30 Days of Truth - Day 8: Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like shit

Someone who made your life hell.

I hate to admit I could choose from a few here, but I'm going to go way back on this one. I was 12. My first year of junior high. There was this girl in my physical education class we'll call 'Amelia'. It was the only class we had together, I did not know her at all. We had not gone to elementry school together. I'd never even spoken with her.

For some reason though, she singled me out.

Each and every time I entered that locker room, she was inches from my face and talking down to me. Calling me names. She was taller than I was, had big curly hair and dark makeup. She had a little pack of girls (not a single one of whom I can remember to this day) that would stand by and stare at you.

This went on for Months.

I remember even resorting to running right in, grabbing my clothes and hiding in a bathroom stall to change so I wouldn't have to face her. I remember once one of the pe teachers thought she heard or saw something and asked me if there was a problem.. right in front of Amelia of course. I lied and said no, no problem. Still she didn't leave me alone. Always telling me she was going to find me after school and beat me up. For what I had no idea.

There was this one day I decided I had nothing left to lose. She stood across from me in the locker room and said something and the next thing I know, I'm yelling in front of everybody. 'Oh yeah?! Then HIT me then!'

Maybe only a moment passed but to me, it felt like forever. I held my breath thinking for sure she was going to attack me. Everyone stared in silence. A moment later, it was over.

She just stared at me, then said 'No one has ever stood up to me before like that.' And then added something about how maybe I was pretty cool after all. And that was that. I never really understood why she chose me to pick on, or why all it took was 2 sentences for her to leave me alone.

Over the next 2 years, we even became... friends maybe? Not close by any means. But we would have an art class here, something else there. And she was always really nice to me after that oddly enough. Looking back all these years later I can't believe I ever let her terrify me the way she had, and I wonder why my 12 year old self didn't speak up sooner.