Part 31

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Hi Mum,

On Monday, I was angry, as if everything I felt during the guy's attack on my birthday exploded. So you know, Lola wasn't gone for long and she is absolutely fine. I listened to her story of how she got lost without interrupting or showing any judgment. Deep down, I was dying for her to bring up the way she acted towards me before her own misfortune. Maybe if I listened to her, I thought, it would prompt her to re-assess things. Mainly how her actions invited a scary, angry bigot, to traumatise me. Maybe she would offer an apology. But she was only interested in her own story. Between lessons, I could feel this bubbling anger just below my jaw-line. I can't tell you why exactly, but later I told her that, while she was missing, me and the other kids stumbled upon a circus with acrobats and clowns. 

She was acting cool, but I could tell her cogs were turning.

Right when we were all preparing to go home after school, Lola and Gigli blocked my way out of the classroom. They said I'd been lying about the circus and that lying was a disgusting thing to do. Not at all ladylike.

I didn't raise my voice. I didn't argue. I just left...and slammed the classroom door hard on my way out (in my "unladylike" way).

But it was my way and I smiled.

Zelia

Tell us about the first time you stood up for yourself. How did it feel? 

Photo by Nicolas Potiglioni (Pexels)

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