Her name was V and she was a bitch. I was a freshman and she was a junior. I was tall, lanky, awkward, and on the varsity basketball team. She was short, athletic, and the star of the varsity basketball team. In addition to basketball, she had another keen interest- making my life as miserable as possible.
I was the only freshman on the squad and there were two sophomores; the rest were juniors and seniors. The school included grades 6-12 with about 400 high school students, plus about eighty 8th graders who were also eligible to play on high school teams. Out of the approximately 280 girls in grades 8-12, I was apparently one of the top ten or twelve basketball players who bothered to put up with our jerk of a coach.
V led the others in tormenting me day in and day out. Varsity practice started about an hour after school ended, so we would hang around for awhile and then head to the locker room to change into our practice uniforms. I was using a brush to put my hair into a ponytail for practice one day and held the brush momentarily between my thighs while I used both of my hands to tie my hair. V announced it looked like male genitalia.
One day after practice, V decided to spray water from her water bottle at me. I threw water right back at her, probably a bit more than she had thrown at me. Then I ran. A normal upperclassman might have run after the freshman jokingly, but she was in no joking mood. She really wanted to hurt me. We ran down the hall and then back before ending up at the back doors. By the end of the ordeal, I was on the floor and she was not.
This was the beginning of the end. I stopped getting out of bed in the morning to go to school. Often I would arrive late or not at all. I had always been a great student, but now I had B's and C's.
In the spring, my parents sent in our registration cards for 10th and 7th grade. Not long after, mine was returned in the mail along with a letter. I was not being invited back for 10th grade. We appealed our case briefly. More trauma ensued. I was bullied online by a girl who had enjoyed doing things to me since as early as 4th grade. Our family decided I should print out the transcript and show it to the 9th/10th grade coordinator, the equivalent perhaps of an assistant principal. Maybe I should remove this girl from my contacts list, she suggested.
I went to public school the next year for one of the best school years of my life. On orientation day, I was one of the only students who was not a freshman. I found my friend J, a girl I went to elementary school with, who was volunteering for the day. I didn't see her for awhile after that day, though, and the first several weeks were hard because I didn't know many people. Then one day in history class I heard the name of a girl I went to elementary school with, B. Which one was she? I looked around and didn't recognize her. She must have remembered me too because not long after that, we reconnected. From then on, I had a friend group. We ate lunch together every day in the grass. J and B were there, as well as C from elementary school and two girls I had played soccer with in 4th grade, L and A. J, C, and L had also been in Girl Scouts with me. I met M and CT, too. After those first few lonely weeks, I never ate alone again that year.
I tried out for basketball and made the team. I had previously been on the varsity team for a low-ranking 3A school, but now I was on C-team for one of the best 5A programs in the state. We worked hard, won all of our games, and became a close-knit group. We spent 12 hours a week together on the court but also got together a few times throughout the season for pasta dinners before games.
During sophomore year, I had lunch every day with my friends. I spent four months playing basketball with a great group of girls and an awesome coach. I did well in school. So really V, you didn't win. I won. I can't imagine what my life would have been like if I had stayed at the private school. V, you tried to ruin me, but in the end it was because of you that I ended up in such a happy place. Thanks so much!
