It has been a hard night for Mary. The girls who have been hurting Mary have struck another blow, leaving harsh comments online for her to find. The words were anonymous, but Inca knew who was guilty.
I could hardly read the words that they wrote, and I certainly will not repeat them here. They were poisonous, and they made me angry, but it also horrified me that anyone, particularly young girls, could do such things. Mary has not stopped crying since she saw them, and she locked herself in her room, not even coming out for dinner.
Since our current assigned roles have not quite made a difference yet, I proposed to Inca that we exchange places. I left her with Mary, to give her strength and do what she could to keep her mind from the hurt. And I went to find the girls who are the perpetrators.
There are four of them: Veronica, Monique, April, and Kayla. All of them are in the same grade as Mary, and they have known her for some time. Veronica has even gone to school with Mary since kindergarten.[1] They have never been friends, but the venom directed at Mary is a recent occurrence.
What I discovered surprised me. Kayla is the daughter of a single mother, much like Mary, but she feels powerless in her own home because of a controlling stepfather. April actually has no problem with Mary and feels guilty for some of the things she has said and done, but she doesn’t want to go against her friends. Monique believes that she is supporting Veronica, who believes that Mary has a crush on her boyfriend. She actually believes that what she is doing is right. As for Veronica herself, she is only imitating the kinds of things that her mother says and does to her.
There is evil here, but it doesn’t come from these girls. It has taken root in them, and while Mary is suffering the most, they all feel its cruelty.
So I have decided my task is to bring warmth not just to Mary but to all of them. If I can help them find strength in things other than power plays and lashing out at others, maybe they will learn some kindness.
Inca thinks that my plan is ambitious, but she is open to the possibility. After all, one of the reasons that two of us are assigned to this case is so that we can work together. She will tend to Mary, keeping her safe from herself, while I reach out to her peers. Because they are all the same, in the end, and they all deserve love.
[1] I love this word—a garden for children.