<p>Thank you for the article, texas. I was a nerd and never understood why until now. I helplessly watched my darling D go through this as one of only 7 new 7th graders in her school, a year younger and a helluva lot smarter than all of them. She internalized a few lessons from that experience. First, never trust teachers or advisors. They don’t protect you because they refuse to acknowledge that such cruelty exists. Second, if you don’t want to be attacked by sharks OR queen bees, never show you’re bleeding. She still doesn’t to anyone at school and she’s a junior.</p>