I GOTTA BE ME

So maybe that’s not much, but it’s way better than nothing.

Ms. Donatello says when you change one little corner of the world, you change the world. I don’t know if that’s true, but if it is, then I say mission accomplished.

My BNICE project ended up changing things too, in an even bigger way. I know that one news story on Channel 11 and a couple of conversations around school aren’t going to drive bullies extinct everywhere, but they made a difference at HVMS.

Pretty soon after I confessed to Mrs. Stricker, she sent all the students home with a letter to our parents. It talked about bullying and how it wouldn’t be tolerated at HVMS. (Except by her, obviously. Kidding. Kind of.) She was even going to start a task force with students, teachers, and parents to figure out how we can safely report bullying incidents—and hopefully stop them. It didn’t mention BNICE, but everyone knew that was why she wrote the letter.

And if anything was going to help keep Miller off our backs, I was all for it.

And speaking of BNICE, Ms. D ended up giving me an A− for the assignment. She said that it was “creatively rendered” and that I’d made a really worthwhile statement.

“That grade is for your art, not your methods,” she said. “No more spying or taking pictures of people without their permission, okay?”

“I got it,” I said. “Seriously.”

I think she believed me too. Because then she let me in on a little secret of her own. As far as I know, I’m the only one she told. So if you see Mrs. Stricker around, keep your mouth shut about this, okay?