Ugly Betty;by Michaella

Note to reader: There is a character in here, named Sabrina. Sabrina is not her real name, for if the real person saw the story, she would be hurt and embarrassed. Another reason I am not using her real name, is because we’re friends now.

“Ugly Betty! Ugly Betty!” was all I heard as I stepped onto the bus in the morning with Jillian, which was where the taunting began. My bus rides were terribly horribly horrible, all because of glasses, braces and a dumb haircut! Tough luck for me, right? Ugly Betty was my bus-ride nickname. Here is how it all began.

I had just gotten braces. I had picked out my favorite colored rubber bands and thought they looked cool. I also got shoulder-length haircutt. I couldn’t wait to show my friends, because I had had long hair, then made a big change by cutting it so short. The week before, I had gone and picked out glasses, and they were on their way. After three days of waiting, I finally, I got them. I wondered if people would like them. At first I was exited….Until I stepped onto the bus Wednesday afternoon. Sabrina said it. Sabrina was the one who had called out “Hey look! I didn’t know Ugly Betty was on our bus!” Everybody on the bus even my own brother, (!!) was laughing hysterically. Even the bus-driver was laughing.

I gave the bus-driver a dirty look, and ran up the bus isle and sat down in a seat next to Jillian, and began to cry. Pretty hard to tell you the truth. I had never been so insulted about my appearance in my entire life! Chrissy was on the bus with us and had been looking for a seat, and when she noticed me and Jillian, she plopped down next to us. She asked me what happend, but I was too upset to answer, so she asked Jillian instead. Jillian told her the whole story, from beginning to end. Chrissy then whispered something in Jillian’s ear, and Jillian whispered back. This went on for a few minutes, and then finally Chrissy told me that I had to pretend that Jillian and Chrissy were counselors. They made me retell the whole story, and tell them how I felt when Sabrina had said that, and how I was feeling at that very moment. I spilled everything out, like when you have a bucket filled with marbles, and it spills, and all of the marbles come pouring out all over the place. During our little “counseling” session, they told me I look pretty with my braces and that they love my haircut, and lots of people have glasses, so I’m not alone there. I felt better for the rest of the day.

Morning came. The start of a new day. I was happy. Then the terrible knot in the pit of my stomach came. I went downstairs and told my mother I was sick. It was true. I felt sick just thinking about what would happen to me that day. My mom just said “Oh, I’m sure you’re fine. If you feel sick in school, go to the nurse and I’ll come pick you up.” Darn. Well, at least I’d tried. I would have done anything to stay home. When I got on the bus in the morning, it wasn’t as bad as it was yesterday afternoon. There were less people on the bus, but I was still depressed. Chrissy, Jillian and I had another one of our “counseling” sessions. The next week or so went on like this, and I got used to crying on almost every bus ride. Finally, Jillian and Chrissy decided that I had enough. They decided I shouldn’t be called Ugly Betty anymore. They grabbed me by the arm, and marched me to the back of the bus, where Sabrina was sitting. When I realized what they were doing, I stopped right in my tracks. They pulled, but I didn’t budge.

“Fine. We’ll go stand up for you ourselves.” Jill told me.

“Fine by me. Tell me what happens when you’re done.” I replied.

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

“Oh, will you two just shut up?” asked Chrissy.

“Shut don’t go up!” Jillian and I said together.

Chrissy and Jillian went to the very back where Sabrina was sitting, and I sat back down in our seat. I quietly peeked my face around the corner of the seat, and watched as Chrissy, Jillian and Sabrina spoke to each other, each of their faces getting redder and redder with every word said. They spoke for minutes that seemed more like hours. I caught a few words, but I’m not even sure I heard right. ”Apology.” “Unfair.” “Mean.” “Telling.” “Don’t.” Finally, Chrissy and Jillian turned on their heels and marched back to me, with Sabrina. I could do nothing but stare with horror. Sabrina opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off.

“No. If you are here to call me ‘Ugly Betty’ then turn around and leave. Now.”

And with that, I turned away, and stared out the window. Well, at least I pretended to stare out the window. Really, I was staring at her reflection in the window, waiting for her to leave, or to say something. I waited. She didn’t say anything. I waited some more. She still didn’t say anything. She just sat there in the seat across from me, and did nothing. Finally, she spoke.

“Look. I’m sorry I called you Ugly Betty.” is what she said.

I turned around. All I saw, was Chrissy and Jillian sitting with me. Sabrina had already gone back to her friends. I looked back where Sabrina was sitting and smiled. She had actually had said sorry, and had meant it. She looked over and saw me smiling at her, and she smiled back. You might think that was the end for Sabrina and I, but really, it was only the beginning of, maybe, a friendship.

The End.