didn’t like what it said.
Tara and Brenna left first. We followed shortly after. Normally, the four of us rode together, but there was no sign of Tara’s van outside. “Wish I brought my car,” I told Ashla as we walked toward the bus stop. Then, to our surprise, the van pulled up beside us. Tara’s mom, Kim, a teacher at Queen Anne Middle School, lowered the window. “Hi girls. Jump in.”
We glanced through the smoky glass. Neither Tara, nor Brenna would look our way. “Thanks anyway,” I said, “but I don’t think we’re especially welcome.” We started to walk away.
The van door flew open and Kim jumped out. “Look,” she said, “this whole thing has gone way too far.” She ducked her head back through the driver’s window, “You girls come out here. We’re going to settle this right now.”
Slowly, reluctantly, our teammates and long-time friends joined us on the sidewalk. The wind was bitter and neither Ashla, nor I had blown dry our wet hair, so we pulled our hoods up and shivered while we waited for what I knew was going to be a really uncomfortable few minutes. Tara’s mother was glaring at her daughter. She blew us away by saying: “I didn’t realize that I raised a snob.”
Tara’s jaw dropped, along with ours. Kim moved directly in front of her daughter. They were toe to toe. “What makes you think you’re so special, Tara, that you never make a mistake or do anything wrong?” She grew thoughtful. “Come to think of it, you’ve messed up big time more than once, and we both know it.”
Tara was quick to reply, “But that was different. And I’m not a snob!”
“What do you call yourself?”
Tara slipped a sidelong glance at Ashla. “It’s not that.”
I switched my gaze to Brenna to see how she was taking this. Her face was flushed crimson, her eyes fixed on the van. I glanced at Ashla. She flashed me a look that screamed, “Let’s bail.”
Kim was unrelenting. “So, is this how you treat your good friend? Turn your back on her?”
“Can we talk about this in private, Mom?”
“No. Your actions are anything but private, so we’re going to talk about it now.”
There was a long, miserable silence. It was obvious that not one of us girls wanted to be there. Eventually, Tara mumbled, “It’s just that we didn’t want to be, you know, tarred with the same brush.”
Her mom nodded knowingly. “Ah-h, I see. You didn’t want to be on the receiving end of all the name-calling and—”
Brenna interrupted, “Who would? And we weren’t part of any of that.”
Kim turned to her. “Maybe not, but neither of you girls had the courage to stand up for Ashla. In fact,” she looked at me and I wanted to melt into the sidewalk. “Celeste seems to be the only decent one of you three friends.”
Tara finally looked right at me. “I guess we just don’t have her courage. Everyone has been cruel. Beyond cruel. Who wants to be the receiver of that?”
Kim nodded. “I heard about all this from a teacher I know at your school. She said Ashla’s been the target of some pretty brutal treatment. I realize it would take tremendous courage for all of you to stand up against that, but maybe if you did, if you present a united front, it would help Ashla, and this thing will die off.”
Tara shrugged, “I don’t know. It exploded out of nowhere and it’s seems to be spiraling out of control. It’s going to take a lot more than four of us to stop it.”
Kim considered this. “What about the rest of the swim team? Surely they’ll support you guys?”
Tara shook her head. “Ashla and Celeste have been frozen out. All four of us will be outcasts by the end of the week.”
“There must be something you girls can do.”
Brenna suggested, “Change schools?”
Ashla and I remained silent. What they were saying was true. At best, we were being frozen out. At worst, Ashla was called names, taunted, pushed around, and punched…and things were getting worse by the day. The
Tara and Brenna left first. We followed shortly after. Normally, the four of us rode together, but there was no sign of Tara’s van outside. “Wish I brought my car,” I told Ashla as we walked toward the bus stop. Then, to our surprise, the van pulled up beside us. Tara’s mom, Kim, a teacher at Queen Anne Middle School, lowered the window. “Hi girls. Jump in.”
We glanced through the smoky glass. Neither Tara, nor Brenna would look our way. “Thanks anyway,” I said, “but I don’t think we’re especially welcome.” We started to walk away.
The van door flew open and Kim jumped out. “Look,” she said, “this whole thing has gone way too far.” She ducked her head back through the driver’s window, “You girls come out here. We’re going to settle this right now.”
Slowly, reluctantly, our teammates and long-time friends joined us on the sidewalk. The wind was bitter and neither Ashla, nor I had blown dry our wet hair, so we pulled our hoods up and shivered while we waited for what I knew was going to be a really uncomfortable few minutes. Tara’s mother was glaring at her daughter. She blew us away by saying: “I didn’t realize that I raised a snob.”
Tara’s jaw dropped, along with ours. Kim moved directly in front of her daughter. They were toe to toe. “What makes you think you’re so special, Tara, that you never make a mistake or do anything wrong?” She grew thoughtful. “Come to think of it, you’ve messed up big time more than once, and we both know it.”
Tara was quick to reply, “But that was different. And I’m not a snob!”
“What do you call yourself?”
Tara slipped a sidelong glance at Ashla. “It’s not that.”
I switched my gaze to Brenna to see how she was taking this. Her face was flushed crimson, her eyes fixed on the van. I glanced at Ashla. She flashed me a look that screamed, “Let’s bail.”
Kim was unrelenting. “So, is this how you treat your good friend? Turn your back on her?”
“Can we talk about this in private, Mom?”
“No. Your actions are anything but private, so we’re going to talk about it now.”
There was a long, miserable silence. It was obvious that not one of us girls wanted to be there. Eventually, Tara mumbled, “It’s just that we didn’t want to be, you know, tarred with the same brush.”
Her mom nodded knowingly. “Ah-h, I see. You didn’t want to be on the receiving end of all the name-calling and—”
Brenna interrupted, “Who would? And we weren’t part of any of that.”
Kim turned to her. “Maybe not, but neither of you girls had the courage to stand up for Ashla. In fact,” she looked at me and I wanted to melt into the sidewalk. “Celeste seems to be the only decent one of you three friends.”
Tara finally looked right at me. “I guess we just don’t have her courage. Everyone has been cruel. Beyond cruel. Who wants to be the receiver of that?”
Kim nodded. “I heard about all this from a teacher I know at your school. She said Ashla’s been the target of some pretty brutal treatment. I realize it would take tremendous courage for all of you to stand up against that, but maybe if you did, if you present a united front, it would help Ashla, and this thing will die off.”
Tara shrugged, “I don’t know. It exploded out of nowhere and it’s seems to be spiraling out of control. It’s going to take a lot more than four of us to stop it.”
Kim considered this. “What about the rest of the swim team? Surely they’ll support you guys?”
Tara shook her head. “Ashla and Celeste have been frozen out. All four of us will be outcasts by the end of the week.”
“There must be something you girls can do.”
Brenna suggested, “Change schools?”
Ashla and I remained silent. What they were saying was true. At best, we were being frozen out. At worst, Ashla was called names, taunted, pushed around, and punched…and things were getting worse by the day. The
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