The weeks went by, and Brielle continued to work at the boot Factory. Things at work were going well for her and she was promoted to lead person in the Quality Control Department. Her new job duties under her new title were to train all the new QC inspectors. Brielle managed to make a small group of friends at work, but the rest of the women there despised her because of her virtues. Also, the fact that Brielle’s superiors promoted her quickly, sparing her from having to do her time was yet, another perceived mark against her.

However, they never bothered Brielle but only talked behind her back. Brielle could not have cared less. She had grown a thick skin from her experiences with bullying in school. That, along with age and maturity, was a blessing.

Brielle simply ignored her workplace bullies and focused on her job. She also enjoyed the three friends she did have at work, which included Alvin.

Jane and Olivia Aren’t Doing as Well in the Social Arena

Sadly, school wasn’t going as well for Jane and Olivia. In school, Breanna and Audrey made it their mission and life goal to bully and ridicule Jane every day. Additionally, she still had Janessa and her friends April and Samantha to deal with.

Olivia and her new friend Carmen also suffered their share of bullying in their school. However, the harassment they endured was not nearly as bad as the abuse Jane was taking at hers.

Breanna and Audrey took Jane’s unwillingness to fight as being a coward. Therefore, as time went by, they grew more and more brazen until one cool, sunny day in early October. That day, they finally caught Jane alone in the girl’s bathroom and words were exchanged.

Suddenly, Breanna took a swing at Jane and what happened next was a reaction she never expected. Jane delivered two quick jabs to Breanna’s face, busting her nose and mouth and blacking her right eye. She then swept Breanna’s feet and caused her to fall to the marble floor and hit her head.

After Breanna went down, Audrey tried to strike at Jane, only for Jane to deliver a cluster of jabs to her face, then a kick to her torso that sent her flying into one of the empty bathroom stalls. The blow slammed Audrey backwards into the toilet and she fell over it.

Jane Finally Reaches Her Limit

Seeing Jane getting the best of Breanna and Audrey, a group of five more girls immediately joined in the fight, taking the side of the two girls who had provoked Jane. Although Sensei Delgado had trained Jane well in martial arts, there was no way she could fight off five assailants. No one, no matter how skilled, could fight off that many opponents at once.

A hail of vicious blows from five different pairs of fists and feet landed into Jane and they seemed to come from every direction. However, her anger at being bullied only blunted and dulled any physical pain she would otherwise have felt.

The blows that landed into Jane seemed to feel like painless taps and pelts. Though she was getting hammered, and warm blood ran down the side of her face, Jane continued to fight until one of the girls shoved her from behind so hard that she hit the floor with a fierce thud. Then came a hail of kicks and stomps to her stomach, back, and sides. Finally came a vicious kick to her head and everything went blank.

When Jane awoke, she found herself on a bed in the sick room. She looked up and the principal and vice principal were standing over her.