Life In Junior High

Saturday steppin' into the club

Music makes me wanna tell the DJ "Turn It Up"

I feel the energy all around

And my body can't stop moving to the sound

But I can tell that you're watching me

And you're probably gonna write what you didn't see

Well I just need a little space to breathe

Can you please respect my privacy

Twelve-year-old Donna Jo Margaret Tanner – DJ for short – was sitting at her desk in her sixth period Spanish class, feeling very angry that afternoon at Van Atta Junior High. The reason why was the bully Colleen and her gang of girls; it was like they were the rulers of the school or something.

If only she knew a good word she could call them in Spanish...

It had been a very bad day for DJ right from the start.

As she had walked down the halls to her first class, Colleen and her cronies were standing there off to the side. They looked her up and down. D.J. stopped and turned to them. Then Colleen stepped up to her.

"Hello, scrub," she said, her tone all snobby.

"What do you want?" DJ replied. She tried to keep herself from getting angry.

"For starters," Colleen said in the same snobby tone, "look at how you're dressed."

DJ looked down at herself. She wore a black T-shirt, blue jeans and white shoes. "So?"

"So," Colleen sneered, "you look so scruffy and uncool. And your hair looks like something chewed on it."

Then she laughed along with her gang as they pointed at DJ. She felt the tears start to well up in her eyes, but she angrily brushed them away and continued off to her class.

DJ shook her head as she heard Colleen's insults as they kept repeating in her brain.

Why can't you just let me

Do the things I wanna do

I just wanna be me

I don't understand why

Would you wanna bring me down

I'm only having fun

I'm gonna live my life

(but not the way you want me to)

She hated it. The rumors. The pointing fingers.

She remembered walking to her previous classes, while the bullies would point at her and laugh. And they would whisper things – mean things.

They would sometimes say "Freak", "Copycat", "Teacher's pet" or "Flub Girl".

It hurt worse than being pelted with stones or being punched or slapped in the face so many times. By the time lunch time had rolled around, DJ had to sit by herself.

The reason why was because whenever she'd walk up to a table someone from that table stood in front of her and she was forced to move on. The third attempt she came to a table where a football player sat. He placed his foot where she was going to sit and glared up at her.

"Sit somewhere else, Blondie!" he told her angrily as he kept his football on his other side next to him, while people began applauding. DJ walked off, wondering if she would ever be able find someplace to sit so she could eat her lunch.

DJ tried to act like it didn't bother her. But it really did. That insult from the football player really hurt. Why did it seem like these people singled her out so they could push her around? She didn't do anything wrong.

All day she had been picked on by people who didn't even know her and teased by the popular girls.

When she was walking to her last class that afternoon, someone knocked her books out of her hands. As she bent down to pick up her books and resume walking down the hall towards her first class, more people surrounded DJ and her anonymous enemy.

"What are you gonna do about it, freak? Huh?"

Then, when she finally got her stuff together and resumed her walk to her sixth period Spanish class, two boys walked over and shoved her against the lockers.

"Ha! That'll teach you a lesson, geek!" one of them called, and then laughed mockingly.

I'm tired of rumors starting

I'm sick of being followed

I'm tired of people lying

Saying what they want about me

Why can't they back up off me

Why can't they let me live

I'm gonna do it my way

Take this for just what it is

Here we are back up in the club

People taking pictures

Don't you think they get enough

I just wanna be all over the floor

And throw my hands up in the air to a beat like (What?)

I've gotta say respectfully

I would like it if you take the cameras off of me

‛Cause I just want a little room to breathe

Can you please respect my privacy

Finally the bell rang. At last DJ could go home. She headed down the steps and onto the bus.

But as her luck would have it, Colleen and her cronies were sitting behind her.

"Hello, scrub."

DJ tried her best to ignore the insult and instead focused on her backpack in her lap.

"So I heard you were bullied and pushed around," said Colleen in a mock pity voice. "How sad. Too bad you don't have any friends to stand up for you, or that you can't stand up for yourself."

That one remark about not having any friends made the hair on the back of DJ's head stand up straight. She rolled her eyes as the anger welled up within her. But she pushed it down, as she wanted to be nice, and fighting with fists was resorting to violence. She didn't want that.

Finally when the bus stopped in front of her house, she stepped out and was finally able to let the pent-up tears flow freely like a river.

Why can't you just let me

Do the things I wanna do

I just wanna be me

I don't understand why

Would you wanna bring me down

I'm only having fun

I'm gonna live my life

But not the way you want me to

I'm tired of rumors starting

I'm sick of being followed

I'm tired of people lying

Saying what they want about me

Why can't they back up off me

Why can't they let me live

I'm gonna do it my way

Take this for just what it is

I just need to free my mind (my mind)

Just wanna dance and have a good time (good time)

I'm tired of rumors (rumors)

Followed (followed, followed, followed, followed, followed)

What they (follow) me

Why can't they (they they they-they-they) let me live

Take this for just what it is

I'm tired of rumors starting

I'm sick of being followed

I'm tired of people lying

Saying what they want about me

Why can't they back up off me

Why can't they let me live

I'm gonna do it my way

Take this for just what it is

I'm tired of rumors starting

I'm sick of being followed

I'm tired of people lying

Saying what they want about me

Why can't they back up off me

Why can't they let me live

I'm gonna do it my way

Take this for just what it is

DJ walked up to the house and opened the door. Then she walked through the living room and into the kitchen. Her dad, Danny Tanner, was sitting there with two-year-old Michelle. He looked up upon seeing DJ.

"DJ, hey, how was your day at school?" he asked, all smiles.

DJ wanted to tell him the truth. But for some reason she couldn't get the words out.

"Um, I'll tell you in my room, Dad," she said.

Danny looked confused as DJ then went up the stairs to her room, which she shared with her other sister, seven-year-old Stephanie.

Then he also headed up to her room.

DJ was sitting on her bed when Danny walked in. She looked up, and her eyes were filled with tears.

"Today was one of the worst days of my life," she said. "There were these girls who just teased me for no reason then to make me feel bad. I sat alone at lunchtime because everyone else would block the table they were sitting at when I tried to sit there. And when I was walking to my last class, the books I was carrying were knocked out of my hands. Then these two boys shoved me against the lockers, and one of them called me a geek."

Danny was about to respond when he looked up and saw Becky, his brother-in-law Jesse's girlfriend, standing there with a concerned look on her face as she listened to DJ's story.

"Danny, I think I'd better handle this one," she said. "I've been there, so I know how she feels."

"O.K.," said Danny as he got to his feet and left Becky and DJ alone so they could talk in private.

"DJ, those students probably bullied you because they felt insecure. But you don't have to let them ruin or run your life," said Becky, placing a comforting arm around her soon-to-be niece's shoulders. "I went through that at junior high once too."

"Really?" asked DJ, wiping away some of her tears.

"Yes," said Becky. "But I held my head and went about my work. Eventually, I was able to graduate from junior high and move on to high school. As for those bullies, they probably felt sad to see me go."

DJ tried to put on a brave face even with her tears staining her face. Becky noticed.

"Be brave, DJ," she said.

"Thanks, Becky," replied DJ.

"You're welcome," Becky said as she and DJ hugged.

DJ knew she could talk to Becky about anything in the world that concerned girls. Also she knew that somehow, Becky would make a great aunt as well as a great match for her uncle someday.

Then, the next day at school, remembering Becky's words, DJ held her head high. Her opportunity came after second period; Colleen and her gang were teasing her. She felt a surge of fresh courage as she walked up to Colleen and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Sorry you're having a bad day," she said to Colleen, causing a look of confusion to cross the faces of Colleen and her gang as DJ headed off down the hallway to her third period class, English.

She felt like that all day.

Then a voice called to her. She recognized it instantly; it was one of the two guys from the day before.

"Hey, freak, what are you up to? Sitting alone with no friends as usual? If so, you're not very pretty."

Two can play at that game, DJ thought as she walked up to them.

"What are you boys up to? Picking on the ladies as usual? If so, you're more uncool then I thought you'd be," she said to the guy who'd knocked her books out of her hands the previous day and those two boys who'd shoved her up against the lockers.

And all they were able to do was look after her in surprise as she tossed a cool smile their way and then headed off. What was going on? Either this girl had adopted a new attitude overnight, or it was her evil twin in her shoes.

DJ was feeling so good, she even felt like telling the jock what she really thought of him. And she did.

"Hey, Blondie! We hear you're going to mess up again. It sounds cool!" he grinned, and then laughed along with two of his buddies.

"I guess you're just not the bigger man, aren't you?" she snapped, smiling. That stopped them cold. Their leader just blinked in confusion. For once in his life, he was unable to think of an insult to throw at her.

Finally, when she stepped off the bus and went into the house, DJ felt as though she had survived another battle. And it felt good!