Queen of the Toilet Bowl by Frieda Wishinsky

fourth row beside Cheryl. Liz gave me a quick thumbs-up.
    Two rows behind her I saw Karin. She was staring at me. Did she sense what I was about to say? Was she scared? Did she care? I couldn’t tell from her face. It was hard and unsmiling.
    And what of the other kids? Would they hate me? Make fun of me? It was too late to change my mind now. I was up on stage.
    Ms. Long was speaking. She made a statement denouncing the use of the internet to humiliate people. She said that she was outraged that a demeaning picture of a student and her mother had been posted on the internet. “This will not be tolerated in any way,” she said. And then Ms. Watson spoke. She spoke slowly and clearly in her powerful voice. She didn’t need a mike to be heard across the auditorium.
    â€œThe perpetrator of this act is a coward and a bully,” she said. “We must all speak up when we see people hurting others. Bullying is cruel, even when it’s not physical. Bullies must be stopped.” And then Ms. Watson said, “Renata Nunes would like to address you now.”
    I walked to the microphone. I swallowed hard and then I spoke. The auditorium hushed to silence with my first words.
    â€œMy mother is a cleaning lady,” I said. “She is a good, hard-working, kind person. I hope she never sees the pictureof her that is posted on the internet or reads the words someone wrote to embarrass her and me. Whoever did this has no heart. No soul. No kindness. I am from Brazil, a beautiful country. I am proud of my mother. I am proud of who I am and where I’m from. That’s all I have to say.”
    For the longest minute, there wasn’t a sound in the auditorium. Then from the fourth row, where Cheryl and Liz sat, the applause began. It rippled, then grew and grew, and soon everyone was clapping.
    The vice principal said, “Renata has shown great courage to stand before you today. If any of the staff discovers who did this, there will be dire consequences for that person. I hope never to have to deal with this kind of incident again. You may return to class.”
    â€œRenata, you were awesome,” said Liz as we walked to our last class of the day.
    â€œBoy am I lucky Mr. Bowman was away,” I said. “I wonder what Karin will do now.”
    â€œI snuck a peek at her while you were speaking. She looked like she had turned into a bar of ice. I wonder how many kids know she did it.”
    â€œI wonder,” I said. “But you know what? No matter what Karin does now, it doesn’t matter. I spoke up. It’s out there. I’m out there. No hiding.”
    â€œWell, after Friday, you won’t be able to hide. You’ll be a star!” said Liz.

chapter seventeen
    After the assembly a few kids told me they thought it was great that I spoke up. Some kids said nothing, but I felt like something had changed. I felt like a load of rocks had been lifted off my back. I didn’t want to hide any more.
    Karin was absent for the next few days. Darleen said she had a bad cold, but Liz and I wondered if that was true. We wondered if Karin would even show up forthe show. Ms. Watson suggested that Liz prepare for Karin’s part, just in case.
    Then it was the night of the show. By five o’clock, the whole cast was zipping around backstage, looking for clothes, rehearsing lines, popping buttons and calling for Ms. Watson’s help. Ms. Watson zoomed around fixing broken zippers, finding lost clothes and helping calm nerves.
    Everyone was there, except for Karin.
    Liz was sure Karin wouldn’t show up for the play. “She’ll never come. She’ll get her mom to call in with some excuse and then I’ll have to do her part and fake the singing.”
    Liz, who was usually the coolest person I knew, who was never fazed by anything, looked like she’d been shot with an arrow.
    â€œYou’ll manage. Don’t worry. We’ll all help you get through