It was a new academic year, and Shira was now in primary 6 with new classmates. She started to loosen up a bit, play more, and interact more, especially since she grew up with brothers, making it easier for her to connect with boys. However, she struggled to get along with girls, even though she tried her best. Her mom gifted her a pack of fancy pencils and watercolors, making her the only one in class with such supplies. This caught the attention of a little girl squad, consisting of Jessie, Favour, Doo, and Feli, who loved to draw and color.
They called themselves the "art queens," and Jessie was their leader. Though Jessie was controlling, mean, and rude, Shira didn't mind too much; she was just happy to have made some friends, or so she thought. The girls would gather around her to use her colors, but once they finished painting, they would leave without inviting Shira to play, eat, or walk with them. Despite the red flags, Shira overlooked their behavior because she craved friendship and wanted to feel included.
Shira never denied them access to her colors, happily sharing them whenever they asked. As time went on, the girls began to go into her bag and take her supplies without permission, but Shira remained unbothered, valuing the idea of having "friends." One day, during class, the teacher started punishing students for being noisy, which added tension to the situation.
The art queens sat on her desk as usual, painting and making inside jokes that Shira never understood. She would smile along, even if she felt left out. But on this fateful day, things took a turn. Shira, feeling a bit off, tried to contribute to their conversations, but they sidelined her, making her retreat into silence.
As they laughed loudly, their noise caught the attention of the class teacher. He pointed at the girls to come out, but Shira, being quiet, was excluded from the reprimand. Jessie, the squad leader, insisted that Shira should also be punished just for being there. Shira felt defensive and protested, saying she hadn't been part of the conversation. The pressure of their accusations made her start to cry, and the girls cruelly claimed she was shedding "crocodile tears" to gain pity from the teacher.
Despite her silence, the tears flowed, and the teacher, noticing her distress, tried to pacify her while punishing the girls. This moment marked the beginning of Shira's problems with her so-called friends, as their true colors started to show.
Shira started getting bullied by the girls, they'd make fun of her, make side comments and began to spread lies about her. Shira couldn't really do anything about it, she didn't know how to stand up for herself, she didn't talk to anyone about it, she went through the struggle alone. This went on for a long while, they'd laugh when she got a question wrong, if she failed a test they'd display her script for everyone to see, they sang silly songs about her "Shira is ugly, Shira is ugly, oh how crazy to have a face like that" most days when she couldn't suck it up, she'd cry. One time the girls took out tissue papers from the teacher's drawer and inscribed Shiras name on it calling her an ogre and different names for hideous creatures, they all wrote something and left them on her table. She gathered the courage to confront them one day, she was really sad and hurt, she called them around and when they came she tried to speak, as she was speaking, she was stuttering, she lacked composure and began to play with a loose thread on her sweater, she didn't portray any confidence and ended up sounding silly, the girls laughed out loud and walked away. She felt really bad and began to cry again.
Shira's situation only worsened as the girls began to bully her relentlessly. They made fun of her, threw side comments her way, and spread lies about her. Feeling lost and unsure of how to stand up for herself, she kept everything bottled up inside and faced the struggle alone.
The bullying became a daily routine; they laughed at her mistakes, displayed her test failures for everyone to see, and sang cruel songs like "Shira is ugly, Shira is ugly, oh how crazy to have a face like that." On particularly tough days, when she couldn't hold back her emotions, she'd cry in silence. One of the worst moments came when the girls took tissue papers from the teacher's drawer, wrote derogatory names like "ogre," and left them on her desk.
Eventually, Shira mustered the courage to confront them. She called them over, her heart racing with sadness and hurt. But as she spoke, her words stumbled out, and her nervousness showed as she fidgeted with a loose thread on her sweater. Instead of sounding assertive, she felt silly, and the girls erupted in laughter before walking away. Overwhelmed by the humiliation, Shira found herself crying once more, feeling more isolated than ever.
It never got better for Shira; the bullying continued relentlessly until she left for high school. Each day felt like a battle, and the pain of being ostracized weighed heavily on her. The memories of those hurtful moments lingered, shaping her experience and leaving scars that would take time to heal. High school brought a new environment, but the shadows of her past followed her, making it challenging for her to trust others and feel confident in herself.