That year I began having trouble making friends at school. It seemed I’d hit the age when mean girls are just learning how mean they can be. The rest of elementary school, I spent a lot of time crying in the bathroom as I learned it, too. I was smart and athletic, but not in the cool way; at recess I played sports with the boys or sat in a corner and read. I talked incessantly at adults, but was completely at sea with my peers. Admittedly, my unfortunate decision to wear pigtail braids throughout all of fourth grade probably did not help anything. All the grade school fashion sense and social
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