(A Canadian short story published in 1984.)
             Celia and Elizabeth are not friends even though they share the fact that both of them are not very popular in the group of so-called friends. Elizabeth starts to tease Celia so that the focus is moved from herself to Celia but Celia still sees Elizabeth as her friend. It is probably because Celia has no other children at her age that she knows like Elizabeth and that is why she constantly follows her around. Elizabeth is convinced that she belongs to the group even though it is obvious they do not treat her that way.
             Everybody is teasing Celia and when Elizabeth is teasing her she get the feeling of confidence and control, which she longs so much for. Elizabeth is not aware of how important it is to treat others with the respect they deserve. She is only thinking of her image among her friends. She just wants to be a part of the group.
             Her mother keeps on telling Elizabeth that it is wrong to treat Celia that way and when Elizabeth's mother threats her with a public spanking she suddenly understands the seriousness of her mother's words. One day all anger that Elizabeth has built up inside comes to show because her friends begin to tease her for waiting at Celia. Elizabeth bangs her against the cold metal and later on she realizes what she has done and she regrets it so much.
             Elizabeth's parents react by punishing her with spanking, which I think is wrong. They never try to understand what the reason is for her actions. Instead they think more about their reputation. You really can't blame Elizabeth for her actions. It was her surroundings that drove Elizabeth to react the way she did. She just wanted to be accepted. Elizabeth blames Celia for being the reason to her aggression but she needs to realize that Celia was the only one who treated her with respect.
             I also think one of the reasons why Elizabeth acts the way she does
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