Eva stared silently and respectfully up at her aunt. Aunt Emily, she thought. She’s so smart and pretty and successful. Will I ever be like that?

Emily smiled affectionately at her niece and sat beside her. “Hey, Eva,” she greeted the girl. “Your dad tells me you’ve been having problems. He thinks I’ll be able to help.”

Eva nodded shyly. “Aunt Emily, I get laughed at and made fun of so much,” she confided. “They beat me up and say really mean things.”

Emily peered at the wounds on the girl’s face and winced sympathetically. “Go on, sweetie,” she said gently. “What else?”

“They tease me for getting good grades, and… and I don’t know what to do anymore. Even the grownups don’t believe me when I tell them. I’m surprised Mom believed it.”

“I believe you, sweetie.”

“You do?”


Emily nodded solemnly. “When I was younger, I experienced the same thing.”

“Really?!” Eva responded incredulously. “But you’re so beautiful and successful!”

“I was a pretty awkward kid, and my classmates didn’t let me forget it. I got bullied during most of my educational career. Even when I was in high school, I still got picked on a lot. It was really horrible, and I can never forget all the terrible things that were said and done.”

“So, what did you do? How did you deal with it?” Eva asked.

“I almost didn’t,” Emily muttered to herself. To Eva, she responded, “I tried to make it from one day to another. I tried to just get through each day without going crazy. I decided that as long as those bullies couldn’t take my pride or who I really was, they couldn’t win, because I still was true to myself. I’m not going to lie to you, Eva; things won’t get any easier. Things can get pretty hard, and you’ll want to give up. But, if you give up, you’re telling yourself and those bullies that you’re every bit as worthless as they think you are. Do you understand?”


“I don’t get it! She… she turned my baby against me!” Tacita slurred.

“You might want to stop,” Kevin pleaded, reaching for her drink. “You remember the last time you had a binge.”

“That b***h kicked me out,” Tacita continued, holding her drink closer. “Won’t let me see Lisa. Made my baby hate me.”

“Look, Tacita, a lot of your problems are caused by drinking,” Tom spoke up. “I don’t think it’ll help.”

“Don’t bother,” Kevin muttered. “She’s been doing this since yesterday.” To Tacita, he said, “Damn it, do we need to stage another intervention?”

Tacita shook her head, then took a deep gulp of her drink. “But… but Lia took my baby. She made my baby hate me.”

“Look,” Andrew spoke up, irritated. “Maybe if you actually spent time with your kid instead of getting drunk and whining, she’d actually like you.”

“You sound like Lia now!” Tacita snapped, glaring at him. “Are you taking her side now? Is it because she’s prettier than me?”

“Tacita, you’re plastered, and I swear, I have no problem calling the cops on you again if you start any s**t. You remember the three days you spent, courtesy of the state funds, when you tried to go after Andrew with a whiskey bottle?” Kevin said, holding Tacita back.

“He deserved it. He was looking at my chest.”

“I wasn’t even looking at you! I was looking at the TV!” Andrew argued.

“What a load of crap,” Tacita muttered.


“Drama-wise, I think Axl Rose could learn a few things from her,” Tom whispered to Kevin.

“I read a poll online where she actually beat him out as the musician associated with the most drama,” Kevin replied, eying Tacita.

“Didn’t even think that was possible.”

“Apparently, it is.”

“What are you two talking about? Stop talking about me!” Tacita screeched, stumbling over to them.

“Nothing,” Tom replied.

“They’re talking about what a royal b***h you are,” Andrew snapped.

“Bite me, Carrot Top,” Tacita shot back.

“Do you think we should let them kill each other? Just saying… it might be good for record sales, and it’ll eliminate the two biggest drama queens in our group,” Kevin asked.

“Nah, I think we’d better stop them. Hardly any bands stay successful after the death of a member or two,” Tom replied.

“What about Metallica?”

“One of the exceptions.”

“Good point.”

“So, let’s keep them from killing each other.”

“Again.”