The post was a relatively conservative one. Just her in a black dress with a white “chic” collar that her sister had forced her to wear, with black sandals, minimal makeup, and her hair up in an artfully messy bun. She’d posted it, feeling confident, fresh out of middle school to “announce” her entrance into high school. Most of the comments were from friends and classmates.
@liberty._sanchez: QWEEEEN!!! <3
@sierramitchell1212: so excited to see you in august!
@chadkingstonmiller: hawt dawg. Looking forward to it, freshman 😉
These were the normal commentors. That is, until a new person took notice of this small account. This comment was soon deleted, the account blocked, but that didn’t stop the girl’s eyes filling with tears, which then spilled down her porcelain cheeks, blurring her view of the screen.
@natasha__.kirmon: aw lok at her flawntng wut she *don’t* got 🙂
It was just a silly, grammatically incorrect sentence. But despite all of the positive things that had been said before it, that was the only statement that stuck with her. That was the statement that drove her to opt out of the fun, floral romper she’d been planning to wear on the first day of high school, and instead choose a plain short-sleeve shirt and jeans.
So, the year continued on. Her account went dead, though she was on the app nearly every day, scrolling through the feed and liking whatever she thought was interesting. But the fear of more of Natasha Kirmons drove her from posting once more.
Before the story continues, let’s clear up some things, shall we? Now, our main girl is what some would call “flat.” Hardly anyone in high school likes a girl who has nothing there. Which is why flat girls have a lonely existence. It’s a rigged social structure, I’m aware. But over the summer leading up to her sophomore year, puberty hit our protagonist. She had to wear bras and get new clothes. And she started her periods. New experiences all around that were foreign, and detrimental to anyone’s mental health. But once she got over her initial shock, a newfound confidence hit her. She was wearing bras, and she had all new clothes that showed off these new things she had!
So, she decided to post again. It was a fun picture of her and her family at the beach. She was wearing a bikini, which, unlike some of the ones she’d seen online, actually covered what was necessary. A majority of the comments were fun and supportive, from her friends and other people she knew at school.
@liberty._sanchez: dang, wish i had a body like that 🙂
@eric.villanueva: miss you <333333333 😉
@sierra.spamsssss: wish i was there 🙁
@chadkingstonmiller: you should come to my pool sometime :)))))
@goddess.of._memes: absolute goddess, hands down
But there were new insults this time. Things that hadn’t been there before now were, and the trolls were keen to point them out.
@vickyy.yy: dresscoded 🙁
@ricky.the.dudeee: better hope the seniors dont take notice 😉
@hoes.exposeddd: what a w***e. Who even posts stuff like that?
@thotville.the.city: little s**t. Always looking for attention
At that point, her parents took notice of the abundance of “thirsty” comments, and suggested our girl take down the post. So, she did, as well as anything else she had ever posted. She changed her profile picture from a group picture of her and her friends, to some sort of meme, and deleted her bio as well.
Sophomore year, the administrators took notice of the way she dressed now. Before, she could wear skin-tight tops and skinny jeans without anyone really noticing, or caring. But now that she had “curves,” it was seen as “hoe-ish.” The dresscode demerits stacked up on her record, until she quit caring about her appearance overall. Who cares if you’re just going to get in trouble for wearing leggings?
Sometimes she got so mad. She just wanted to scream and shout about how it wasn’t fair that girls were treated this way, while guys were off rolling their shorts up as far as they would go and not getting in trouble. But the second a girl wore anything that made her not look like a sack of potatoes, she was getting a talking-to by the guidance counselor.
This is the story of a teenage girl in the American school system. She has no name, age, or appearance. Because this is happening to thousands of girls across the great US of A.
Narrative Nonfiction
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