Okay, this one is written from Talia's POV. I wrote this one like this because I remember how you always try to fit in and be accepted when you start getting older. Hope you enjoy this next chapter of this story.

Tears in the Bathroom Stall

As a sixth-grader, I began to notice how other kids were separating into cliques. (Even my sister, who was my age, so she was in my grade. She never let me get away with doing anything mean to anyone or saying something mean about them.) There were the geeks, the jocks and the popular cool kids. I wasn't sure where I belonged. And I think that was the problem.

Our teacher had assigned "secret buddies" for the coming week. The purpose of this assignment was to do nice things for your buddy without letting them know who was doing it. We could leave encouraging notes on their backpack or book. Our teacher wrote each kid's name on a piece of paper and threw them into a bucket, then we each closed our eyes and drew the name of the classmate who we were to secretly befriend and support over the next five school days.

By the middle of the week, everyone, (except Ziva,) including me, had turned this assignment into a contest to see whose secret buddy could leave the best gift. Instead of encouraging notes, we left stationary sets in our buddy's desk. Instead of giving compliments, we were giving bubble gum, lollipops and even money. It seemed that everyone was getting cool presents from their buddy. Everyone except me, that is.

My buddy followed our teacher's directions without a fault. I received handmade cards, notes with nice thoughts and countless smiley face pictures proclaiming that I was one of the nicest girls in our class. My buddy seemed to think highly of me from the notes that were left, but the lack of gifts made me wonder what was up with whoever had pulled my name.

On the last morning of our assignment, I walked into my classroom and noticed that there was a package on my desk. At last, my buddy had grasped the idea that everyone else had! I ripped open the tissue paper and just stared down at my desk. There sat a canister of perfumed powder. The girls sitting near me giggled and went off about the "old lady" gift that I had received. And to make matters worse, the powder had already been opened. I felt my face turn red as I shoved it into my desk.

I tried to forget about the embarrassing gift, but when I was in the bathroom before recess, the same girls that had seen me open the powder started talking trash talk about my secret buddy for giving it to me. I quickly joined in. "How lame," I heard myself saying. "What could my buddy be thinking by giving me such a stupid gift? My grandmother wouldn't even want it."

The girls laughed at my remarks and filed out of the bathroom. When they had left, I saw Ziva standing there. Her eyes narrowed and I knew that I would get grounded by her when I got home. (Dad hadn't remarried yet, so Ziva was like our mom. If she said that I was grounded, I was grounded for as long as she said. Dad always knew why I got grounded, of course, because Ziva told him before she grounded me, but it's not like he really cared.) Then Ziva stormed out of the bathroom also. I stayed to wash my hands and let the water run through my fingers as I thought about what I had just said. It wasn't normally like me to say mean things about someone, since I got grounded for about a week or two, just for being mean.

As I turned off the water, I heard a creak. I turned around to see one of the bathroom stall doors open. A girl from my class took two steps out of the stall and looked up at me. There were tears streaming down her face.

"I'm your secret buddy." She whispered to me. "I'm sorry about the gift." Then she ran out of the bathroom. Her sobs stayed with me long after the door had closed.

My secret buddy was a girl named Rochelle, a girl who came from a poor family. She and her siblings were often targets at school for those who felt they were better just because their parents had money. Yet through all the teasing and harassment, Rochelle never had a bad word to say back to anyone. She just took the horrible treatment silently.

I was sick to my stomach as my cruel words ran through my mind. She had heard every single thing I had said. And, once again, she silently took it in. How could I have been so mean?

It took me a few days, but I finally found the courage to face up to Rochelle and apologize. She told me that she had felt bad all week about not being able to leave any cool gifts for me. Her family could not afford it. So finally her mother had given up the one thing that was a luxury to her so that Rochelle would have something to give. Her mother assured her that the nice girl Rochelle had talked about would like that powder. Rochelle couldn't wait to get to school that morning to put it on my desk.

And I had ruined everything for her.

What could I say to Rochelle? How could she ever forgive me for making fun of her? Along with my apologies, I told her the truth. I admitted that I had only said those things to be cool, to try to fit in. I didn't know where I belonged, I explained.

Rochelle looked me in the eyes and said that she understood. She had been trying to fit in too. "We aren't that different from each other, are we?" she smiled. Her simple words, spoken from the heart, found their way straight into mine.

Up until then, like everyone else, (except for Ziva), I had avoided the "Rochelle's" of the world. But after that day, I gained respect and admiration for people like Rochelle- people who give from the heart.