It’s A Con Text

(There’s a girl in my year at school that no one really likes, due to the lengths she goes to just to get attention. If you don’t immediately rush to her and shower her with attention, she tends to try some pretty crazy things to make sure you will. Many of us believe she may have a learning disability, not because of how she acts, but because of how the teachers treat her, and the fact that she’s in a special class with only one or two other students. I’m in the library during lunch one day, minding my own business, when a teacher comes up to me with a pretty large scowl.)

Teacher: “Phone. Now.”

(He holds his hand out expectantly, glaring at me. I just stare at him.)

Me: “What? What’s going on?”

Teacher: “Just hand it over, missy. You’re in enough trouble as it is.”

(Confused and slightly worried, I get my phone from my bag and hand it to him. He turns it on and starts scrolling through something. Due to the angle, and him being much taller than me, I can’t see what he’s looking at and just stand there as he slowly starts looking angrier and angrier.)

Teacher: “So, you deleted them, did you?! Rather than own up to your actions, you’d rather be a spiteful coward and hide the evidence?”

Me: “What are you talking about?! Evidence to what?!”

(I don’t get a response as he simply drags me outside the library to “talk.”)

Teacher: “Listen, missy. We have no patience for your kind here at [School]. Since we’ve had no trouble from you before, we’ll give you two choices. Own up and simply get a suspension, or keep lying and we’ll have to get the police involved.”

(Now I’m majorly freaking out. I have no idea what he’s talking about, and he doesn’t seem to want to tell me.)

Me: *stammering* “W-what?”

(The teacher sighs heavily, looking at me like I’m a misbehaving toddler, and gives me back my phone.)

Teacher: “I can see you’re not going to cooperate. Cyber-bullying is dealt with severely; you should know that. I expect you in my office first thing tomorrow, ready to face the consequences.”

(He leaves, and I end up bursting into tears in the hallway. Leaving my stuff behind, I head home and burst through the front door in hysterics, much to the worry of my mother. It takes a while, but I manage to tell her what happened, and she is furious. She sends me to call my grandmother, a policewoman, and tell her what happened.  My mother phones the school, then goes in with me the next morning. She takes me to the teacher’s office and glares him down.)

Teacher: *obviously uncomfortable* “Ah, Miss [My Last Name], I do hope you’ve calmed down.”

Mum: *icily* “I’m perfectly calm, thank you. Now, are you going to finally explain the reasoning behind you threatening my 12-year-old daughter with the police, or do I have to take this issue higher up?”

Teacher: “We’ve received several complaints from [Problem Girl], along with a series of screenshots of texts messages that show [My Name] has been cyber-bullying her quite viciously for the past week. It’s rather disgraceful that anyone would bully [Problem Girl], and we won’t take this lightly.”

Mum: “What?! [My Name] would never do that.”

Teacher: *sternly* “Well, it’s quite obvious that she did.”

(My mum looks about ready to slap him, slamming my phone down on his desk.)

Mum: “And what proof do you have that those screenshots aren’t fake?! Any fool could send them to herself!”

(The teacher opens his mouth to respond when [Problem Girl] bursts into the room, wailing dramatically.)

Problem Girl: “Mr. [Teacher]! I just got more messages from [My Name]! She’s getting really mean now!”

(The three of us look at her, then at my phone, which is still on the desk.)

Teacher: “When did you get these new messages?”

Problem Girl: “Just now! See?!”

(She thrusts her phone towards the teacher. The time the messages were sent was barely a minute ago, when I hadn’t even been in touching distance with anything capable of texting her.)

Teacher: *extremely uncomfortable* “[Problem Girl], that’s impossible.”

Problem Girl: “What?! Are you saying I’m lying?!”

Mum: *cutting the teacher off* “Given that my daughter hasn’t had anything electronic during the time you got those messages, yes.” *turning to the teacher with a death glare*

(The teacher promptly waved us from his office and my mum took me home, refusing to let me into school until everything was sorted. It turns out, the girl had sent the messages to herself in order to get me in trouble. Why? I hadn’t believed her when she faked being pregnant and had called her out on it. My mum and I got a profuse apology from the head-teacher, and I believe the teacher got suspended for a week, but the girl was never punished.)