Dear Counsellor,

I recently enrolled at a secondary school where my father is the principal. I am naturally a smart student and I pass my tests at the top of my class. The thing is, I have failed to make any friends. People gossip about me, they say teachers are too afraid to fail me and that they give me good marks just to stay in my father’s good books. I’m miserable at school and would at least love to have a friend or two but no one wants to talk to me. I feel so isolated that I even contemplated failing on purpose, or becoming rebellious just to ‘fit in’. I’ve been bullied so often that at this point, reporting the issue will only make it worse. I worry that if I talk to my parents about it, my father might take action, and that’s not what I want. I just want some friends. I want to fit in.

Priscilla