and a lot more apologizing--before she truly trusted me again.
But gradually, our friendship got stronger (and it's still going strong today).
You know what the funny thing is? All that time, I thought Tara would dump me if I stood up to her, but that's not what
happened. When I told her I was friends with Evelyn again, she laughed at me. I said I was serious, and she got really
angry, saying, "You'll be sorry..." But that was it. I wasn't kicked out of the group. Tara didn't even end our friendship.
Instead, it was more like she stopped having so much power over me--and Baleigh and Cassie, too. She didn't suddenly
become sweet and nice all the time, but when she got mean, we just ignored her. It was her problem, not ours.
Of course, all this drama taught me something important. Never again will I choose one friend over another to raise my
social status. I made some dumb decisions that year, and I'm so glad I didn't lose Evelyn's friendship because of them.
Even better, I learned that I can stand up to someone who is acting like a bully. And that's really cool, because sticking
up for a friend--and doing what you know is right--feels great. It's even better than being popular!
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