Vacation

Chapter Ten

The weekend went by in a blur. Soon enough, it was Monday morning, and Allison was getting ready to go to school for the first time after her vacation.

She packed her backpack, put on her favorite outfit (the one she had worn when Josh had told her she looked really pretty), and braided her hair. She took a deep breath and then went outside to wait for the bus.

When it arrived, Allison got on he bus, and sat down. She heard someone laugh as she walked down the aisle.

"Allison, you're back," one of the girls in the seat in front of her said.

"Yeah," Allison said.

"I thought I told you not to wear that outfit again," the other girl said. "It makes you look even fatter than you actually are."

"Which is saying a lot, because I didn't think you could possibly look fatter," the first girl said. Both girls laughed and then turned back around.

Allison looked at herself. She knew she wasn't fat. And she wasn't going to let her bullies make her think that she was. "What the heck are you talking about? I'm not fat at all. And even if I was, you shouldn't be saying anything, because that's body shaming. I can wear whatever outfit I want. It's not your place to tell me what to wear or how fat I look. Don't you realize how incredibly rude you sound?"

Both girls turned around, their surprise obvious. Their eyes were wide and their mouths were open.

"Did she just--"

"Yeah, she did."

"We're just trying to help--" one of the girls began to say.

"No, you're not. You're trying to be rude, because that's what everyone else does. They bully me, and you're just followers. I'm done standing for this. Bullying is not okay. It made me feel bad about myself, but it doesn't as much anymore. It's still not fun, though, and I don't want you bullying other people," Allison said. "You need to stop right now, because this is not okay at all."

The girls gave a Allison a mean look before turning back around and whispering about her. Allison felt proud about what she had done. She hadn't let their words affect her, and she had stood up for herself. Patty would've been proud.

Allison's bus arrived at school. She walked off the bus and into her school with a confidence that she had never had before.

She walked into her first period World History class. After the bell rang, her teacher walked up to the front of the classroom.

"Allison, great to have you back. You never finished your presentation on why the Roman Empire fell. Can you please come up here and present?" he asked.

"Okay," Allison said. She pulled out flashcards from her binder. Her teacher handed her her poster that she had left in the classroom. She walked up to the front of the classroom and began to present.

"The Roman Empire fell because--" she started.

"I can't hear her," someone said, laughing.

Allison rolled her eyes. "The Roman Empire fell--"

"I can't hear her at all," another person said.

"Allison, we go through this every time. The class can't hear you. Please speak louder," her teacher said.

Allison knew she was speaking loud enough. She tried again. "The Roman Empire fell because the--"

"Still can't hear her."

"Well, then maybe you should get your hearing checked, because I'm speaking loud enough," Allison said. The class went silent. They knew that they could hear her. They were just being mean. Allison continued with her presentation. "The Roman Empire fell because the German leader, Odoacer, took over the Roman leader, Romulus." She went on to explain more about Rome, its leaders, and its conquerors. Nobody said "I can't hear her" again. Allison was proud of herself. She stood up for herself and she got to present well.

"Well...good job on your presentation, Allison. See me after class for your grade," her teacher said.

When class ended, Allison went up to her teacher and asked him for her grade. He told her that she got an A because she had good information and a good presentation.

Allison felt like jumping for joy as she walked down the hall to her next class. She had stood up for herself twice today and she had gotten an A on a presentation. She had always thought that she was too shy to get good grades on presentations, but she knew better now.

When Allison got home from school that afternoon, she was in a good mood. Of course, it wasn't a perfect day. She was still made fun of and laughed at, but it didn't matter as much anymore. Allison was in a good mood because she was finally happy with who she was and not what anyone else told her who she was.

Allison made a vow to herself right then. She promised herself that she would never not believe in herself ever again, no matter what anybody said, because she knew that she was perfect just as she was.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading this book! I hoped you liked it. :)