Dear diary, Penelope thinks differently.

Dad watched me walk across the road, shaking his head. Mum nearly lost it when I said I wanted to talk to Penelope. Dad tried reasoning with her. He lost the argument. I gave him a thumb up and knocked on her door. It opened straight away. I jumped back. Penelope’s eyes were wide as they shifted down to meet mine. Her expression softened.

“Emma, what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to ask your advice on something.”

She looked passed me, at Dad. “Sure. Let’s sit out here.”

I dropped into a chair and watched Dad pull out his phone. “Were you on your way out?” I asked.

“Yeah, but that can wait,” Penelope said. “So, what’s on your mind?”

“Well...” I couldn’t figure out how to say it. “There are these classmates of mine that ... uh, aren’t the nicest. They called me stupid and said they were going to try getting me into trouble, but I’m not sure what I did to make them hate me. So I guess I was wondering whether you knew how to make them leave me alone.”

“You’ve been there two days and already have kids bullying you?”

“I wouldn’t call it bullying-.”

“The best way to handle bullies is to be confident in your own abilities. That way it won’t matter what they do or say because it won’t make you feel bad. And once those as- kids realise that they can’t affect you, they’ll give up. Right now they see you as an easy target. That’s not your fault. But it is up to you to prove them wrong.”

I stared at the ground. “What if they’re right?”

“They’re not,” she said simply.

“How could you know that? You had to pull me out of the way of a car!”

“You’re still a kid, Emma. Kids make mistakes all the time. People make mistakes all the time; it’s kind of our thing. You’d be stupid if you played on a road after learning your lesson. You haven’t. Sure you seem incredibly naïve, but you’re no idiot.”

I laughed. “You’re not very good at comforting people.”

“I pride myself on my honesty. That way when I have to lie, I don’t feel so bad.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re meant to tell me that you never lie. That’s what other adults would say.”

“Then they’re the ones lying,” she said. “Speaking of, why didn’t you just go to your parents about this bully problem?”

“I didn’t want to worry them.”

She scoffed. “Now who’s the liar? What else?”

“There’s no other reason. I really didn’t want to worry them.”

Penelope raised an eyebrow. “Sure, just like your mum wants to be my BFF.” She drops her grin. “Seriously Emma, what’s up?”

I don’t know why, but I just found myself spilling it all out. “I got a math problem wrong. That’s why they first called me stupid. And it’s not the first time I’ve struggled with something after changing schools. I just thought it would be different because everyone’s new in my grade at high school. But it’s the same as always.”

“Your parents both have PhDs, can’t they help you?”

“Dad and math don’t get along. Mum... She thinks that doing homework and revising everything always equals straight A’s. And if I go to any of the teachers for help, then Sadie and Thomas will be right. I will be stupid.”

“First of all, admitting that you need a little help is not declaring yourself an idiot. Picking on someone who you know nothing about does that. Second, if you need someone to show you how to do things, I can always tutor you. I’ve got plenty of maths textbooks lying around. Just show me what you need help with and I’ll have you memorising formulas in no time.”

“Why do you have textbooks lying around?”

Penelope smiled. “I get bored sometimes.” She stood up. “So, what will it be? Let those kids torment you or show them just how wrong they are?”

“I don’t know. Mum won’t be happy about paying for-.”

“No cost. And when she inevitably starts claiming that I’m not qualified enough, I’d be happy to have a maths showdown with her. But only if she’s game.”

I laughed. “She’d destroy you.”

“Don’t be so sure. I bet I could take her.” Penelope grinned. “Now, you’d better head home. Your dad has finally put his phone away.”

Dad was tapping his watch. I jumped to my feet. “School!” I exclaimed. “I’ll come by when I after I ask Mum.”

“See you later then.”

Penelope actually wants to help me. This is awesome! I’m going to ask Mum over dinner. That way Dad will be there to back me up. I just hope he doesn’t lose this argument too.