"Well, if it isn't Valerie!" I heard. I turned around and there were a group of girls laughing at me.

"Hi." I said softly, backing away. I really didn't want confrontation with girls I didn't know. I literally have never seen these people before.

"Were you the crybaby who ran off stage during the school play last weekend?" one of the girls asked. I thought over my options, then nodded without thinking. And I instantly regretted it.

"Honey, of course that's her! Look at her! She's crying already!" another girl shouted. And she was right. I put my hand to my face and I felt tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Gonna start crying, Valerie?" a girl said.

"Leave me alone." I said with a soft voice. I ran away to the bathroom, crying. I pulled out my phone and was almost about to call George, but then I realized, he was in the middle of a show. I didn't feel like interrupting him. I started crying even harder, locking myself in a stall. I was too scared to go outside.

"Gonna keep hiding, Valerie?" one of the girls asked. "God, she's such a crybaby."

I froze in fear. I had to go somewhere.

And I knew how to run. Running saved my life.

I grabbed my backpack and waited until the tardy bell rang. Then I sprinted out of the bathroom and down the hall. I stopped by the front office and just dropped a note saying Situation in the bathroom, gonna go home. ~Valerie Salazar

I ran out of the school and headed towards the Lyceum.

_______

"Valerie?" Gerard asked as I ran in, out of breath.

"Hi..." I said with the breath I had left. My heart was beating like crazy.

"Valerie, it's 1 in the afternoon. Why aren't you at school." Gerard asked firmly. He was mad at me.

"I...um..." I stuttered. There was no good way to explain this.

"Valerie, answer the question. I'm getting concerned." Gerard said.

"Have you guys seen Valerie anywhere?" I heard George call. He was about to tap Gerard on the shoulder when he noticed me. "Valerie, the school called. What's going on?" he asked. I felt like I was being interrogated.

"Nothing's going on. Okay? Leave me alone!" I yelled, not wanting my dad and uncle to get involved. I would much rather keep it a secret.

"Woah! Val!" I heard, and I saw Lauren steadying me on my feet. "Why are you here? What's going on? Shouldn't you be at school?"

"Technically, and legally, yes. If I tell you what's going on, promise me you won't tell my dad?" I asked. Lauren thought it over and nodded.

I took a deep breath and said, "So these three girls, I don't know their names, were bullying me because of what happened at the play last weekend. And I couldn't take it anymore, so I dropped a short note to the front office and came here without telling anyone."

Lauren sighed and said nothing for a few minutes. Then she said, "I have to tell George."

"You promised!" I snapped. Lauren sighed and said, "I know I promised, but I didn't know you were getting bullied!"

"Wait, who's getting bullied?" I heard. Will was towering over us. Lauren sighed and said, "Valerie is!"

"What?" Will said. "Is this why Valerie's not at school? And why George says she's acting so weird? Valerie. Explain."

"I'd rather not..." I said.

"Long story short, these 3 she-devil sixth grade girls were bullying Val because of what happened at the play last weekend, which wasn't her fault. So she ran here." Lauren said.

"Remind me to call the school..." Will said.

"I don't want to make a big deal of this, guys!" I said, almost about to cry.

"Listen, you just got bullied. Of course we have to make a big deal out of this!" Will said angrily. I backed up, not wanting to make him madder.

"Okay, guys, calm down! It's obvious that Valerie does not want attention!" Lauren said.

"DO I LOOK LIKE I CARE?" Will yelled. I started sobbing, and Lauren hugged me.

"What's going on?" George said, and the whole room seemed to freeze. Lauren was still hugging me, and Will was frozen in fear, covering his mouth and gasping every so often.

"It's not my story to tell." Lauren said.

"YOU SPILLED IT TO WILL, LAUREN MARCUS!" I yelled. Lauren sighed and yelled back, "WELL YOU WERE CRYING TOO HARD TO TALK, SO I JUST TOOK THE LIBERTY, OKAY?"

We were arguing like children, and George stood in between the two of us. "Woah! Okay. Valerie, explain."

"Lauren, explain." I said.

"Will, explain." Lauren said. We were truly acting like a group of elementary school students at recess. George rolled his eyes and sighed and said, "If I'm going off of what the school said in their phone call, Valerie got bullied in the bathroom. Via, is that true?"

"Yeah." I said shyly.

"Wait, I need details. And context." Will said.

"I...um..." I said, tripping over my words. I didn't really feel like explaining.

"Valerie, go ahead. We won't judge you." George assured me.

"Um...so these 3 girls were teasing me about what happened at the play last weekend. You know what I'm talking about, when I ran off stage in the middle of the show." I said.

"That's a ridiculous thing to tease someone about." Lauren scoffed.

"I know!" Will yelled back. "Which is why I'm calling the school as soon as I possibly can."

"No! Please! I don't want any more negative attention than I already have!" I yelled. Truth be told, I was kind of scared of what those girls would do to me, and I was even slightly scared to go to school. But my family didn't need to know that.

I wasn't even legally adopted yet.

"So, am I making the call or not?" Will said, phone in hand. I sighed and said, "Fine. Make the call."

"I don't think Via's happy about it." Lauren said, almost sounding like she was joking.

"Hang on, guys. I'm gonna call the school. Eisenhower, right?" Will asked. I nodded.

"Don't worry, Val. They won't bother you again." George said, putting his arm around me.

"I hope you're right." I said.

AN: Sorry it took so long to put this chapter out! I do have a few evil tricks up my sleeve for my other books, so look out for that. And it'll only get eviler from here...hope you enjoyed! Catch ya later!