I walked into the girl’s locker room completely oblivious to the tension. I was carrying out my daily routine for gym class when I heard two of my peers arguing about something. I paid no attention.
When I turned around, it rapidly became more serious. Their body language was hostile, and their arguing had turned into shouting. I looked around with a smile plastered to my face waiting for the signal to start laughing. It never came.
Suddenly, all that remained of my two classmates was a blur of hair, kicking and screaming, until they got pulled apart. As the scene played out before me, I stood flabbergasted. It all had happened so quickly, and I had never seen anything like it.
“Cat-fights,” for those who do not know the phrase, are nasty fights between two girls. They don’t necessarily have to be physical, but I guess they just are most of the time.
This was an alien concept to me. I came to Langley about two months ago from a little place called Islamabad, Pakistan. I have been travelling most of my life and I have lived in nine countries overall, but none of that could have prepared me for the culture shock I experienced here.
Since I have been here I have witnessed around three of these so called “cat-fights.” With each one that I see, it gets a little less frightening for me. The biggest shock of all to me is that anyone else watching these fights continue on as if it is something they see every day.
Out of all the other experiences I have been through, this one really made me realize what a great difference there is between America and everywhere else that I have lived. Every day I come to school with an open mind, not sure at all what to expect. This is the most confusing and crowded school I have ever been to, and I love it.