Rone (with an accent on the e)

So I hung out with my sister yesterday which I really didn't have time for, but it was fun. We went down to 50th to go to a Japanese bookstore and then chilled in Barnes and Nobles for a while reading and hanging out. She got suspended from school yesterday for getting into a fight with some kid. All she would tell me is that he was calling her names, so she called him a name, so he hit her, so she hit him. I couldn't get her to tell me what names they were calling each other or whether the boy got in trouble too. It's such a strange thing for me to understand because she's so shy, quiet, smart, artistic, really into manga, easily offended by swearing in books or on TV. And yet I'm sure she decked this kid. I'm also sure he deserved it which makes things complicated. Cause I want to teach her that there are alternatives to fighting, and that no good can come of it. But realistically, if you go to middle school in the Bronx, you have to be able to stand up for yourself somehow, and she's never going to be a fast talker or the kind of kid who can laugh off insults. Sometimes I try to talk to her about well what would you do if he came up to you again, is there something you could do besides fighting? But at the same time, I don't want her to be a push over for the other kids to beat on. Even more complicated cause in a year or so, she's going to be hot. She's at that 12 year old stage now, but I can see it, and I'm worried about her. I mean, her grandmother is only 50 which says something about the pattern in her family. Stay in school and don't get pregnant. is that so much to ask?