Every morning when the home room bell rang at David Fairchild Elementary, the class lined up by size order, girls in one line and boys in another . In 5th grade, Juliet was the second-tallest girl in class; the tallest was Rosie Rodriguez. Rosie had begun bullying Juliet the year before, cornering her in the bathroom, threatening to beat her up after school, and stealing her lunch money. Rosie was assigned as Juliet’s understudy for the lead in the school play and told her, “If you don’t drop out, I’m going to kick your ass.” Juliet promptly went to the teacher and told her she didn’t want to be the lead anymore. The teacher suspected something was amiss but had no proof. “ Did Rosie threaten you? “ Ms . Cunningham asked Juliet in private. “ No. I just haven’t been feeling well. “ Juliet responded.
Soon Rosie accused Juliet of sticking her tongue out at her, though Juliet had only been licking her lips nervously, and Rosie announced to all her friends that she was going to “kick Juliet’s ass after school.”
A crowd of kids surrounded Juliet in the playground after the final bell. Many were boys much larger than she was, chanting, “A fight! A fight!” and insisting Rosie was about to beat Juliet up. Rosie stood staring at Juliet, and Juliet stared back. Juliet didn’t flinch or cry.
Suddenly Juliet’s best friend Janet screamed from the path leading to the street, “Juliet! Your mother’s here to pick you up! Hurry up!” Juliet bolted toward the street. Her mother wasn’t actually there. She and Janet ran home together, adrenaline pumping through their bodies and out of breath. “ Oh my God! Thank you Janet! Juliet said panting with exhaustion.
Juliet came home from school day after day and told her mother everything, but her mother always gave the same advice: “Speak up and use your fists! Stand up to her, Juliet!”
Both of Juliet’s parents were fighters. Her mother had grown up with four scrappy brothers who fought constantly. Her father’s nickname was “punchy” in high school and he’d been kicked out of school for fighting and sent to serve in the military at age seventeen. He was a boxer in the Army. Her father spent a few hours showing Juliet how to fight, holding out his hands and coaxing Juliet to punch his palms. “ Harder, Harder.” He insisted. “You have to fight back.” He also showed her how to stand with both feet separated almost at a 45 degree angle dispersing her weight evenly. “ Tuck in your chin, Juliet” He kept reminding her.
But Juliet could not bring herself to fight Rosie Rodriguez. She had too much empathy for her. Physical fighting was just not in her spirit. She told her mother, “But I feel sorry for her. I think she’s being treated badly at home.
Eventually Juliet’s mother called the principal and raised hell. She demanded a meeting with Rosie’s mother. On the day of the meeting, she stood and shouted, “If your daughter doesn’t stop bullying Juliet, you’re going to have to deal with Candy Reminis!. Nobody mistreats my daughter!”
She jabbed her finger into her own chest as she yelled, spit flying. Rosie’s mother sat in disbelief and nodded saying “ I’ll take care of it. “
Juliet feared things would get worse but to her surprise, Rosie left Juliet alone at school. Soon after the meeting with the principal, Rosie called Juliet’s house.
Juliet was sitting in the den watching I Dream of Jeannie in black and white when the phone rang. She picked it up. It was Rosie Rodriguez.
“I want to come talk to you,” Rosie said. “I want to apologize.”
She asked Juliet for her address, and Juliet, ever trusting, gave it to her.
After hanging up, Juliet called her mother. “Rosie is coming over to apologize,” Juliet said excitedly.
Her mother, still at work, screamed, “Don’t open the door! I’m coming right home! Call Janet and have her come over!”
Janet lived up the street and was Juliet’s fearless best friend, four inches shorter and twenty pounds lighter but unafraid of anyone. Her older brother often beat on her and she fought him off. Janet rushed over on her bike, hid it in Juliet’s garage, and planted herself in front of the front door.
“Don’t come out,” she ordered Juliet.
Rosie rode up on her bike and told Janet she was there to see Juliet.
Janet replied, “She’s not coming out. Go home.”
Rosie insisted she just wanted to apologize. Janet said she would relay the message. Rosie rode off on her red Schwinn.
Juliet still wanted to believe Rosie had meant to apologize. “I think she really wanted to apologize, Mom,” Juliet said more than once.
“Juliet,” her mother answered, “as long as she leaves you alone, it’s over. Just stay away from her. You are starting middle school soon so you will have a fresh start.”
The following year, Juliet entered 6th grade at Ponce de Leon Middle School. It was overwhelming for her and she hoped to make new friends and fit in. As she walked the crowded halls, going from one class to another, she saw Rosie pushing another girl up against the lockers, threatening, “I’ll kick your ass if you don’t give me your lunch money.”
Juliet shouted, “Leave her alone!”
Rosie looked at Juliet and let the girl go. Juliet started walking a little faster and got a lift in her step, hoping Rosie wasn’t coming after her. A week later, Juliet found out Rosie was moving away, out of South Florida, with her Mother. Juliet never saw her again. Janet said “ good riddance. “ when she heard the news. Juliet felt a sense of relief but had nagging questions lingering in her mind. Why had she targeted me?
Twenty years later, Juliet saw Rosie’s face again. Not in a hallway, but framed in a cheerful profile picture on a mutual friend’s Facebook page. Rosie looked older, softer, smiling into the camera as if she had never threatened anyone in a school bathroom. Juliet felt a wave of anxiety come over her. She prepared herself for several conversation scenarios before she got up the nerve to reach out.
“Hello! Remember me?” Juliet typed.
She hoped that time had softened Rosie.
“Yes, I remember you,” Rosie replied. “Hello, old classmate!”
Juliet hesitated only a moment before asking the question that had wanted answered for decades: “Why did you bully me in grade school?”
Rosie didn’t answer right away. Days passed. Juliet almost convinced herself to let it go.
Finally, a message arrived.
“I was angry all the time back then,” Rosie wrote. “You always got attention. You talked about vacations with your father. I didn’t have a father. I guess I took it out on you.”
Juliet stared at the words, unsure what she felt. It didn’t really resolve her feelings of weakness. She could understand the hurt behind Rosie’s words, but she couldn’t quite accept it as the whole truth. She typed back carefully.
“Well, I hope things are going well for you now.”
Rosie never answered.
Years passed, and Juliet stayed close with Janet, her fierce defender. But as Janet drifted deeper into politics and began making racist remarks, Juliet felt the shape of their friendship warp into something she could no longer recognize. Letting go of Janet was painful, but necessary. Juliet knew loyalty mattered but so did the kind of person she chose to be and who she chose to associate with.
Sometimes, when Juliet thought back on it all she realized something she hadn’t understood as a child. Rosie’s cruelty hadn’t defined her, and Janet hadn’t saved her. What had carried her through was her own refusal to become hardened, even when everyone around her told her to fight.
And that was something Juliet felt proud of.
