Welcome back to the Simplicity Diaries with me, Kem Jon Paine. This week we'll be continuing on with our reading from the Emotionally Resilient Tweens and Teens book that I co-authored with my dear friend and colleague Luis Fernando Llosa. And we, you might remember, began last week with Annika's story.
And just before we jump into that, a quick reminder that the Care Professionals seminar that works exactly with these issues of marginalization, exclusion, younger people struggling with social conundrums and issues, that's what we'll be looking at. It's a seminar, three hours on Saturday, three hours on Sunday, November 1st and 2nd, and I'll personally be leading that. And in these Care Professionals seminars, we prepare care professionals, educators, medical professionals, anyone working with parents to help them help their kids.
It also expands, we've been told many times, it expands and deepens Care Professionals own like counseling practices and such as well. Helps educators run parent evenings about these themes, many kinds of applications. Anyway, and if you look, if you're listening to this after that date, don't worry, you can sign right up on our website simplicityparenting.com down the interest list and we'll let you know next time this seminar rolls around.
Anyway, that's enough of that. Let's jump into continuing Annika's story. And this part of the story is called a mirror image.
That afternoon when school let out, I spotted my mom waiting for me in her car. As I headed towards the buses with B, Skylar and Chiara. Oh, MG, my mom's here, I said.
Are you serious? B replied. I thought you take the bus, Skylar said. I do.
I have no idea why she's here. I was freaked out. I was wearing a super tight, low cut tank top B had loaned me.
My mom had never seen me dressed like this. She spotted me, smiled and waved me over. As I got closer, though, I saw her face change.
Annika, Annika. I held my backpack in front of me to conceal what I was wearing, but clearly it was too late. For a second, I saw myself through my mom's eyes and I felt really uncomfortable.
It was clear how shocked she was. I was just showing way too much. As I got close to the car, I realized to my horror that B and Chiara and Skylar were still with me.
They giggled and chatted loudly as they always did. Did you see what Danielle was wearing? B said. Oh, she looks so lame.
Chiara replied. Yeah, what is she like? Like like a mesh or something? Forgetting my mom's was there for a second. Everyone laughed fitfully.
Don't people ever get it? Chiara said. No one should be allowed to leave their houses dressed like that. There should be like an alarm that goes that buzzes if they do.
Bye, Annika. B said sweetly when we'd reach mom's car. I waved at her and the others slipped off into and I slipped into the passenger seat.
Hi, mom. Mom didn't respond. She just stared at me like I was a foreigner.
She must have thought I'd turned into an alien or something. It's not that in our family we're prudish or anything. We just don't dress or walk or talk that way that my new friends did.
Come to think of it, I don't recall mom ever saying anything mean to another about another woman. And all she heard us do was diss another girl. At that moment, my mom was like a mirror reflecting my new petty mean girl self right back at me.
I didn't like what I saw at all. My mom didn't say much about anything on the drive home. She never did in such moments.
But what she didn't say nearly deafened me. Oh, I felt so ashamed. Ashamed.
The second I got home, I raced upstairs and changed, lying on my bed. I was wondering if it was just me. Did B, Kiara, Avery and Skyler have similar thoughts? Was it true that inside we are one way and outside a totally another way? I guess that's the case to some degree for everyone and maybe that's okay.
But when who you are on the outside doesn't match up at all with who you are on the inside, you start to feel really weird. My mom seeing me in a totally mean girl mode made me feel hollow inside. I was a total fake, a liar.
But I liked B and the others so much. They were cool. Boys fawned over them.
When I was with them, everyone looked up to me. Everyone wanted to be like us and it made me feel so good. The next few weeks went by in a whirlwind.
Guys I didn't even know wanted to talk to me. Girls asked me for advice. I got invited to three different parties and borrowing outfits from B and Avery, who were my size, became like a daily makeover strategy.
One day, after Friday assembly, Danielle approached me. How are things going? She asked. Yeah, great.
Well, you seem to be fitting in pretty well here now, she said. Yeah, everyone's been really nice to me. Listen, we're going to the Five Points Mall right after school.
You want to come with? Do you think they'll be okay with that? Well, I don't see why not. Meet us at the bus pickup. When school was out, Danielle walked over to where B and Avery, Chiara and Skylar and I were gathered.
Hi, Danielle, I said warmly. Hi, Annika, she replied smiling. B looked her up and down and then paused.
We all went silent. Yes, may we help you, B said coldly. Danielle bit her lip.
Her eyes started to water. Annika, she sputtered. B cut her off with a dismissive hand gesture and everyone spun around in unison and walked away.
I hesitated. Come on, Annika, B barked from a few yards away. Then she turned to Avery.
Can you believe that girl? Who does she think she is? Her dad's like a plumber or whatever, isn't he? Everyone laughed. I felt awful about how they treated Danielle. Would it matter what her dad's work was? She was funny and nice.
There was nothing to dislike about her. I wanted to talk to her, to apologize. But also, I didn't want to end up frozen out.
So I said nothing and just followed. The Cleek Gopher A week later, as recess ended, I went into Mr. Swenson's classroom to look for my lost pencil case. The light was off and there was no one there but me.
I walked past Mr. Swenson's desk. I spied a folder marked 7th grade algebra. I don't know what got into me, but I stopped and I opened it.
Inside, I discovered a master file of next week's test with all the answers written in. I dropped the folder and rushed out into the hallway where my classmates were starting to gather before our next class. Guys, guys, you won't believe what I just saw! I said, shaking.
What? Bea asked. Next week's test. With all the answers.
Well, why are you just standing there, Bea hissed? Go in and get it. Get it and we'll keep watch. I slunk back in and I reopened the folder.
Then I took a snapshot of each of the five test pages with my cell phone, closed the folder and rushed back out into the hallway. Bea hugged me. You're so awesome, she said.
Text us the pages. Two days later, the five of us were called into the Vice Principal Sanchez's office. A serious situation has been brought to my attention with regards to next week's 7th grade Algebra test, Vice Principal Sanchez said.
We glanced at one another, but no one uttered a word. After a long pause, he spoke again. Anika, is there anything that you want to tell me? Uh, um, I, uh, why me? I asked.
Hmm, you tell me, young lady. But, but we all did it, I said, desperately searching my new friend's faces. You guys asked me.
Oh, that is so not true, Anika, Bea cut in. I can't believe you just said that. Well, you did all have it sent to you.
But we didn't ask her to, Bea insisted. Yeah, why should we be blamed for just getting something sent to us, Kiara added. I got zero on the test and was not permitted to do a make-up like Bea and the others did.
But at least I wasn't suspended or expelled. I was a straight-A student who'd never been in trouble before, and we'd been caught before we actually took the test, which turned out to be sort of a good thing, because if we'd taken it and cheated, it would have been much worse. It was Skylar's mum who discovered what we'd done and turned us all in, including her own daughter.
She had walked in on Skylar staring straight at an enlarged photo on one of the test pages on her laptop and grilled her about it. Skylar caved pretty quickly and showed her mum our group text. There it was for everyone to see.
Five photos of a master copy of our next math test. And it was sent from my cell phone number. We'd been so busted.
I felt horrible. I'd never cheated in my life. This just wasn't who I was.
Mum and Dad were shocked and furious. They grounded me for a whole month. Another first.
So we'll go on a little bit more with the story next week, concluding it. We'll find out a little bit what happened to Annika with her friends. And then the story ends with a realization.
A lot of the stories in this book do have a pivot point, which is why they're there. And it ends on a gentle sort of upswing. So yeah, I hope that's been compelling.
Certainly was. These are stories all written about real life situations and this was a very hard situation for this girl. All right, I hope that's been interesting.
Bye-bye for now.
