I don't like boys.

On Tuesday, Malia cried at school. Not because I left her at school or because she was suffering from feelings of abandonment. She cried because after lunch, while on the play equipment, a little boy yelled at her: "Get off! You can't play here! GET OFF!" He was pretty mean -- mean enough to where I (from behind the iron fence, in the parking lot) scolded him for not being nice. I could tell from Malia's face that she was trying to be brave, trying to hold herself together and not cry. I could also tell that she was scared but trying not to show it. She held it together for about a minute, while trying to get off the equipment because that boy was following her while yelling at her. Then she burst into tears and was a sobbing mess. She ran over to me and stuck her arms through the fence, trying to climb onto me but obviously couldn't. I tried unsuccessfully to calm her down before Mrs. Lerma came over to see what was the matter. I ratted on the kid, saying Malia got really scared. Turns out it's a little boy in Malia's class. He's a bit older (around 3.5 years old). Mrs. Lerma called him over and made him apologize but Malia wasn't having any of it. She just wanted to go home.

So I take her home, worrying that our days of Happy Preschool are a thing of the past. She keeps talking about "the little boy at school who yelled at me and made me very sad." Even two days later, "the little boy at school who yelled at me and made me very sad" is still worrying her. I role play with her about what she should do if it happens again: tell him "NO! Don't yell at me. I don't like it!" and go to a teacher. Or don't play with him. Anything to give her a sense of power and control over the situation so she wouldn't be so scared. I also point out the highlights of school: art time, singing circle time, reading, etc. But she's a typical female: she won't ever forget that one bad incident.

Today is Thursday, two days after the mean little boy incident. At lunchtime, Mrs. Lerma invited Malia to sit at a certain spot at the lunch table, which happened to be next to a boy.

Malia refused, saying: "No, I don't like boys."
Mrs. Lerma: "Come on! Sit next to Jefferey, he's very nice!"
Malia: "No, I don't want to sit next to a boy. He's going to yell at me."

Ugh. It broke my heart that she's so twisted up inside... and yet, I kind of had to laugh.

Mrs. Lerma: "No one is going to yell at you. Aman [the kid who did yell at her] is sitting over there. Jefferey is very nice. He won't yell at you."
Malia: "No, I don't like boys. I don't want to sit next to a boy."

In the end, Mrs. Lerma got her to sit next to Jefferey only with the promise that she would sit on the other side of Malia.

I'm torn about the whole situation. I'm sure when she turns into a hormone-ridden 14 years old, I'll appreciate her "I don't like boys" attitude. So do I really want to cure her of this angst?

Or maybe I should put her in a martial arts class so she could pick up some ass kicking skills instead.