1 . I was talking to some friends while standing in line in the cafeteria at my middle school. As I started to share a funny story, my friend Elizabeth _______ me. “Coco! Coco!” she called out. Everyone laughed. This is so _______, I thought. I felt a little bit uncomfortable.

However, I never wanted to ask what “Coco” meant. I _______ it was a code word for a cute boy. Elizabeth was one of the girls that everyone wanted to be friends with. I felt _______ to be friends with her. Later, I noticed that Elizabeth often said bad things about other kids. I would have never said those things about someone, but to fit in, I _______ when Elizabeth said them.

One day, a classmate stopped by my locker and said to me, “‘Coco’ means Elizabeth thinks you’re being _______. It’s really mean.” My eyes filled with tears. I couldn’t _______ it.

The next day, at lunchtime, I sat beside Macy, who was sitting with another two girls and who had always seemed nice, _______ that she didn’t know about Coco. “You know Elizabeth is mean, right?” My heart _______. She knew. Before I could respond, Macy said, “You didn’t ________ to be treated that way, and nobody else does either.” I smiled and then talked to my new friends with ________. We laughed a lot, and no one interrupted with a mean code word.

Most adolescents are attempting to ________ who they are and who they want to be. The word Coco will always serve as a(n) ________ that I need to stay ________ to myself and never compromise my values to be friends with someone. Because with ________ friends, I won’t have to.