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Let me elaborate the situation of this "rant." Since it's not BS/LKS related, I'm putting it here in "other." I want to know how anyone copes, danger-free, with stress at school.

Main situation:
Three people, Tiffany, Jacob, and I are working on a presentation on the American Presidential Candidate "Mike Huckabee."

So I spent about five days, including yestarday and l ast week, collecting pictures and information because Tiffany said we would do a pursuasive speech (to get and get people to "vote" for Huckabee) and a poster; while Jacob would present the speech and she and I would present to poster. The entire time, since we started the project, they demanded that I make the speech. I said no every step of the way.

Monday, which was yestarday, I handed Jacob an array of Mike Huckabee pictures. He asked what we needed them for, and I told him for the poster. His next response was "well, I'm making a powerpoint." I just shrugged and returned to my computer to work on other projects (Geography and an English paper about John Henry "Doc" Holliday, to be exact).

So Tuesday, that's today, we are going to present. Tiffany and Jacob both walk up to me and ask:
"Did you make the speech?"
"Did you make the poster?"

This is when I started to think "Oh, crap, they expected me to haul the entire project!" When I asked Jacob about the powerpoint he said he was making, he denied it and said he never said anything about it. Now they're damanding I do the speech again; no matter how many times I *snapped* a "NO!" at them. (This is because I'm not one for any form of public speaking.)

So, not only is there an Anarchist (that's me) pursuading people to vote for politics, but they want me to haul the project the rest of the way. I coped a little. Then, I noticed that the printout was exactly the same as what I pulled from the website. They plagerised! They only changed one word; and that was a typo. I read the first paragraph and muttered "mix it up, that way it's at least paraphrased." They still told me to speak.

Having enough, I handed the picture to Jacob and said: "Fine, then, I refuse" and returned to my seat. People asked me why I did that, and I explained to them my Anarchy view on the world, their plagerism, and how they demanded that I do the entire project myself.

Still, Jacob and Tiffany went throughout the day telling people that I was at "fault" here, and I caused the downfall of "their" project. How rude is that? And while I was talking to my good friend (who is a Freshman and not in that class) Mariah about it at the end of the day, more people listened in on our conversation and happily interrupted.

While, across the room, I heard the "witch" of the school yelp out "Don't go there; just don't talk about it!" Since when was it a touchy subject? Since when was it annoying? She butted in and was really rude about it; and I went on talking. Still, she sat over there and antagonized Mariah and I.

And this isn't the first time I've been antagonized and harrassed in this school; it's been going on since the third grade. The school does nothing about it, the parents don't believe me (that or their children pull the innocent card and get out of it, making me bad again), or the kids deny every word. Still, no punishment is taken. Not even for the plagerism!

So I'm asking for Balto Source's advice; how do you cope with problems like this in school (or even different ones)?

Other rumors about me going around I want to avoid:
-I'm pregnant; have been since my Freshman year -- same baby!
-I'm on drugs
-I cheat on my boyfriend
-I never work with my group (above "rant")
-I'm a "dirty" person because my sister got pregnant at 15 and again at 16 and never takes care of herself.

It's been a while since I was in high school, but I'll try to offer what advice I can. First of all this school project business. If you're having trouble, talk to your teacher about it. I'm sure he or she can do something to help. And in the future, see about working with a different group of people. For now, talk to your friends and tell them, kindly but strictly, that you are not going to put up with this. They are not hauling their share of the load, and you're only doing them and yourself a dis-service by letting them be lazy.
As for the other rumors, those are harder to deal with (Although I did write a fanfic on the subject of rumors once, which remarkably may be of some help here). My only advice there is that you do your best to put up with it. In fact, you could use the situation as a good thing by seeing what different people do. The ones who recklessly gossip about you aren't worth hanging out with. The ones who show concern for you or honestly believe you from start to finish are the ones you can trust. And (to paraphrase someone I read about) keep your chin up and your knees down. Whatever course it takes, the truth will come out eventually.

lern2read kthxbai

In all seriousness, though, the only thing you can do is try and keep the trouble to a minimum. I'm in a similar situation, and it's a bit worse as it is an all-girls school, which means the girls are more bitchy about these things to each other. But you know how I cope with it? Err... well... I don't, really. I've got a gang of my own crazy cadavers, though, and even if there's a bit of backstabbing happening, usually we all pull through together.

Just keep your head up. Don't let it get to you, etc etc. I know, it's hard to do that a lot... nobody ever achieved anything by not trying though, did they?

I've gone through the same thing, I might add. Junior High- and High School are often the worst schools you go to. It's in that time when hormones are developing rapidly, and with many (and I'm not limiting this to just boys) will often try to attain dominance (lol) over somebody.
Don't let it get to you, however, because if you ignore it, you will eventually not find it anymore.

The reason you have these rumours about you (that is, if you have those you mentioned, or some others, or are afraid of getting) is, or would be because they want to see a reaction. When you feel offended by a rumour somebody put up about you, don't show it. Try to ignore it, because if you show you're offended, you are doing exactly what they want, and they take pleasure of seeing you suffer.


Now, I must say, I am really impressed by the way you handled your project-problem, and saying "no" was the only right thing to do. I wouldn't have been able to say no in the same situation, because I'm obsessed with getting good grades. But I have my own way of retaliation; I deliver the task including a note of why I did it all by myself.



There are multiple ways of getting back at them, but you should be discrete. Also, do not lower yourself to their level; people spreading false rumours about one another, or trying to force someone to haul their project, are lowly morons and should just be ignored and frowned upon.
You're higher than them, and you should keep yourself there when they try to offend or otherwise harass you.

Sorry I missed that bit. I can definitely relate on the matter of kids pulling the innocent card.