Kellie hadn't wanted to resort to using her ring. She was planning on telling the other girls about it as soon as she had finished patching things up between Claudia and Mary Elise. But things didn't go as well as she had planned. Kellie had definitely underestimated the animosity Mary felt towards Claudia and wasn't expecting Claudia to respond in kind with so little prompting.
But Kellie couldn't blame Mary completely, now that she saw one of the main factors for them not patching up by now. Kellie hadn't wanted to believe what Mary Elise had been saying about Lisa, but apparently it wasn't just all bitter exaggeration. Kellie didn't blame Samantha, knowing she was loyal to her friends and probably not totally informed about the situation. Kumiko was at least acting in her sister's interest, though she had at least heard Claudia's side of the argument by now. Kellie needed to talk with her later. But Lisa was a different story and something that she needed to deal with now.
"We can continue this discussion later as soon as you've cooled off," Kellie said to the girls, "But right now, I need to have a word with Lisa here." With that, she grabbed Lisa by her shoulder (not the one she twisted) and marched her towards the door. There was a definite advantage to being 10 years older than Lisa now. Not only was she bigger and stronger, but Lisa was protesting a lot less than she would have if Kellie were still a teen. Thankfully, no one saw them as Kellie marched Lisa over to the janitor's closet. Once they were in, she closed the door behind them. "Now, I think it's high time we had a talk about that attitude of yours," said Kellie sternly.
"How did you grow up like that?" asked Lisa, stilling rubbing her sore arm.
Kellie held up her hand to show her ring, "I have a ring too, just like Katie's. And yes, I know all about what you were doing with it on the day I met you." Lisa paled a little at that. "Yes, thought it was a good idea to make Ann a little girl without anyone noticing a difference? Did you consider who would be taking care of you if there were no adults living in the house?"
"But she was really annoying," grumbled Lisa.
"We know that's not why you disagree with her," said Kellie, "It's all because you still feel angry and guilty about your own mom being dead." Kellie winced inside at the struck look on Lisa's face. She saw that the pain still hurt, but Kellie had to be firm. She wasn't about to tell that she eavesdropped on Lisa's confession. Let her think that she was capable of knowing a lot of things.
"Ok, I messed up with Aunt Ann, but I'm already sorry about it," said Lisa.
"Listen, I know you're hurt and you're angry with yourself, but don't let that turn you into a bully," said Kellie.
"I'm not a bully!" snapped Lisa.
"Really? Because things are pointing towards the contrary. Starting with you and Kumiko going after Mary after she and Claudia fought. Then you block every chance of her trying to apologize and then start saying bad things about her and calling her 'Misery'," said Lisa.
"She deserved it," said Lisa defensively.
"She was trying to tell Claudia she's sorry and you kept her from doing that," said Kellie, "I bet you never even heard her out. And last but not least, you attacked me. I was trying to help Claudia and Mary and you attacked me. I told you to listen, but you kept trying to hit me. That's not the actions of someone who can control their temper."
"But-" started Lisa.
Kellie didn't let her finish. "You might not be aware of it or accept it, but you are acting like a bully. And it isn't always about the people bullies pick on, but their own issues that makes them act out. And the way I see it is that you're taking out your aggression on anyone you think 'deserves it'. You think that's what Katie would want you doing? Or your mother?"
Lisa didn't respond. Her bravado seemed to collapsed in on herself. Kellie could bet she was thinking about how she acted and realize how much of a bully she had been behaving like. Eventually, Lisa said, "I'm sorry."
"And I hope you mean it," said Kellie, "However, it's not going to be as easy as that. You're going to work on keeping your temper. For starters, you're going to apologize to Mary Elise for attacking, slandering her, and keeping her from patching up with Claudia."
Lisa gave Kellie a defiant look, "You're not my mother."
Kellie held up her ring hand again and said, "I could be. This ring works just as well as Katie's. I could easily make you a pre-teen, a kindergartner, or a baby. If I wanted to, I could revert you all the way down until you're in my womb." The last part was a bluff. Kellie wasn't about to repeat that mistake again. But the threat of it was enough to make Lisa go pale.
"K-Katie wouldn't let you," said Lisa nervously.
"I think she would agree to temporarily reducing your age to fix your attitude," said Kellie, "But I'm not going to do anything right now. I'm giving you the chance to turn things around on your own. But if I find you doing anything that could be seen as bullying or abusing power, you're going to lose your puberty status. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes..." said Lisa, clearly quelled enough.
Kellie sighed to herself. She didn't want to be so tough on her former little sister, but it was clear she hadn't enough reining in for this timeline and her mother's death made her attitude worse. But Kellie knew Lisa wasn't past reforming and she just needed a bit more discipline. "Ok then," said Kellie, "Now, let's head back to the others and let's start mending."