Well, Inca had her doubts, but even she has admitted that my plan has begun to show some results. The vitriol sent in Mary’s direction has lessened, giving her a chance to breathe. And my four newest charges, for I have begun to think of them in that way, have started to feel a bit differently about their actions against her.
I have had to use different methods to reach each girl, for each one is very different. With Monique, who follows a misplaced sense of justice in attacking Mary, I have been very logical. I have reminded her again and again that all of the reasons she uses to justify her actions are fabricated, that none of them have concrete evidence to back them up. I have also used truth and logic with Veronica, but not about Mary. Instead I have shown her a picture of herself, giving her a glimpse into her own motivations and trying to get her to understand that she is following a poor example. April has been easier: she has her own compassion, though she has suppressed it in order to not cause conflict with her friends. I have simply awakened that compassion, urging her to imagine what she might feel in Mary’s place. As for Kayla, there is only one thing that I have seen her to need, and that is love. That is what I have tried to provide.
The proof of my success could be seen in an encounter Mary had with the girls today. She was in a hurry—she has a job interview, and she needed to get home and get changed for it. So instead of going around the side exit as she usually does to avoid being seen, she went running out the front door and straight into Kayla.
Both girls staggered, and in the moment just before they looked up and recognized one another, both Inca and I were there, ready to intervene.
“Hey, Larry!” Monique snapped. “Watch where you’re going!”
Inca put one wing around Mary. It was a protective gesture, and to me it looked very much like the way Monique reached for Kayla’s arm as she said it.
Mary, pale with stress already, ducked her head. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, and she tried to duck around them.
Veronica stepped in her way. “What was that? I didn’t hear you,” she demanded.
With Inca whispering in her ear, Mary managed to straighten up and look at Kayla. “I’m sorry,” she said, more clearly.
Kayla was already beginning to sneer, but it was my turn to whisper. “You don’t need to hurt her, Kayla. You are better than that.”
It is strange—normally Kayla’s aura has sharp outshoots like thorns, outstretched and ready to defend her. In the past days since I have begun working on her, those thorns have softened, and they softened further as I spoke. Kayla turned away. “Whatever,” she said. She looked at Veronica. “I’m hungry. Want to go get some snacks?”
Mary, who could hardly believe her luck, started out again, but this time she nearly ran into Tyler, Veronica’s boyfriend, and much of the source of trouble between these girls.
“Oh,” Tyler said, stepping back with a smile. “Hey.”
How little some boys know the trouble they can cause with a glance and a smile. Mary blushed, more from mortification than from any attraction, but the sharp eyes that saw the blush couldn’t see what she was thinking.
“So hey, Mary,” Monique said, her voice low and soft in a way that made Mary’s spine go rigid. “I haven’t see you update your Instagram lately.”
Veronica snorted.
“It’s too bad,” Monique went on, looking at her nails with an expression of studied innocence. “There was some really cool stuff on there. Have you seen it, Tyler?”
Inca stepped forward to intervene, but I had turned my attention to a different target. “Leave her alone, Monique,” April said, caving under the pressure of her guilt and my murmurings.
All four of the other girls went silent, staring at April. Even Tyler blinked, noticing for the first time that something was wrong.
I gave April a rush of gratification, murmuring that she was doing the right thing. She, too, was blushing, but she went on. “That Insta wasn’t hers. It was a mean prank, everybody knows that.”
Veronica sucked in a breath—the prank had been her idea, and she thought for a moment that April was going to expose her. But April shook her head and looked away.
“Why are you sticking up for her?” Monique demanded. “She’s a little jealous bitch.”
“No, she’s not,” April said tiredly. “And even if she was, you’ve made your point. Give it up already.” She put her hands in her pockets and started off across the parking lot.
Completely astonished, the others stayed where they were—all but Mary, who took the opportunity to make her escape. I expected Inca to follow her, but she lingered, watching the other girls.
Kayla, after a moment, started after April. I wish I could say that she agreed with April that enough was enough, but it wasn’t Mary that she cared about. Rather, she wanted to be there for her friend, and I couldn’t argue with that. Perhaps more will come in time.
Meanwhile, Monique was trying to work herself into a huff about April’s opposition. I would not let her, knowing that it would come out against Mary.
“She’s right, after all,” I said to her. “You have done enough. What do you really know about Mary that makes her deserve all of this?”
And though her mind tried to supply a few reasons, none of them would stay. I have spent several nights dismantling them all, until not one still holds water.[1]
“If April, someone you love and respect, believes this way, could she not be right?” I asked her.
For a moment, I thought she was convinced. Then she scoffed, and I sighed, hoping that at least the seed was planted.
“Rude,” was all she finally said to Veronica.
Veronica was in the midst of looking at herself, as I have been trying to get her to do. She looked, and she saw a young woman who manipulates others to feel strong, who magnifies imagined slights and faults to make herself look and feel better—just like her mother does.
“And don’t you hate it when she does that?” I asked her in a whisper.
Her hand tightened on Tyler’s arm. She lifted her head and looked after Mary, and in that moment I knew that I had won, because her aura filled with bitterness against herself.
I knew this was what I had wanted, but I could not help but wrap my wings around her. “You can be better,” I assured her. “You can. And I will help you.”
Then, leaving the others, Inca and I went to find Mary, who was halfway home. When I found her, I brought back the memory of April defending her, the change that she had found so surprising. I left it in her mind until the warmth of it ran through her whole body, and she went smiling to her interview.
So that is it. It may not seem like much, and it will not work any miracles, of course. The girls will probably convince themselves that they are simply bored, that taunting Mary is far too much effort and they have better things to do with their time. But I believe that it is a turning point for them. If we are vigilant, the problem may well solve itself in time.
Inca has scolded me for making our one charge into five, but I do not think she means it. When I left her just now, I heard her talking to Eburnean about Kayla’s stepfather, whether he poses a real danger to her or not. It is no wonder that we have come together, for we are kindred spirits.
I will write more when there is news.
[1] I like this metaphor—something as weak as paper, if prepared correctly, can hold water, so to be unable to do this is a telling image.