When I started the sixth grade, things seemed to be going smoothly. At lunch time, a group of kids invited me to sit with them. I thought, I'm going to have new friends. Yay! I told them about growing up in Illinois. They didn't make fun of my accent. They explained that the Midwestern accent is the accent that doesn't offend anyone. That's why most newscasters are Midwestern. I said, "Okay. Cool." One of them asked, "What kind of âm nhạc do bạn listen to?" I told them, and I named a few bands that I liked. Another one of them said, "It's not 1980. Those bands shouldn't be a thing anymore." I said, "First of all, I don't give a shit what năm it is. Second, those bands formed BEFORE 1980, thank bạn very much! Finally, if bạn think that you're going to convince me to stop listening to those bands, bạn can Kiss my ass!" They told one of the teachers, and I got caned. I thought that was unjustified. I didn't know that swearing was an offense in Tennessee. People swear all the time in Illinois. My aunt paid a visit to the school, and I never got caned again. Still, things didn't improve. Sometimes the other kids would throw rocks at me hoặc tell me I was going to Hell. Things were not looking good for me. My aunt kept telling me, "Don't give up, Autumn. I'm sure that there's someone out there who wants to be your friend." Pretty soon, I was beginning to doubt that.
Within a few days of the release of their album, Union, New Religion and the Radiant Terriers' collaboration became very popular. "Bittersweet" was released as a single, and it reached number two on the Modern Rock Charts, right behind "Inside of Us" bởi The Devil Wants Peace. The Radiant Terriers decided to stay with New Religion until the end on their tour. Leila said, "I'm glad things are going so well now. I hope things continue to go well when we tour." The tiếp theo morning, the two bands began to prepare for their tour.