The School Brat

Bryan Adams High School Hallway

Walking into high school, I had two things in mind. Keeping up my “bad girl” reputation and graduating. One of the two did not work in my favour. Really it started back in elementary school, I was what most people call a brat. Mostly because I gained the title of being the snitch queen, the girl who is going to tattle on you to keep being the teacher's pet. I was the little girl who wanted everyone to know when I walked into a room. I even had a group of girlfriends called the diva group and deemed myself the leader. I became involved  in all the drama if not the cause of it. Those first six years of school granted me my first school reputation. I was now known as an annoying girl, snitch queen, the most popular, the brat. By the time I knew it, elementary school was over and I knew there needed to be a change. Thankfully ,I reevaluated my behaviour and revised my attitude. I was going to be in middle school. A whole new world. Fear of being bullied, an outcast flushed my mind constantly. So I became the bully. Certainly, I regret this now, but this is how middle school was. Be the bully or get bullied, and I had to learn that quickly. The friends I had in elementary school were no longer my friends. More like people who tolerated me through those years and wanted to make me pay for something I did as a little kid. I made a couple of friends who were not as immoral as I was. Over the years I became the bad influence and slowly lost some more friends. It was déjà vu all over again.
Fast forward to High School. I made some friends over the summer. Still the same girl with a bad attitude. Turned out, the school had a name for girls like me. I was now the ghetto girl. For some reason I wore that title with pride. It got me a certain popularity that I thought made me relevant in a way. With that title came a certain responsibility in my mind. I had to be a top dog. Someone who could not take no mess from nobody. Looking back now, if I didn't have that mindset I wouldn't have ruined my entire high school experience. It all started on the track field.

Track & field" 

A rumour had spread around the field that one of the prettiest girls at school did not like me. Elisia. It was all because she thought I wanted her boyfriend Brandon at the time. In high school when you heard a rumour that someone was talking about you, you had to “confront” them about it. I waited until practice was over to do so. I went up to her in the hallway and made a big scene. “Why do I hear you don’t like me?” She responded with a stank face that made my blood boil. “Do I need a reason not to like you”? she asked. We exchanged words until a circle full of kids started to chant the words, “fight, fight, fight.” I had never been in a fight, so my heart started to race thinking of what to do next. She looked as anxious as I did so she walked away. I thought I won the altercation and that was the end of it. If only I knew what the outcome of that day would lead to. The next Friday night there was a football game. My friends and I never really went to watch the players play, but to socialise with other students. During half time the field was clear, so my group decided to head to the concessions stand. I bought a hot dog and a soda with the 5 dollars my mom handed me before I left. On our way back to our seats, I heard a faint voice get louder and louder behind us. “You the girl that’s been bullying my sister”? We turned around to see Elisia trying to hold back a girl who seemed to be a grade or 2 higher than me. She continued with her accusations, causing the stands to point and whisper. I quickly turned on my defence mode and gave her some words of my own. My best friend, Kayla, pulled me away trying to calm me down. “It's not worth it Chelsea.” I should have listened to her knowing the night would have ended badly. A couple minutes flow by. The tension is still high. People squirming over to other people spreading the rumour of a fight. Me and Kayla went back to the concession stands. Not too far we see Elisea and her supposed sister grouped around a bunch of boys who are trying to provoke the fight by egging it on. “Yeah, I was there when she was talking about Elisa. She was saying she was going to beat her up if she saw her outside of school.” Said one of them, knowing that was not true. After that she turned her head and gave me a stare that sent chills down my spine. But I couldn't show any fear. All I could do was stare back and prove to her I was not scared of anybody, including her. “Let's just go.” Kayla said concerned. She grabbed my hand and started to pull me towards the front of the school where the bus lane was. As we walk, we hear a loud crowd following behind us. We get to the bus lane and Eleisa, and her sister joins us. Out of nowhere a circle full of kids holding their phone up with their flashes surround the 4 of us. I had a feeling of what was about to happen next. Eliesa’s sister approaches me. Trying not to let the fear show is now out of the picture. “Look, I don't know you, and I don’t want to fight. Especially on school grounds. Whatever problems me and Elisa had isn't even that serious.” I said with slight trembles in my voice. She takes a step forward, without thinking I do too. That’s when all hell broke loose. She grabs a huge chunk of my braids and starts swinging her fists at my face. She pulled me down to the concrete scraping my skin. With no remorse she continues throwing punches at my head. The crowd was in complete disbelief cheering as I'm getting man handled.

Fighting Ladys"

, Kayla gets through the both of us to break it up. I got up and ran away crying. I knew my high school social life was completely over after that. I would no longer just be the brat. When people would ask if they knew me, their description would be, “the girl who got beat up at the high school game.” I would've preferred the school brat.

Image credits:"Bryan Adams High School Hallway" by Dean Terry is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

"Track & field" by Olli A is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

"Fighting Ladys" by MGEARTWORKS is licensed under CC BY 2.0.