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WEST BRANCH, Mich. — A town has united behind a bullied Michigan teen to turn what seemed like a scene out of the movie "Carrie" into a real-life Cinderella story.
Businesses and residents stepped in after Whitney Kropp, 16, was named to her school's homecoming court because her fellow students thought it would be funny if someone unpopular was nominated to the court.
Students made fun of her in the hallways and the boy who was picked alongside her, a popular football player, withdrew from the court, the Detroit News reports.
"I thought I wasn't worthy," Kropp said. "I was this big old joke."
Kropp's mother, Bernice Kropp, said the teen is a free spirit with few friends, who with her dark clothing and strange hair colors doesn't quite fit into the rural community. But she is also quick to see the good in people and think the best of a situation.
"She's just sweet. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body," the mother said.
Rumor had it that other classes had laughed when her name was announced over the school PA system, and when she was told why the football player had withdrawn, it seemed to be too much. Her mother found the girl crying in her room: she no longer wanted to participate.
Word of the prank soon spread around town, and a Support Whitney Kropp Facebook page cropped up. It had more than 81,500 "likes" as of Wednesday.
A beauty salon offered its services, a dress was provided and Kropp's homecoming tickets were donated, the Ogemaw County Herald reports. Residents of the town plan to pack the football stadium's bleachers Saturday wearing orange, Kropp's favorite color, to show their supprt.
Some took to Facebook and YouTube to share their support. One of them was Donny Winter, a graduate from Ogemaw Heights, who said it was important to speak up because he had been bullied in high school, as well.
Kropp said the support of her community has helped her move past the incident, despite the apparent lack of punishment for the students involved.
"I feel really good about this now," she said. "I think with everyone doing this, it can turn a bad situation into a good one."
