Pearl, the most quiet of the triplets sat quietly, eating bread sandwich for lunch. Her sisters were with their friends, munching away and laughing happily.
A bigger girl in class, Hannah walked up to her. Pearl immediately looked down, because Hannah was a bully.
"Hey, you," Hannah said.
Pearl slowly looked up.
"Me?" She squeaked.
"Yes, you. Give me that." Hannah said pointing to her sandwich.
"Please, I haven't eaten all day. This is all I have." Pearl said.
"I didn't ask. Let me have it."
Pearl broke it into equal halves and gave one half to Hannah.
Hannah slapped it out of her hand.
"If I wanted half, I would have said it. I want all of it."
Pearl's eyes became teary.
"You just threw it away." She said tearfully.
"So what? Who's gonna save you? I'll throw the other half if I want to." Hannah said and grabbed the other half.
She threw it on the floor and stomped it to pieces with her foot.
"If I don't eat it, you don't eat it too." She said and walked away.
Pearl fell to the floor in tears, she saw the pieces of her bread sandwich all over the floor and worst of all, everyone was laughing at her. She looked towards her sisters for support, but Emerald was laughing too, while Ruby just looked away.
She got up in frustration and ran out of the cafeteria.
After recess was over, Ruby and Emerald returned to the class. They saw Pearl on her chair looking pale. Emerald ignored her, while Ruby walked up to her.
"Are you okay? Your face is white." Ruby said.
"Why do you care?" Pearl asked.
"What do you mean? You're my sister, I'm only showing concern."
Pearl ignored her.
"What has gotten into you?" Ruby asked.
"Stay away from me. I was bullied in the cafeteria and y'all were laughing at me. It was bad enough that you couldn't help me, but why did you laugh?" Pearl asked.
She looked really hurt, and tears began to stream down her face.
"I didn't laugh, I promise. I didn't find it funny." Ruby said.
"I saw you laughing," Pearl argued.
"I didn't. I only looked away because I couldn't bear to see it. Emerald did laugh, but I didn't and we just had a fight because of that." Ruby said.
Pearl kept mute again.
"Why don't you want to believe me?" Ruby asked.
"Because I saw you laughing. Go away." Pearl said.
Ruby stared at her for a while, then she walked away.
"It seems poor little Ruby is having a hard time convincing poor little Pearl she didn't laugh. How pathetic." Emerald remarked as Ruby walked past and all her friends laughed.
Ruby wasn't Pearl and she wasn't as easy to bully as Pearl too, because she got angry easily and was also a good fighter.
So, she walked back to Pearl and said in an audible voice.
"Who threw your sandwich sis?"
Pearl stared at Ruby.
She knew Ruby was ready to fight, as she looked really angry. A normal Pearl would try to avoid a fight, but today, she stood up and pointed at Hannah.
"Okay," Ruby said and walked towards Hannah.
Hannah laughed and the whole class started laughing too.
What was little Ruby about to do? Hannah was twice her size.
"Why did you hurt my sister?" Ruby asked.
"And, who's asking?" Hannah asked.
"Ruby," Ruby said and the class started laughing again.
"It's not funny. It's not nice to bully people. Take a look at your size, you're not meant to be here. You aren't even smart. And instead of trying to get good grades, you're bullying little kids. Where's your shame?" Ruby asked.
Hannah's laughter faded, Ruby had hit her exactly where it hurt. The whole class became silent as Hannah stood up.
"That's a very mean thing to say," Hannah said and pushed Ruby to the floor.
Ruby scraped her elbow, but she ignored the pain.
"Yeah, the truth hurts." She said rubbing her elbow.
Hannah immediately flung herself towards Ruby, but Ruby moved away, and she fell face first on the floor.
She got up again and tried to move, but Ruby's legs were in her way, so she fell down again.
The whole class started laughing again.
Ruby got up and wanted to walk away, but she saw blood. Her heart skipped a beat.
"Call a teacher! She's bleeding!" She screamed and the whole class became rowdy.
Pearl ran out of the class to call a teacher and in no time, she returned with the music teacher.
"Good Lord, what happened here?" The music teacher asked.
She immediately called an ambulance and Hannah was picked up.
She was bleeding from her nose and her gum. Some of the other children also cried at the sight of blood.
The class had a sudden silence as the principal walked in.
"Who did that to Hannah?" He asked.
The whole class were scared to say a word, but Ruby raised her hand up.
"Yes?" The principal said.
"It's karma." She said
The principal looked confused.
"Huh?"
"She bullied my sister, Pearl," Ruby said pointing to Pearl.
Pearl was shaking and and looking down, she knew it was all her fault. She should have stopped Ruby.
"Stand up Pearl!" The principal ordered and Pearl immediately stood up.
"She bullied Pearl and threw away her sandwich. She didn't only throw it away, she also crushed it with her feet. When I got back to class, I saw Pearl looking sad and hungry. I went over to speak to her, but she didn't want to talk to me because she said she saw me laughing at her, which I actually didn't. To prove my point, I went to confront Hannah, but she pushed me down and I scraped my elbow in the process. See?" Ruby said, showing the principal her injury.
"She even tried to jump on me, but I was quick to move away, and she fell to the floor, she got up and hit my leg and fell again. It wasn't my fault. I initially went to fight her, but I didn't have to do anything. The whole class saw it, you can ask them." Ruby said.
The principal only stared at the girl, he knew she was being truthful, but he still had to punish her.
"Why did you try to start a fight when you could have just reported to a teacher?" He asked and Ruby didn't say a word.
"Alright, detention for two days. Pack your things." The principal said and walked out.
Ruby only smirked as she packed her things.
Pearl walked up to her to thank her.
"It's okay sis. At least, you know I care about you." Ruby said.
Emerald only rolled her eyes because she suddenly felt like she was not part of the triplets.....