She got straight to the point: “As you know, girls, we take bullying very seriously in our school”

I was born with a mischievous expression on my face. Or that’s what it seems like, anyway. In our old albums there are countless photos of me doing something I shouldn’t be doing while toothily grinning up at the camera, unabashed. That and being the youngest child, with a bunch of mischievous siblings, almost made it inevitable that I would have a spunky personality. I definitely gave my parents a run for their money.

In school, I was quite the monkey, too. If ever there was a trick played on a teacher, or a practical joke on a classmate, I was usually to blame. Still, I wasn’t malicious or nasty, even if I did add some gray hairs to certain teachers of mine. Despite my antics, school was good, and I made my way through most of my elementary years with no major issues. Then came high school.

I was in ninth grade, and it was a Tuesday. I know that, because we had triple period science class on Tuesdays, and we were right in the middle of it at the time. Mr. Sobel was enthusiastically drawing an abstract concept of physics on the board, when, without warning, the door squeaked, and was pushed wide open by our principal, Mrs. Kraus. The noise startled Mr. Sobel, who dropped his ever-present purple whiteboard pen from one hand, the lid from the other, while my classmates and I exchanged glances. What we had done to merit a visit, mid-science? From experience, it wasn’t a good sign.

“I’m sorry for disturbing, Mr. Sobel, but we have an urgent matter to discuss,” Mrs. Kraus said, striding to the front of the room while talking. She got straight to the point: “As you know, girls, we take bullying very seriously in our school.” Her gaze swiveled round the room, first one way, then the other. We shifted in our seats. “It has come to my attention that a girl in this class has been bullying a classmate.” Mrs. Kraus continued. “This is unacceptable, and we will be dealing with the culprit later. But meanwhile, I think this class needs to hear a little about bein adam l’chaveiro….” Mrs. Kraus launched into a full-blown speech while I breathed a sigh of relief. If she’d told us off about skipping class or ignoring homework, I would have been worried, but knowing that I’m certainly not a bully, I didn’t feel overly concerned. While Mrs. Kraus pronounced the consequences and dangers of bullying, I drew flowers on the corners of my loose-leaf, intricate leaves and stems and petals. Finally, after some more sharp words of rebuke, she walked out. There was an audible exhaling of breaths.