ELLA CRUZ plays the leader of the bullies in their school in Vivamax youth-oriented series “The Seniors”, but in real life, she was the one who was bullied while she was still studying.
“Yes, I was never a mean girl in school dahil ako nga ang victim ng bullies sa school namin noon in Bulacan,” she says.
“Unang-una, they bully me kasi maliit ako. Tapos, tinatawag nila akong laos na artista kapag wala akong projects. Sinasabi nilang nakakapasa lang ako sa klase dahil binabayaran ko yung mga teacher namin kasi madalas akong absent.”
Her classmates who were bullying her even resorted to violence to hurt her.
“Yes, one time, naglalakad lang ako sa corridor, bigla akong kinorner ng mga kaklase ko at sinampal na lang nila ako out of nowhere, na wala naman silang reason at all. It was so traumatic for me.”
The next schoolyear, her parents transferred her to a school in Quezon City.
“My classmates there are more friendly at wala silang pakialam kung nasa showbiz man ako. And that’s where I met yung mga naging tunay kong kaibigan na friends ko for life.
"Sila talaga yung maaasahan mo through ups and downs and up to now, may communication pa kami.”
She recalls these past experiences now that she’s doing a series about high school life to be shown on Vivamax starting March 26.
“In ‘The Seniors’, I play Jennifer, the president ng student council, the queen bee na sinusunod ng Mean Girls sa campus.
"Best friends ko sina Awra Briguela and Andrea Barbierri, but our friendship was challenged by the arrival of Julia Barretto as Diana, a transferee from Manila at na-threaten kami sa pagiging smart and pretty niya.”
As the show goes on, it will be revealed that her character, Jennifer, has a back story.
Her being a tough girl is actually just a front because she is so disappointed with her own mother who is a corrupt teacher in their school.
