Sarah saw them, again. out of the corner of her eye she could see the kids ganging up on the new girl, lara. she was late to her band practice and only had a few minutes to get there. "i barely know her," she muttered to herself as she walked quickly to the car. "i'm sure she can take care of herself." sarah knew this was an important rehearsal and could not miss it. "hurry up," shouted her mom from the driver's seat. sarah threw her guitar in the back seat and slammed the door. "let's go," she said. as they rounded the corner and stopped at the stop sign—her heart racing—sarah looked at her mom. "mom, lara needs our . let's go back."

which of the following is an example of the topic in this story?