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The vice principal was sympathetic. “Joy, I’m sorry to hear this is happening to you,” Mr. Cruz said. “You’re a nice person. I don’t see why you should have issues with anyone.”

“I’ve never spoken to the girls; they’ve just decided I’m a target,” Joy replied. “I understand if I was rude to them I would deserve that treatment, but they don’t know me. And to be standing and watching me, I don’t rate that.” Joy used the Jamaican term for respect.

“I need you to write a report,” Mr. Cruz said. “Bring it to me first thing in the morning and we’ll have this dealt with. Citygrove has a zero-tolerance policy for indiscipline. We believe every student should be comfortable.”

Joy filed the form in her binder. “Thank you, Mr. Cruz. I hope this will all be over soon.”

At the end of the week, Joy was in PE again, waiting for the teacher to take attendance. The leader of the mean girls stood nearby, talking loudly to a classmate. “I’m gonna fuck up the bitch that’s talking shit about me to the principal’s office,” she said. She shot Joy a piercing stare. “I’ll deal with her ass after class.”

When Joy changed into her gym clothes, the three girls glared at her again. Joy grew uneasy. Was today going to be the day they tried something? As they left the locker room, Joy whispered to Anisha about what the girls were doing. One of the girls bumped Anisha roughly on her way out the door. “You have to tell [the teacher]!” Anisha whispered back.

Outside, the girls called Joy degrading names, trying to provoke her. Other girls gathered closer, circling as if they expected a fight. Joy had never been in a fight before. These girls weren’t playing, and Joy was too skinny to put up much of a defense. The PE teacher led the group to the track for their weekly mile run. Joy slowed down and waited for everyone else to pass her so that she could talk softly to the teacher.

In sixth period, campus security called her to Mr. Cruz’s office. Just outside the doorway, Joy realized that the other girls were already in the room. She could hear them laughing. When Joy walked in, the girls, who sat in a row facing the vice principal, smiled at her for show.

Joy sat in the empty chair next to Mr. Cruz’s desk, facing the girls. Mr. Cruz told them that if they continued to harass Joy, there would be consequences, which could range from suspension to a school transfer. The girls’ leader avoided Joy’s eyes, instead chomping on gum and humming what sounded like a Spanish song.

Mr. Cruz told Joy that Mia, one of the girls, had gone through a similar ordeal at the beginning of the school year. Another girl had threatened to beat her up. Surprised, Joy glanced at Mia, who squirmed.

“I understand,” Mia whispered to Mr. Cruz. “I won’t sweat her no more.”

The other two girls slouched and hummed, narrowing their eyes at Joy. Mr. Cruz sent the bullies out of the room. He turned to Joy. “I spoke to them and they say they understand,” he told her. “I told them you’re a nice girl who’s never done anything to upset them.”

“Why did they start this whole thing?” Joy asked. “I’ve never even spoken to them.”

“They said they thought that you’re too sophisticated, intelligent, and professional to talk to and because of that, they thought you hated on them.”

“How can I possibly hate on someone I don’t know? They shouldn’t be so quick to judge.”

Mr. Cruz ended the meeting by telling Joy that if anything else happened, she should tell him immediately and the girls would be suspended.

When Joy left the room, the other girls were in the main office. Two of them were still humming and laughing. Joy made eye contact with Mia. She looked sad. “Bye,” she mouthed to Joy.

Joy pitied the girls. She understood them. When Joy was about nine, back when her father was abusing her, she suffered from low self-esteem. “So I used to be mean to others and tease them,” she explained. “I was angry. I couldn’t understand why other people could live happily yet I had to deal with my father’s