Member-only story
Sticks and Stones and Words That Hurt (Revised)
They stared at her as if they were looking through her, not at her.
Once upon a time she had been miss popularity, the one everyone aspired to be.
She was once the head cheerleader, and she had the attitude to prove it.
She was the one who was different, not miss perfect.
As well as taking her ability to walk, the accident had taken a much more valuable thing, her self esteem.
Some still treated her the same way she was before, more often than not it was the people she used to make fun of.
Crystal started to see what it was like to be teased relentlessly, not knowing or caring how she hurt others. It was now clear she was wrong.
Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words cannot hurt you.
What a lie, words could pierce you, bruise your ego, and break your spirit more than any amount of stones could.
Words were weapons, she understood.
She was treated like an invisible or broken person, despite neither being true. She lost track of those she had hurt after the accident opened her eyes to what truly mattered.
Being a mean girl hadn’t been cool, it had been stupid.
