I still remember the day I told my brother Alex about Karen’s bullying. He encouraged me to stand up for myself and seek help for my lisp and stuttering. I took his advice and started speech therapy with Mrs. Thompson. “We’ll focus on techniques that improve your speech fluency, and we’ll also work on building your confidence in speaking situations,” she reassured me.

Years later, I had overcome my speech issues and found my passion in cooking. I opened my own restaurant, a place where I didn’t need to speak much. But fate brought Karen to my restaurant, and our past came flooding back. “You work here?” she asked, her voice dripping with disdain. “Get me your manager, Lily. I’d like to order my food from someone who will explain what the dishes are.”

But I didn’t let her words cut me down. I stood firm and offered to escort her out if she wasn’t satisfied. My brother Alex appeared, and Karen’s mask began to crumble. “Yes, she does,” he said, “But she liked to wait on guests and sometimes run the kitchen, too.” Karen’s face drained of color, and she couldn’t meet my gaze. I finally felt free from the trauma of high school. “I finally felt like I had unleashed all the trauma from high school,” I realized.

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