The psychologist asked have you ever been bullied?
Grace just smiled and said people always try. From childhood into adulthood. The way I grew up I didn’t have time to be worried about the way I looked or if people liked me or not. So growing up I was that proper english speaking none slang talking fat kid in the hood. When I went to school I was an overweight girl who held her head high so people took that as stuck up.
Which meant there was always someone who thought they would be the one to bring me down. And every time they failed till it became a competition that lasted till I finished school. But I would say the most memorable moment that stands out is because of the outcome more than the actions honestly.
I was in a math class and everyone had a nickname. Nothing nice mind you but everyone had one including the teacher. Mine was beast. In that room was the only place where these names were allowed and honestly you felt like part of the class. Knowing how bad that is but that’s how it was back then. But anyway there was a girl in the class who I thought I was okay with. Not friends but not enemies either. Well her brother was in my home ec class and he didn’t like that I spoke to her in class. I never paid this guy any mind because he was always trying so hard to be a tough guy and I was focused on cooking.
Until one day he came to class acting a bigger ass than normal because his sister told him the name I was given in that class. So he felt he had something to embarrass me with.
I felt bad for my teacher. She was a little old lady and I mean little. She knew what was about to happen and I saw her trying to run out of the class. He came to my desk calling me a beast thinking I was going to be offended and pushing my books off my desk and I, not thinking, just went for his throat pushing him against the wall in the nicest voice I could get to come out of my mouth to back up before I hurt you.
This was really bad for him because everyone saw that when I had him against the wall his feet were not touching the floor. I found that part out later myself.
But I pushed him into the wall more when I let go of him and of course he couldn’t let it go so he started swinging.
I ducted his swings but on the last one I leaned back on a plastic table and it broke and I went down with it.
Security came and grabbed his arms to stop the fight but instead using his feet he decided to stomp my face since he couldn’t use his hands.
We both were suspended. Who knew a school in the hood had strict fighting rules.
The police were surprised by that because my mom pressed charges of course and the guy’s mom apologized for her son’s actions and I got to sleep in for three days.
The guy got beat up when he went back to school. See I was in choir and a few of the football players were in that class along with other players’ girlfriends and they didn’t appreciate his actions to their classmate. I was that popular kid who didn’t realize they were popular. Who new.
My downside to this story is when he stomped my face he cracked two of my teeth and I had a freaking shoe symbol on my face plus I had to go to a freaking dentist.
And of course the dentist said I needed a lot of work done to my mouth so I went through the process of starting root canals and fixing the chipped teeth. So I thought.
This dentist took out teeth that didn’t need to be taken out and never fixed the chipped teeth and those root canals?
I had two extra holes inside my mouth because when it came for the day I was supposed to go back to the dentist to finish his work, he had shut down and never said where he was going. I went to an abandoned building. Now the thought of going to a dentist brings an anxiety attack before I even call to make an appointment.
But it wouldn’t be that way if it wasn’t for that experience of someone trying to bully me. So no, I don’t allow myself to be bullied. I don’t respond to them the way they want and that’s by giving them a reaction. But when I do, they always seem to be surprised or shocked by the reactions I do give.
Deidre Gibbs
HPS Magazine 