Differences Make Us Beautiful

Some Things Never Change

CONTENT WARNING:  This chapter tells strong depictions of bullying. If you are sensitive to said material, then please use caution when reading, or skip this chapter entirely.

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Rami sat in the cafeteria away from everyone else. This has become the norm since coming to this new school, well, even at the old school, this would still happen. So in a way, nothing is really new. He sat in the corner of the room with his little, red lunchbox he brings from home every day. He rarely eats the food from the cafeteria, mainly because it's a miracle if half his food doesn't get stolen on his way to his table.

A typical lunch for him would consist of a lunchmeat sandwich of some kind, some plain carrot sticks, with no ranch because his mom says it's not healthy, a piece of fruit, which is usually either a banana or an apple, and a little pouch of juice. He sat in silence, paying no attention to those around him, cause he typically wouldn't get any attention from them anyway.

That was, until he heard someone yelling. He looked up and saw a group of older, semi-intimidating students looking at him from across the cafeteria.

"HEY, GOAT! Did you help mommy pack your lunch today?" they all laughed at the dumb joke their leader made.

Rami shook his head and continued to eat. He wasn't trying to antagonize them, but at the same time, he was trying not to give them the satisfaction of reaction. He was looking at his food and didn't even notice the group walk over to his table. A book slammed hard against the tabletop, causing him to jump.

"You'll learn not to ignore us before long, goat." one of the boys said.

"Look at you. Always looking like you lost a fight with that dirty-looking smudge on your eye." they continued to laugh and point at the increasingly embarrassed goat.

"Yeah, what's your middle name? Ugly?!?!"

One of the guys grabbed his half-eaten sandwich and chucked it across the room, barely missing another student. Next, his juice was taken and was then squeezed, causing the liquid to spill onto his pants, in a very specific location.

"Ohhhhh look, guys, we made him wet himself! He's soooooo scared!"

Rami grabbed his lunch box and stood up. One of the goons dropped to the ground to his hands and knees directly behind the goat's legs. Another walked up and shoved Rami, causing him to trip over the first guy, and fall to the ground.

"OW!" he landed with a thud.

The group laughed, and finally walked away. Rami laid there for a moment, waiting to see if anybody noticed. Waiting to see if there was anyone nearby who cared enough to help him out. But to his chagrin, no one. He grabbed his lunchbox before standing back up and heading off to the bathroom. He took a paw full of some paper towels and wiped his pants as dry as he could get them.

He heard the bathroom door open, and braced himself for the inevitable beating he's about to receive, but nothing happened. He slowly turned around and behind him was the little brown deer that sits in front of him in class. He had two small, black antlers, a nose that was a light shade of pink. So light, it almost appeared white. His ears were tipped with the same color as his nose. He had bright orange eyes.

He just stared at the defenseless goat. Rami wouldn't look him in the eye, but down at the floor instead. He wasn't sure if he was here to beat on him, call him stupid names, or even spit at him. All these things, he's endured before.

Rami chose to look up at the deer, and the look on his face was something he wasn't used to. It looked like concern.

The deer spoke softly. "Are ... are you ok?"

Rami looked up. "W-What?"

"Are you ok? I ... I saw what happened. I was too scared to get involved. Those guys will bully anyone. You're not hurt, are you?" the deer said calmly.

Rami shook his head. "No ... just embarrassed."

Before he could react, the deer took Rami in a hug. It only lasted a moment before he backed off, even though it felt like an eternity to the touch-deprived goat.

"Oh ... s-sorry. I should have asked first." he said.

Rami smiled a bit. "N-No, it's fine. Thank you. I really needed that." he gave a sigh of relief. "Wait, you sit in front of me, right? I don't remember your name."

"Oli." the deer nodded. "So tomorrow at lunch ... you're going to be sitting with me. I don't think my friends would mind."

Rami thanked the deer as the bell rang to signal the end of lunch. "Hm, you know what, even better. Follow me." Oli said as he walked out of the bathroom with Rami close behind.

They walked outside to the playground. The goat looked around, there were so many kids everywhere, it was a bit overwhelming. He started to walk a bit slower on instinct, and this didn't go unnoticed. Oli turned around.

"Rami, you ok?"

He could sense the uneasiness. So he walked back toward him, and placed a paw on Rami's upper back, gently guiding him forward. The two walked slowly over to a shady part of the playground away from everyone.

Under a large tree, was a little picnic table. There were a couple kids already sitting there. Rami was a bit anxious, but somehow trusted this new deer. They walked up to the table to meet these friends.

Oli spoke up. "Hey guys, this is Rami, he's new here. He was the one at lunch who had to deal with Bucky's gang. He's ok though, just shaken up."

The table nodded, and told the two to sit down. The four of them sat in the shade and talked with each other, introducing themselves. Rami, for the first time, felt a sense of comfort. He felt like he was safe here. They sat the whole recess without anybody coming up to them to start trouble.

This didn't stop Rami from having a bit of worry in his mind, though. He caught himself a couple times looking over his shoulder to watch for anybody that looked like they were ready for a fight. However, nobody bothered to come close to the group.

Rami remembered something his mom told him once. She was saying that bullies tend to pick on those who can't defend themselves. This also works with those who are alone. He wasn't alone now, so there was no need to worry. He had a group of kids around him that could protect him. He gave a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

Before too long, they heard the bell ring. The group stood up and the other two walked in the opposite direction as Rami and Oli walked to their class, who was lining up along a wall. They attached to the end of the line, and Rami didn't even notice himself clinging, almost literally, to Oli. They were shoulder-to-shoulder standing in this line of students.

The two walked together with their classmates back to the classroom. Once inside, Rami walked to his usual spot, but when Oli got to his desk, he grabbed his things. Rami looked confused for a moment, but then watched as the deer moved his things to the desk beside where Rami sat.

"I wanna sit here, instead." Oli said with a smile.

The class continued for the day, and they sat next to each other every day since. For the first time that he can remember ... Rami has a friend.