Rock 'n' Roll Rebel by Ginger Rue Page A

laughing. “Okay, okay. I guess we are pretty precious, aren’t we?”
    â€œThe preciousest!” Tig said.
    Claire, Kyra, and Olivia came over to Tig and Robbie, and they all hugged. “That was so fun!” Claire said. “I wasn’t even nervous! Well, after we got started.”
    â€œWe rocked!” Olivia said.
    â€œWho’s the coolest all-girl band in town? We are!” Kyra said. The girls exchanged high fives.
    The rest of the night was a blur of congratulations from the adults at the party. Even though it was just a bunch of her aunt and uncle’s middle-aged friends, the praise felt good.
    I could get used to this , Tig thought.

Chapter Twenty-Three
    T he glow of Aunt Kate’s party had faded by Monday, when Tig had to return to the cold realities of middle school.
    Haley’s counterattack—if you could consider Tig’s kicking her out of the band an attack—was quite brilliant. Even Tig had to admit it.
    Mrs. Baker had gotten some sort of a grant to do an anti-bullying campaign in social studies, and they’d been doing worksheets and skits for two weeks about how to stand up to bullies. Now it was time for the culmination of the unit: student essays and presentations about how bullying had personally affected their lives.
    Tig did hers on how she’d once witnessed a fight at school and how it was never okay to hit anyone. Kyra’s was about a rumor from last year about how she’d had a crush on a guy in their class. She left out the part about how she’d been the one who started the rumor because she had thought it would make him ask her out. It didn’t. Robbie’s was more of a persuasive essay about how nobody is important enough to make you feel bad about yourself. Mrs. Baker gave her kudos for dressing outrageously to prove her point—even though no one else had dared say a word about the hideous dress Robbie had worn with combat boots to fulfill the dare.
    When Haley got up to present her paper, Tig expected a generic, phoned-in essay.
    But what she got was a total oh-no-she-didn’t moment.
    â€œThe Psychology of Bullies,” Haley read, “by Haley Thornton.” She cleared her throat and continued.
    â€œBullies pick on people because they feel bad about themselves. They know they are nothing special, so they find people who are special and try to bring them down to their pathetic level.
    â€œSadly, I became the victim of a vicious bully this year, so I know firsthand how it feels to be treated like dirt by a peer. I won’t say her name because I’ve decided to be the bigger person, but this girl did everything she could to make me feel terrible about myself. She is jealous of me because I’m much prettier than she is and I have lots of friends, while she is ugly and a loser. Yet because I felt sorry for her since no one likes her, I did her a favor and tried to help her with an extracurricular project. I thought maybe I could try to be her friend. But I soon found out there was a reason no one likes her. She rejected my help and yelled a lot of mean things to me in the gym one morning, in front of everyone, just to hurt my feelings. I was so upset to think that anyone could be so horrible, especially after I’d been nothing but nice to her.
    â€œHowever, I’ve learned that this unnamed person’s issues are her problem, not mine. I refuse to be dragged down to her level by participating in her pettiness. I realize I am special, and no one has the right to make me feel otherwise!”
    Haley capped off her speech with a giant smile and a bow.
    The class clapped and cheered.
    Except, of course, for Tig, Kyra, Robbie, and Will, who sat there stunned.
    Mrs. Baker seemed skeptical. “Okay, Haley,” she said. “That was interesting. Thank you.”
    While Mrs. Baker was making a note in her grade book, Haley looked directly at Tig, leaving no doubt in the class’s mind