We had a similar reception from another Bais Yaakov. Not outright rejection, but a cool response hinting to the fact that I was unwelcome

This darkness is beginning to penetrate my bones and take away all the cheer I have inside…

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

The pain is back, and much, much worse. I cannot move. I am collapsing

I found myself with a weird and wacky desire to misbehave. Things only went downhill from there

It filled me up to feel wanted, important, needed. Which is why once I started, I didn’t stop — at all

I made them laugh, shared my cookies, and generally was, I thought, a great friend, even if I did leave a trail of stuff in my wake

Thus concluded Day One of my Pretend. One phone call, and not much else. It felt disappointing. I was hoping for more

Within a few weeks of Mrs. Rubin being my teacher, I had been told I needed to sit at the front of the classroom — because it was “better for me” — and had been ignored more times ...

Growing up with Debbie around has been like one long learning curve

When the doors finally opened, I stumbled out into the mall and collapsed onto a nearby bench