South Park: Dragging Me Down

Trauma

You'll never be wanted...

It was a spring day, and Pip was sitting outside among the flowerbeds, admiring the flourishing nature around him. Despite his beautiful surroundings, the boy wasn't feeling so great. He was still upset about his hair, and he was hungry because his orphanage bullies had decided to lock him in his room the previous night, denying him food. Not wanting to bother the carers, Pip had decided to starve.

Trying to forget about his unpleasant experiences the day before, Pip idly fondled the petals of some bluebells. He was still deep in thought when a shadow fell over him.

"What are you looking at there, kiddo?"

Pip instinctively tensed up and turned around slowly, looking up to see a dark haired stranger smiling at him.

"J-Just the nature." he stammered, clearing his throat. He prayed he hadn't done anything wrong. "I-I like looking at it."

"So do I! I just love gardening. Back home I often spend my days tending to my rabbits." the stranger smiled. "What's your name, kiddo?"

"Phillip Pirrup..." Pip forced out, adjusting his hat in hope it would disguise his uneven layers of hair.

"Glad to know you, Phil." the man nodded. "What part of England are you from?"

"You... know my accent?"

"Of course! You're British!"

Pip nodded slowly.

The man looked around. "Say, why are you sitting out here on your own? The other orphans are all inside."

"They don't like me much..." Pip fidgeted and tapped his fingers anxiously.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I know what it's like to have been picked on. You just have to learn to brush it aside!"

Pip stared at him blankly. "O-Okay."

The conversation continued and Pip found himself relaxing in the man's company. The man soon told Pip of his and his wife's intentions to foster him and it was that same day that Pip found himself being taken away to his new, dare he say, home?

He shrugged off the thought as a warm sensation filled his chest.

He was happy.

~~~~~

Karen observed Pip closely as she leant over him, saddened by the dark marks scattered across his face. She turned to Kenny, who had his back to her, sitting at his desk completing his homework.

"Kenny?"

"Hm?"

"Why are people mean to Pip?"

Kenny leant back on his chair. "I don't really know. People just love to hate him, I guess."

She looked down. "But he seemed really nice when I spoke to him..."

Kenny swivelled around to face her fully. "He is really nice, Karen. He's just not used to people being nice to him."

"If I keep being nice to him, do you think we can become friends?" she asked innocently.

Kenny smiled. "Yeah. Yeah Karen, you show him that there are good people in the world, even if he thinks otherwise. You can help him understand that."

"Yay!"

Kenny grinned and swivelled back to his work.

~~~~~