Confessions from the most unpopular girl in sixth grade at Summerdale Elementary

Hi, i'm Cindy Huber, and i was the most unpopular girl in sixth grade at Summerdale Elementary in Rockford, Illinois. I'm not even sure how it happened, or how i won the "unpopular lottery," just that there was a girl in my class who was even more unpopular then i was, and when she moved, it was my turn. I can remember that it started with catty comments, which i pretended not to hear, so when that didn't work, my tormenters moved up to paper wads and light shoves when the teacher wasn't looking. I tried to ignore it back then and even today i'm not sure why i did, because today i never turn away from a fight(!)...but back in the early 70's-when i was an 11 year old kid-i tried to ignore the spitwads, the taunting and the occasional kick on the shins, or swat on the head, hoping my bullies would get bored and find a new victim, but they didn't. Sadder yet, i'm sure the teachers knew, partly because i was always trying to move to the front of the class, where it would be harder to attack me, or always offering to stay after school to clean the chalkboards under the theory that if i just stayed late enough, my tormenters would get bored and go home, but my teachers never said a word, and eventually-one night-my bullies waited until i came out, and then jumped me.

After i got beat up, i went home. My mom felt horrible and put ice on my face, but my dad was furious when he saw me...AT ME.
"How many hit you?" he asked.
"Well, there was a bunch of them," i said.
"How many hit you?"
"One."
"What'd you do next?"
"I ran home."
"The next time i hear you ran from a fight, i will kick you butt when i get home!" And that was the end of it from my father. Sounds harsh doesn't it(?)...except he was right, because the very next day when i went to school, my bully was waiting once again, so this time i threw the hardest punch i could muster directly at her belly.
She threw a punch and then i threw another, and then it was over. The bully murmered some excuse and left. Perhaps it was boredom on her part, or she recognized that her prey was no longer easy. I can't remember if she moved on to anyone else. I just remember how much it sucked to have someone want to hurt you, and that no one, not the teachers, or even your school friends would help you out. I was truely on my own in sixth grade.

Maybe that's why i took this kid's beating on a city bus so bad...six bullies kicking the crap out of him, and no one on the bus...not the bus driver, or even the other riders tried to intervene. Just the opposite, the driver continued to drive, and the bus patrons all looked the other way while kid was being beaten. Honestly, that p*sses me off so bad, i'd like to kick their butts!

My heart just goes out to this kid, but i, the most unpopular sixth grade girl at Summerdale elementary school, wants to tell him this; "that which doesn't kill him will only make him stronger"...because it will.

Ps...if this kid ever wants to get in touch with me, i would be willing to help out with giving him rides to school next fall...and to show him the best way to throw a punch, because thanks to sixth grade, today i'm an expert on it.