Dear Miss Emily:

Hey, today at school this girl told my friend, that I told her I hated her -- which is a lie.I told my friend it was a lie but she wont listen. Then the girl had HER friend back her up. Now she really doesn't believe me.What should I do?

----------------------------------Miss Emily's advice------------------------

This is like the movie "Mean Girls" being played out in real life. Teenage girls often behave in these verbally, hostile ways because the verbal approach seems to be the only way to act out their meanness. Boys get it out on the field (team vs. team through teamwork), for the most part, and they are less inclined to pit one person against another like this girl has done.You did not say why this girl would be hostile toward you, and lie, but I suspect you have known her for some time and she holds a grudge -- real, or imagined. Perhaps she's jealous, or threatened by you. Is there something to what I said, here? If that's the case, I would tell my friend that this girl has had issues with you from something that happened in the past, and that's her way of retaliating. Her intent was to cause friction between you and her. If this is not the case, simply tell your friend, "I hope to get to the bottom of this stunt.  But if I can't, our friendship should stay solid and we should not allow a "mean-spirited girl" to hurt us for reasons I do not understand."