After listening to Scarlett, Florence tried to decline going to the counsellor, shaking her head out of deep fear. But Scarlett grabbed Florence's hands tightly, looking her straight in the eyes.
"Florence, listen to me," Scarlett said gently but firmly. "How long have you decided to suffer all this bullying from those three girls? They will make your life a living hell if we don't put a stop to it. Let's go get first aid first because you are bleeding, and then we are going straight to the school counsellor to report this. If you stay silent today, tomorrow they will trouble more students just like you. You can stop this bullying right now, Florence, but it's up to you."
Listening to Scarlett's convincing words, Florence finally agreed to go to the school counsellor and explain everything to get rid of the daily torment. Scarlett gently wiped the tears from Florence's cheeks, took her by the hand, and led her to the school nurse. The nurse cleaned the cut on Florence's elbow, applied medicine, and wrapped it neatly with a white bandage.
After receiving first aid, the two girls walked straight toward the school counsellor's office. While they were halfway down the corridor, the loud chime of the first bell rang throughout the building, signaling the start of the morning class.
Florence stopped in her tracks, looking anxious. "Scarlett, let's go to our classroom! It's time for our first period."
"Florence, we can't leave this work halfway done and delay it any longer," Scarlett insisted, holding her ground. "Let's go to the counsellor right now and end this bullying story once and for all."
Florence showed a confused expression, her heart heavy with fear, but Scarlett didn't let her back out. Holding her hand firmly, Scarlett pulled her straight to the school counsellor's cabin door.
Scarlett knocked softly on the door frame. "May I come in, sir?"
The school counsellor looked up from his desk and smiled kindly. "Yes, come in, dear. Tell me, what happened with you two?" His gaze quickly shifted to Florence's elbow wrapped in the fresh bandage. "What happened to you, dear? How did you get that cut on your elbow? Is everything alright?"
Florence opened her mouth, trying to play it down. "Yes, sir... I am good—"
"No, sir, nothing is good with Florence," Scarlett interrupted firmly. "She is still trying to hide it."
The counsellor adjusted his glasses, looking closely at both girls. "Go on, tell me."
"Sir, my name is Scarlett, and this is my friend and classmate, Florence," Scarlett explained clearly. "We are neighbors too. Ever since her very first day at this school, a few of our classmates have been bullying her daily. It is affecting Florence so terribly, and I just can't stand seeing her in this situation anymore."
Hearing Scarlett speak the harsh truth out loud, Florence could no longer control her emotions. Tears spilled over her eyelashes and streamed down her pale cheeks.
The counsellor frowned, taken aback by the statement. "Bullying? But we have never received such a complaint from anyone in your class before. This is the first time I am hearing something like this."
"Sir, it's not just minor teasing," Scarlett continued, her voice filled with deep concern. "Today, they pushed Florence onto the floor so violently that she got hit by the washroom door, which I saw with my own eyes. There was no regret on their faces at all. Instead, they were laughing after pushing her down. It all started on her first day when they threw ink on Florence's shirt for no reason. Today, besides hurting her physically, they were scaring her by saying that from today onwards, Florence has to take their notebooks home and complete all their homework. They even demanded that she call them 'Madam' and said she isn't allowed to call them by their real names. There are three girls in our class who are doing all of this to Florence."
The counsellor listened intently, his face growing more serious by the second. "If this has been happening since her first day, then why did you both take this much time to complain about these bullying incidents? Why didn't you complain at the very beginning, and why is Florence remaining silent instead of speaking up for herself?"
Florence remained completely silent, staring down at her shoes with nothing to say.
"Sir, Florence is very scared," Scarlett answered on her behalf. "I suggested that she complain during the very first incident when one of those three girls threw ink on her shirt, but Florence didn't want any chaos or fights. She thought that if she complained, they would trouble her even more. These incidents haven't just harmed her physically; she is deeply affected emotionally and mentally too. On her second day of school, they locked Florence inside the washroom, turned off the lights, and left her crying in total darkness while they laughed and walked away."
Scarlett took a breath before adding, "Florence was screaming hard for help inside that dark room. After some time, a few senior girls passed by, saw the washroom door locked from the outside, and thought it was weird. They went inside, heard Florence screaming out of fear, unlocked the door, and calmed her down. That incident shook her so badly that she started acting like a completely different person. She stopped talking to anyone, spent all her time isolated, and lost interest in things she used to love."
Scarlett looked over at Florence with sympathetic eyes. "Even on Sunday, when we went to the nearby mall, Florence coincidentally saw those three girls there. She got so terrified that she started remembering everything, broke down crying, and kept saying she wanted to go home. When she got home, she locked herself in her room and cried the entire time."
Florence turned her face toward Scarlett in complete shock, her tear-filled eyes widening. "So, Scarlett... it was you who read that note in my notebook?"
Scarlett looked at Florence apologetically. "I am so sorry, Florence. I didn't mean to invade your privacy or hurt you, but it was very important to get you out of this situation. There was no other way left for me. I lied about reading those notes earlier because I wanted to execute my plan of exposing them properly. I knew you would have never agreed to expose them if I had told you beforehand."
Florence stared at Scarlett, remaining completely silent, her mind spinning with confusion and relief.
The counsellor intervened, breaking the heavy silence. "This is really very serious, girls. We will definitely take strict action against them." He looked at Florence gently and added, "You should never have suffered this much, my child."
He then turned back to Scarlett. "Is there anyone who saw the whole situation today and can speak in your favor so I can escalate this matter to the higher authorities?"
"No, sir, there is no one else who saw it," Scarlett replied honestly. "Those three girls were well aware of the fact that there is no camera near the washroom area. But I recorded the whole incident from today on my phone. In the video, they even admitted to the previous incident in the washroom while mocking Florence."
The counsellor looked surprised. "You recorded this? Have you brought a smartphone to school? Are you not aware that students are strictly forbidden from bringing smartphones here?"
Florence turned her head to look at Scarlett, asking in a low whisper, "Scarlett, why did you bring a smartphone? Why didn't you tell me about this before?"
"I will tell you about my plan later, Florence," Scarlett whispered back. "I truly had no other option left to expose them."
Scarlett then looked at the counsellor with an apologetic expression. "I know, sir, that bringing a smartphone is not allowed in our school, and I am really sorry for breaking the rule. I know the school might charge a fine for this, and I am ready to accept that. But it was about saving my friend, and I wanted to get Florence out of this terrible situation."
The counsellor's expression softened. "Alright, Scarlett, I do understand that your intentions were not wrong. But by doing this all alone, you took a big risk. You could have asked us for help."
"I know, sir, that I was wrong not to seek help from the school staff or adults," Scarlett acknowledged. "But I felt no one would believe us without concrete evidence. So when I saw those three girls walking toward us this morning, I pretended I needed to use the washroom and asked Florence to wait outside. I knew that when they saw Florence alone, they would definitely try to trouble or hurt her. That was the proof I needed. I hid in the corner behind the door and recorded everything on video."
The counsellor shook his head in amazement. "I really appreciate your bravery, Scarlett. You didn't care about the rules or getting fined, and you did your best to save your friend."
"Yes, sir," Scarlett said softly. "I just wanted to save her. Florence only agreed to come to your office when I convinced her that if we don't raise our voice today, they will harass another innocent student tomorrow."
Deeply impressed by Scarlett's courage, the counsellor said, "Show me the video, Scarlett, and send a copy to my phone so I can forward it to the management."
Scarlett unlocked her phone and played the clip. The counsellor watched the screen intently. His eyes filled with emotion as he saw the sheer cruelty displayed by the three girls toward Florence. He was stunned that seventh-grade students, merely twelve or thirteen years old, could behave with such malice.
"Well done, Scarlett," the counsellor said firmly, turning off the screen. "This evidence is more than sufficient to take strict action against them. We will also call their parents to the school immediately to show them what their children are doing."
He stood up from his chair. "Alright, let's go to your classroom right now and discuss this with your class teacher to see if any other student has complained before or if she noticed anything unusual."
Scarlett felt a wave of happiness wash over her, knowing that the bullies were finally going to be punished for their actions. Florence, on the other hand, still felt a little scared to face them. Scarlett looked at Florence, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "Do not worry, Florence. Everything will be fine now. Counsellor sir is with us."
The three of them walked down the quiet hallway toward the Seventh-Grade classroom. Inside, the class teacher was standing near the blackboard, taking attendance.
"Are Florence and Scarlett both absent today?" the teacher asked the class, looking over her register.
At that exact moment, the counsellor reached the classroom door and announced in a clear, loud voice, "They are here!"
All the students and the class teacher instantly turned their heads toward the door. Upon seeing the counsellor, the three girls sitting in the very back row felt a brief flutter of anxiety. However, they quickly regained their arrogant confidence. They knew there were no security cameras near the washroom, so they believed that even if Florence had complained, it would just be her word against theirs, and nobody could prove anything. Sitting with full attitude, they shot intimidating glares at Florence. Florence immediately bowed her head, avoiding their eyes.
The counsellor stepped up to the front desk and asked the class teacher, "Ma'am, did you notice any sudden change in Florence's behavior recently?"
The teacher thought for a moment before answering. "Yes, sir. On the first day of class, she performed exceptionally well. She is a very bright student, and I even appreciated her performance in front of everyone. But on the second day, she went to the washroom—as Scarlett informed me when I asked—and came back very late. I scolded her a little bit for being late, but after that, she acted completely different. She remained silent throughout the whole class, stopped responding, and couldn't even solve simple questions that day. I even asked her if anything was wrong, but she simply said 'all ok, Ma'am', so I didn't pay much attention."
Hearing her teacher recall that overwhelming day, Florence broke down once again, her body trembling with heavy sobs.
The teacher looked at her with worry. "What happened, Florence? Why are you crying, dear?"
Florence couldn't bring herself to speak and only cried harder, taking deep, shaky breaths.
The counsellor turned his attention toward the back row and pointed directly at the three bullies. "You three, stand up in your places right now!"
The three girls stood up slowly, maintaining neutral, unbothered expressions, firmly confident that they could deny every accusation.
The counsellor spoke in a stern tone. "It would be better if you three confess right now to what you have done to Florence. Otherwise, I will have to expose you in front of the entire class."
The lead girl spoke up smoothly, trying to sound innocent. "Sir, we haven't done anything to her! In fact, we barely talk. We don't even know each other properly."
"Do not lie to us!" the counsellor barked, his voice stern. "You had a chance to tell the truth, but now I will expose it myself." He turned to the class teacher. "Ma'am, please connect my phone to the smart board. I want to show the entire class the cruelty taking place right here."
The teacher quickly connected the device to the screen. A moment later, the recorded video began to play.
The entire classroom watched in stunned silence as the video clearly showed the three girls grabbing Florence, shouting threats at her, demanding she do their homework and call them 'Madam', and shoving her violently onto the floor until she hit the door frame and bled.
The three girls gasped, their arrogant masks instantly shattering into complete horror. They had no idea their actions and verbal threats had been recorded so clearly.
The class teacher slammed her hands on her desk, staring at the three girls in absolute shock and fury. "Is this what you come to school to do?!" she shouted at them. "Is this how you treat your own classmate?!"
"That is not all, Ma'am," the counsellor added solemnly. "On the day Florence returned late from the washroom, these three girls locked her inside the dark washroom, turned off the lights, and terrified her. Florence was screaming and crying for help the whole time, but they locked the outer door and ran away. Later, some senior girls opened the door and rescued her."
Gasps echoed across the room. Tears filled the teacher's eyes as she realized the horror Florence had endured. She walked over to Florence, pulled her into a tight, protective hug, and wept softly. "That day, without knowing anything, I shouted at you... I am so, so sorry, Florence."
Florence replied in a small, polite voice, "No worries, Ma'am. Your intentions were not wrong."
The counsellor turned a cold stare back onto the three trembling bullies. "Now what is your excuse? You thought because there are no cameras near the washroom, you would never be caught? You three are being rusticated from this school immediately, and your parents have already been summoned and are on their way."
The three girls burst into desperate tears, bowing their heads and begging hysterically. "We are so sorry, sir! Please forgive us! We promise we will never do it again!"
As they were crying and begging, a girl sitting in the middle row suddenly stood up from her seat. "Sir!" she called out, her voice shaking with emotion. "The exact same thing happened to me last term! I was too scared like Florence to complain to anyone, but today I got the courage to stand up for myself!"
Immediately after her confession, two other students stood up as well, crying as they admitted that they had also been bullied and threatened by the same three girls in secret.
The counsellor stood in utter shock. "So this was not the first time," he said, glaring at the three bullies, who stared at each other in horror, realizing their reign of terror was completely over.
A short while later, the parents of the three girls arrived at the school. The counsellor brought them into the classroom, played the video on the smart board, and had the victimized students share their stories. The parents bowed their heads in deep shame, crying and apologizing to Florence, the other students, and the staff while severely scolding their daughters for their disgraceful conduct.
The counsellor then stepped forward to address the room. "These terrible incidents would have continued for much longer if Scarlett had not shown extraordinary courage on behalf of Florence. What these three girls have done is a crime, and they are hereby rusticated from this school."
The three girls were formally expelled that very day. In the days following the event, a strict new anti-bullying policy was introduced across the school. The counsellor held a special assembly with all the students, clearly laying down the rules and explaining that anyone facing bullying could report directly to his office for immediate help. Before concluding the assembly, he publicly shared Scarlett's story, praising her immense courage and dedication to protecting her friend.
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Thanks for reading!!!