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Topic: Bullies (08/09/04)
TITLE: Razor Strap Rebel By Dixie Collinson 08/14/04 |
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Abigail’s family was rich. She had closets full of clothes and dozens of toys. Her family dined on the best food. She had elaborate birthday parties and received dozens of shiny gift wrapped packages at Christmas. But none of these things satisfied her. One thing brought Abigail inner gratification--beating up other children.
Four times Abigail clobbered Dora as she was leaving school. Her mother grew tired of seeing Dora come home crying. She threatened the whimpering Dora: "If you come home crying one more time I'm going to whip you." Dora knew she meant it.
Dora panicked. She was afraid to fight Abigail. But the alternative--getting the razor strap--was unbearable. So she began to plot.
It was Good Friday and the girls would be wearing new Easter dresses to school, if their family could afford one. Dora didn’t have one, but she was certain that Abigail would. After dressing in her dingiest play clothes, Dora found a small pail in the basement and hurriedly left for school.
Now Dora and Abigail took the same route to and from school. The sidewalks were over grown with trees and high hedges that concealed driveways, creating many hiding places. Dora used this to her advantage.
She came to a large, brick house. The side of the yard was closed in by a high wooden fence, while the front part was shielded by a row of tall hedges. The end of the hedgerow was open and muddy. Dora squatted by a knothole in the fence and waited.
Dora kept peeking through the knothole. Finally she saw Abigail coming down the sidewalk with 3 other girls. She was wearing a new dress-- a pink one with lace, pearls and ribbons. She twirled around on the sidewalk while the other girls admired it.
Dora grabbed the pail and dashed to the mud hole at the end of the fence. She scraped up globs of mud and water. She sat perfectly still, listening, waiting, almost breathless. Abigail approached the end of the hedge, totally unaware of Dora's presence. Just as Abigail stepped past the hedge, Dora sprang out of hiding, slinging her pail.
The mud and water hit Abigail in the face, drenching her hair and dress. She fell backwards onto the ground as Dora lunged at her. Dora pulled her hair and ripped gaping holes in her dress. Abigail squirmed, screamed and kicked her legs, but was unable to force Dora off of her. Tears rolled down Abigail's cheeks as Dora’s open palms struck her face.
Another glob of mud landed on Abigail. Dora turned and saw one of Abigail's friends scooping up mud and laughing. “Get her, Dora! Get her!” the other two cheered, clapping their hands and jumping up and down. Dora stopped slugging and just watched as Abigail's three friends threw grass and dirt on her.
Suddenly the school bell rang and Dora jumped up. She noticed some children across the street laughing and pointing at Abigail as she struggled to get up. Her dress was tattered, mud was clumped in her hair, and her stockings were ripped. Her left eye was puffy and her lip was bleeding. Her three friends were gone. Dora picked up her pail. She glanced at Abigail, and then slowly walked towards the school, leaving Abigail standing alone.
School was out for the summer. A white birthday cake was set on a wooden table with 12 chairs around it. Abigail reclined on the stiff, blue sofa in the parlor, waiting for more guests to arrive. Her eye was no longer puffy, and her lip was healed. She rang a bell and a servant appeared carrying a silver serving tray with a porcelain teapot and cups. The servant adjusted his white gloves and filled the cups with steaming tea. “Would you care for some tea?” Abigail asked.
“Yes, I would,” Dora answered, taking the cup from the servant. The girls sipped the tea, giggling as the servant adjusted his vest and disappeared into the kitchen.