I need your help ASAP!

Here's what I see as a middle school teacher. Hope it helps.

In middle school. girl bullying is not usually physical- it's mental. Here's a typical comment- "That's an interesting outfit". or, "What smells?". Or, they'll say they like your shoes, backpack, etc, ask you where you got it, and then laugh hysterically when you tell them Wal-mart or some other discount chain. Or, they'll ask if your shoes are "real" Converse or if that's a "REal" Dooney-Bourke bag. Designer stuff is HUGE in middle school, you must have the right clothes and accessories or you will be second tier. Steinbeck, in East of Eden, wrote a great paragraph about pork chop necklaces- check it out, it's pure middle school.

Hair cuts and make up also get targeted for ridicule. But remember, it's subtle- "Where'd you get your hair cut?", laugh at the answer, "Who did your hair?", laugh at the answer.

Girls will also set each other up. A group of bully girls will convince a victim that a certain boy likes her, and get her to write a note, confessing that she likes him. The boy is mortified, and the bully girls tell everyone about the victim's note. You wouldn't think that this would work- who would fall for that?- but the bully girls watch and see who the victim has been looking at or following around, or they pick a boy who's on the same social level as the girl, and it seems as if it could be possible. I've seen this many times, and it's always mortifying for the victim and the boy- and it forever destroys any hope she might have had of him really growing to like her.

A variation of this game is to tell a boy the victim likes him- a boy she would never pick- and watch as he approaches the victim. The bully girls watch and sound the alarm at the right moment so everyone can watch. Or, they spread the word post-humiliation.

Another thing they do is set up a victim to perform in front of a group and then ridicule the performance. I had a student who loved to sing, and they would ask her in the middle of class to sing. It would be hard for a nice teacher to say no- who would crush some little girl's aspirations?- and so teachers would let her sing one, and the kids would laugh at her. So the bullies got a double bully in- force a teacher to participate, and embarrass a kid.

One more- the slam book. Girls make a notebook for their friends to write in, and they write nasty things about other girls. This happens online now, more than on paper, but every few years I confiscate one of these poison pen journals.

If these young ladies would put their brain power towards good, not evil, we'd rule the world!

You wonder why teachers get jaded! : > )

So, you can see lots of ways your friends could reunite. I do want to tell you, most often girls have arguments and then get back together as if nothing ever happened. The most painful thing I see with friends is that one is seduced away by another girl, and the third wheel is never let back in. Or, one becomes popular- becomes an athlete, or joins a club- and the other can't follow into the new group. Or, one outgrows the other- typical in middle school, one is still playing with Webkins while the other is chasing boys. Or, the bad crowd pulls one in and the other has to let go to keep themselves safe.

Don't, however, think one that becomes popular can pull up the lower one- or even would- usually the old friend gets dropped like a hot potato, so as not to jeopardize the other's new status. I have seen them reunite in high school, when this stuff is not quite as bad- although the lowest level kids never escape their middle school status.

Good luck, keep writing!

Oh wow!

I just finished middle school and now I realize how lucky I was. Bullying wasn't near as bad at our school. Sure we had the occasional incident (in the middle of the year there was a big cat fight that the whole school saw) but for the most part I really haven't been a victim.

But thank you for your ideas!

From my memories of middle school, I'd have to agree 100% with pseager. Middle school girls are all about the psychological tactics, rather than the physical ones. (And middle schools girls can be incredibly nasty.)
I saw a lot of the same stuff going on as pseager described.

I think I might use the slam book. A scene is forming in my mind...

Thank you SO much.

I agree with pseager. When my youngest started kindergarten, he came home the first day of school and refused to go back because the kids teased him because he had k-mart sneakers. He was so upset that we went out that night and bought him a pair of name brand sneakers. After that, he was fine. It tore our hearts out to see him so upset. This had not happened with our older two. So I am fully aware of how cruel kids can be at any age.

Your MC can be defended by Lydia anywhere. Lydia can come across them teasing Dottie on a bicycle at a fast food restaurant or Lydia can get on the school bus they share and defend Dottie, If you are uncomfortable with the "cliched" school bathroom, make it somewhere else. It could even happen in front of Lydia's house as Dottie walks home alone and then Lydia, taking pity on her, comes out to save the day.

Good Luck!

Not sure if you saw Mean Girls, but there's a big plot device in that film called a "Burn Book," which is basically what the slam book is. So if you haven't seen it, I'd recommend giving it a look just to make sure that you wouldn't be accused of ripping off anything from that film...