The Consequences of Being a Bitch

You’re probably wondering why Stephanie is such a bitch in my book. All she did was possibly help draw a few penises on my article. Why am I spending so much time on her?

Ah, my young pupils. You are still so ignorant. You have so much to learn. But don’t worry. I’ll teach you. I love corrupting minds. All you have to do is pay very close attention to what I tell you, lest you miss something important.

Stephanie wasn’t a bitch because of what she did. She was a bitch because of what she didn’t do. And to me, that’s even worse.

Now, I wasn’t there when it all happened. But I heard Gio’s version and several other broken fragments of the story. And besides. Even though I arrived late, I saw enough to piece everything together. Because unlike you, I am not an ignorant fuck. I know how the world works. I don’t hide behind illusions of happiness or safety, or whatever the fuck you think you have.

I’ll start with what I saw, and then fill in all the gaps.

It was the same day, the day of the penis newspapers. The final bell rang and I went to my locker to gather up my things. The hallways were less crowded than usual, so I actually took the time to enjoy the walk. I came across a few penis newspapers along the way, and stuffed them in my backpack so I could burn them when I got home.

There was a meeting after school for the newspaper, but there was no way in hell I was going. So after I packed my backpack and shut my locker, I set out to find Gio. I never knew where he was. He was never by his locker. Always off causing trouble, the little rascal.

I rounded the corner to the hallway that lead to the computer room, and stopped short at what I saw. Miles Cleary—the designated school idiot—and his sociopathic friends. Plus a few girls from the tennis team. The guys were laughing like a pack of sedated hyenas. I could feel their energy from where I was, all the way down the hall. What were they laughing at, you ask?

Little Gio.

He was surrounded by Miles and his friends, looking terrified and smaller than ever. The tennis girls were on the outskirts of the group, watching innocently. Some of them were grinning. Miles was holding the school’s newspaper, waving it in Gio’s face and then pulling it back teasingly. He pushed Gio’s shoulder a little, testing the waters. When Gio didn’t do anything back, Miles pushed harder. Gio hit the brick wall behind him. Hard. His head snapped back to bang against the brick and I cringed.

My feet started running toward them before my brain could even take the time to send the message.

Giovanni Romano was my best friend. You don’t fuck with my best friend.

“Just admit it, man. You drew these,” Miles said as I drew nearer. He didn’t notice me. “Sick bastard.”

“Gay boy,” Jon Winchester snickered. The rest of the guys laughed, but some of the girls actually had the decency to look uncomfortable.

I reached them then. Went right up to Miles. Right in that bastard’s face.

“How are you today, Miles?” I asked sweetly. I could feel his breath on my face and it only made me more angry.

“Whoa,” he said, backing up a few steps. “Calm down, Jubi.”

“Dear sweet Jesus up in heaven,” I muttered to myself. I would not punch Miles. I would not slap him. I would not kick him in the groin. I couldn’t. I was already in enough trouble, and Miles wasn’t worth it. But ‘calm down’? Really? “Don’t tell me to fucking calm down.”

I had to look away from him. Just the sight of him pissed me off. My eyes landed on a familiar blonde. Long, curly hair. Thick headband.

Pale pink polo.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Stephanie looked away. What would I have said, anyway? Hey, bitch. What happened to that dentist appointment?

I turned back to Miles, grabbed him by the shirt, and pulled him in close. “Don’t pull this shit again,” I said. “Got it?”

He squirmed out of my grasp and scowled at me. “What are you gonna do?” he asked, looking past me at Gio. “Draw a dick on my forehead?”

“You little fucker,” I seethed, stepping forward and swiftly kneeing him in the groin. It made him double over, and soon he was on the ground. Fetal position.

My eyes swept over the tennis girls, all looking at me like I had just murdered Miles. No, only his future babies. I looked at Stephanie, but her eyes were trained to the floor.

“Come on, G,” I said, grabbing him by the arm and yanking him away from the situation. We walked through the mostly empty halls and I tried not to hurt anyone. When we were safely outside, I sat him on a bench and stared down at him. “What the fuck was that?” I didn’t mean to sound so angry. I should have been sweet and gentle with Gio after he had to go through that, but I couldn’t. How could anyone be sweet and gentle after that?

“Miles wanted someone smaller than him to pick on. He saw his opportunity and took it.”

“And?” I said, urging him on. “Why are you being so nonchalant about this? The kid practically bruised your brain.” I sat down next to him on the bench and poked the back of his head. He’d hit it pretty hard against the brick wall when Miles had pushed him. “Does that hurt?”

He shrugged me off and scooted away. “I don’t care about Miles,” he said. He looked at me, his dark eyes big and sad. “Did you see her?” he asked. His voice cracked, but that wasn’t unusual for him at that age.

He was talking about Stephanie, of course. “Yes,” I said through gritted teeth.

“God,” he said. “I’m so stupid. She already thought I was a loser. Now she must think I’m some perverted guy who’s obsessed with drawing genitalia. And she probably thinks I’m gay.”

“Who cares what she thinks, G?” I said. “She’s a bitch! Did you see her back there? Did you see what she did?”

He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off.

“Nothing! She did nothing.”

He shook his head. “I know, Jubi. I know,” he said, rubbing his temples with his fingertips. “But it wasn’t really her place.”

“Have you been brainwashed? Miles really did damage your brain!” I threw my hands up in the air. “Why do you want some girl who won’t even stand up for you when you’re being attacked by the dopiest guy in school? She could have easily stepped in! Miles is a wuss!”

He didn’t say anything, just stared straight ahead defiantly as he continued to rub his temples.

I sighed. Stephanie was a bitch, how could he not see that? She was the quiet kind of bitch. The passive kind. But still selfish. Just because she wasn’t a straightforward bitch, did not mean she wasn’t selfish.

Why hadn’t she stood up for Gio? Because she didn’t want to step out of her own little bubble of perfection, to risk being made fun of. She didn’t want her tennis bitches or even Miles to think she would defend Giovanni Romano.

The longer I sat there next to Gio, the more I pieced everything together. The more I understood what had happened, how everything was connected.

Stephanie Stiller had watched without a peep, as her tennis friends defaced every single newspaper that had been printed, every single one of my articles. She could’ve stopped it. We were “friends” weren’t we? But she hadn’t stopped it. She just stood by while her friends ruined something that meant a great deal to me. It was logical, I suppose—but it was cowardly more than anything. To Stephanie, it would have been too risky.

Stephanie Stiller had pretended to have a dentist appointment so she wouldn’t have to feel obliged to say yes to Gio. What else is a girl supposed to do when the shortest, possibly gay kid in the freshman class is about to ask her out?

Stephanie Stiller had stood still while Miles accused Gio of something she had been a part of. She did nothing while the boy who thought so highly of her was bullied for something she could have stopped.

Stephanie Stiller was the last girl I ever put effort into being friends with. And you know what’s really fucked up? I had only done it for Gio in the first place.

What a bitch.