Dead & Forgotten

Ch. 4

Jeanna Morton was the definition of a true queen bee. With her long, curly brown hair with dirty blonde highlights, sparkling blue eyes, and petite stature of 5'3, she was considered a beauty. She was the most popular student in Marshall Academy, as well as your typical mean girl who had a few friends who followed her lead in every way. In most cases, it's not really that hard to deal with a mean girl by standing up to her and giving her a piece of your mind. But in this case, it was a little different because Jeanna was a senior--meaning she was an upperclassman, top of the world, at the top of the food chain. She wasn't somebody you should really mess around with, and I wouldn't know what to do if I were to ever be put in that situation.

My encounter with Jeanna was not really intentional. It all started during dinner time in the dining hall, when everyone was having a relaxing time talking and eating together. Jeanna was sitting at a table with a bunch of girls, a lot of whom were either upperclassmen, friends, or freshman girls. Marvin was also sitting with them, Donna was sitting somewhere else, and I was sitting all alone, isolating myself from the others. One thing about me was, I never really felt comfortable in an environment I was not very familiar with. But at the same time, I was desperate for company and the desire to gain more attention.

So I got up and walked over to where Marvin was sitting when Jeanna said to me in a nasty tone, "I'm sorry, but this table is taken."

Suddenly, everyone was staring at us--it's amazing what could attract people's attention. Clearly, I wasn't expecting to become the center of attention like this. I didn't know what to do, what to say. This was very humiliating. Suddenly I said, "Excuse me?"

"Do you not understand English? This table is taken. Meaning occupied, used. Better go sit somewhere else, if I were you." She had that unpleasant tone in her voice, which I did not like.

"Jeanna, why don't you just take a chill pill?" Marvin said to her.

"Oh, I'll take a chill pill alright," said Jeanna. "After this freshie does what she's been asked to do, which is to get lost and sit somewhere not near us."

"Jeanna, that's not very nice," Marvin said in my defense.

"Why are you sticking up for her?" she snapped. "She might as well speak for herself, you know. That is, if she can speak English."

That was the last straw. Even in a new, unfamiliar environment, I expected to feel like I was part of the family. But in this case with Jeanna Morton and her clique crew, I didn't feel like anything special. Still, I demanded to be treated with respect. And now I did something I didn't really expect to find myself doing, which was standing up to Jeanna. "Excuse me, but I can speak English perfectly well," I said defensively. "In fact, I am multilingual--I can speak English, Greek, Spanish, French and Italian a lot better than you think. And I don't know who you are, but you have no idea who you're dealing with. I happen to come from a very affluent Greek family of wealth and fame. You can treat me like an outsider all you want, but I'll have you know one thing--you're not gonna get away with it."

I couldn't believe I just stood up to Jeanna Morton. Just then, everyone applauded for me, which made it quite clear that nobody else could ever stand up to her like I just did.

She scoffed and said, "You just think you're a real hot shot, don't you?" She shook her head and rolled her eyes, clearly disgusted. Unable to withstand this, she got up and left the room. Everyone clapped for me once again as a way to congratulate me.

From across the dining room, I could see Donna giving me a wink, as her way of telling me well done. I gave her a thumbs up in response. Then as I took Jeanna's seat, I felt more confident in myself.

"Wow, you sure told her off," Marvin said to me, amazed.

"Wow, I certainly did," I said, still amazed by my act of bravery.

And the best thing was, the rest of that day went pretty well for me. I gained more friends with the people I was sitting with, and Marvin felt more attracted to me. I couldn't help being likable, but I had never dealt with anyone like Jeanna before. I have learned it the hard way that people like Jeanna Morton had one goal and only one in mind--to put you down for no reason at all. She was also nothing but trouble, and I probably wasn't the only victim of hers, but I think she still had to be taught an important lesson. So that's why after dinner, I decided to go talk to Headmistress Rogers about what just happened. But before I did that, I thought it would be a great idea to write to Aunt Hillary about everything that was going on so far. I hoped she was able to provide some help.

In the letter, I wrote, "Dear Aunt Hillary. I am writing to you to let you know that I am having a very good time at Marshall Academy. Everyone here is really nice and friendly, and so far, I have made about a few friends. Their names are Donna and Marvin, and they really like me. And I like them too. But unfortunately, I have one problem--there is an upperclassman girl who picks on me for no reason at all. I think she hates me, but I don't know why, and I don't know what to do. When you write back, please give me some advice on what I should do. Thank you very much. Love, Cassandra."

Then I went to Headmistress Rogers' office after I mailed the letter. Hopefully, Aunt Hillary got the message and was able to provide some kind of counsel. I told Headmistress Rogers everything that happened, and she listened very well. After I finished, she said, "Oh, Cassandra, I am very sorry. You don't deserve this kind of treatment."

"I guess I will never belong anywhere," I said, even though it probably wasn't true.

"Oh, sweetheart, don't say that," she said. "As you can see, you're not the only one Jeanna picks on. She does this to many others too. Believe me, sweetheart, you are not alone. Don't feel bad. I will have a talk with Miss Morton about her unacceptable behavior. And you need not to worry about a single thing at all."

"Thank you, Headmistress Rogers," I said, suddenly feeling a lot better now. "Thanks so much."

"Anytime, my love," she said with a smile. "Whenever you have any problems, don't be afraid to come to me. As you can see, we all treat each other like family here."

I unexpectedly found myself saying aloud, "Yeah, well it's too bad that I don't feel like I'm part of the family." And I was blunt when I said that.

But Headmistress Rogers was warm and understanding. She said, "Believe me, honey, I know exactly how you feel. But you just have to give yourself a chance to really adapt to this environment. This school is now your new home away from home, and all it takes is for you to feel a special connection to it. If not, then this will fade into a useless memory."

Even back at home, I didn't really feel like I had a family. Until I entered Marshall Academy, I thought things would get better, but I guess I was wrong. As if she could read my mind, Headmistress Rogers said, "Now cheer up, Cassandra. Things are not merely as bad as you think they are. They will get better eventually. So just hang in there, sweetheart."

For once, I was starting to feel some kind of connection to Headmistress Rogers--a special kind, that is. She was always there whenever I needed her. So it wouldn't be too bad after all. "I'll try, Headmistress Rogers," I said with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said. She then glanced at her watch, then at the clock, and said, "Well, it's beginning to get late now. Good night, Cassandra dear."

"Good night," I said to her and then left the office. Hopefully by tomorrow, all this would be gone and forgotten, and it would be a brand new day.