Jamie held his breath and hoped the girl outside the stall would go away. "Do you need help?" The last thing Jamie needed was more people coming in here and catching him in the girl's room. Jamie squeaked out "I'm OK."

"You don't sound OK. My name's Karen. I'm here for you if you need someone to pour your heart out to."

Jamie's breathing got more rapid. He knew the voice. It was Karen Clemens. She was one of the girls he sat with at lunch, and she wasn't going to go away. How was he going to get out of here now? She'd freak out on him if she found out that he was a guy in the girl's bathroom. His only time of true peace at school at lunch with the girls. That was going to surely end now. She'd tell her friends how much of a freak he was for being in the girl's room. His life was over.

"It's OK, just open the door and we can talk. Or not. It's your choice. But you can't stay in the stall for the rest of your life." Jamie seriously thought about trying to do just that, but he knew he had to face the music sometime.

He sighed, unlatched the door, pushed the door open, and quickly blurted out "I'm sorry I'm in here. Please don't be mad. Jim Cleary pushed me in here. I ran into the stall. I didn't know what else to do! Oh god!" He started crying again.

Karen was momentarily surprised to see that it was Jamie in the stall, but her face softened when she heard how Jim had treated him. Jamie was a weird kid and always seemed like the class clown. She knew that he'd been picked on, but figured that was just to be expected considering how he acted. She'd never seen him break down like this. She really felt bad for him.

"Don't worry Jamie. I'm not mad at you." She held out her hand to help Jamie up to his feet. Jamie smiled and reached his hand out to hers. "Let's get you out of here, though, before things become bad for you."

As Jamie and Karen walked out to the hallway, Jamie was glad to see that the jocks were gone. Karen walked with Jamie down the hallway and stopped. She looked concerned and Jamie was afraid of what she was going to say. "I never knew that the teasing bothered you so much. You should lay off the class clown routine. I know you probably want attention, but you're attracting the wrong kind of attention. I don't want to be mean to you, but I don't want you hurt. To be honest, no one is really comfortable with your act. Everyone thinks you're really weird." Karen knew, as soon as she said it, that she had gone too far. "Oh, Jamie. I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

Jamie started crying hysterically. The hallway soon filled up with students who were now staring at Jamie. "No, it's true. I know what people think of me. I can't help it though. I don't want attention. I like it when I'm left alone. I try to fit in. But I can't. And you're right, it is all an act. But I can't be myself. You don't understand. I just can't!"

Jamie didn't care that there were two hours left of school. He had to get out of there. Everything was messed up. His tolerable life suddenly became a whole lot less tolerable. He always suspected people thought he was a freak, but now he knew for sure that it was true. He turned around and ran for the doors.

Karen tried to stop him. She shouted "Jamie wait! I'm so sorry!" But Jamie was already out the door.

He ran home as fast as he could, crying like crazy the whole way home. He ran up to his room and flung himself on his bed. He felt totally empty inside. His life was over, there was no way he could face anyone at school ever again. The scene he made in the hallway was sure to seal his fate as the school freak for the rest of his life. He sunk his head in his pillow just as the doorbell rang. He heard the front door open as far as the chain lock would let it, followed by Karen's voice. "Jamie, I'm really really sorry! Please let me in."