Jamie slumped at her desk, scowling at the blank page. The fading light made the walls look even duller, and the only sound was her mum bustling in the kitchen. With a sigh, she picked up her pen, determined to spill the truth into her "stupid diary"—something her teacher, Mrs. Dillian, insisted would “help her grow.”
"Honestly, Mrs. Dillian has no clue what it's like to be a kid," she wrote, rolling her eyes. Jamie grumbled about homework, but her thoughts soon wandered to a story worth telling.
Charlie, her best friend and next-door neighbor, pulled up beside her on his own scooter, grinning mischievously.
"Race you to school!"
Jamie shot off after him, wind whipping her hair as they darted past parked cars. The school loomed ahead—a single-story building with bright windows, a chilly swimming pool, and, unfortunately, the infamous shared toilets that everyone dreaded.
Emma, another of Jamie's best friends, hobbled up with a confident smirk, despite her crutches.
"Hi!"
Jamie and Charlie greeted her warmly, but the mood shifted as Penny—the notorious bully of P4—swaggered over, her gang in tow. The air prickled with tension as Penny started picking on Emma near the dreaded toilets.
"Go away, Penny," Emma retorted bravely.
On the whiteboard, a mean drawing of Emma was scrawled, with “She poos in school” written above it. Laughter buzzed around the room, and Emma's face burned red. Jamie and Charlie exchanged worried glances, while Penny and her gang snickered from the corner.
"This isn’t right," Jamie whispered to Charlie. Emma, eyes flashing, made up her mind—revenge was coming.
Emma outlined her plan with fierce determination. The first target: Britney, Penny’s loyal sidekick. A cookie laced with laxatives was slipped into Britney's lunchbox. The next day, chaos erupted as Britney dashed desperately to the loo, trying to hide from Penny, only to be caught in the worst way possible.
"Brilliant move," Charlie grinned, stifling laughter as Britney was unceremoniously kicked from the gang.
Sarah, another of Penny's crew, became the next victim. While everyone swam, Emma dunked Sarah's pants in the pool, then placed them back in her bag. When Sarah changed, she shrieked in horror.
"Someone’s dunked my pants in the pool!"
Mrs. Dillian tried to soothe her, but the laughter was unstoppable. Later, after a real accident, Sarah was assigned to “toilet time group,” her worst nightmare.
Now, only Penny remained. Jamie, Charlie, and Emma watched as the once-powerful bully walked the halls, no longer surrounded by her crew. The school felt different—safer, maybe even a little kinder. As Jamie closed her diary, she realized she’d written more than a homework assignment; she’d written a victory.
"Maybe this diary thing isn’t so bad after all," she finished, a small smile tugging at her lips.
