Jane [h.s.]

six

Harry

Anxiously, he looked around the room. Class had started hours ago and Jane still hadn't shown up. The other kids were whispering about her and it was making him angry.

He'd already told two other kids that it was mean to talk about her like that when they didn't know her, but it didn't make a difference and they continued talking like he hadn't said anything at all.

Mrs. Hillary only told them to stop talking a few times, and everyone knew it wasn't because they were talking about Jane.

By the time recess, came around, Harry felt sad instead of angry. Jane hardly ever missed school and he was lonely without her. She was his only friend and vice versa and he had never felt lonely with her, even if she was his only friend.

Today he felt it though and he didn't like it at all.

Half of their recess had passed before two of his former friends made their way over to where he sat picking blades of grass and ripping them to pieces.

Harry ignored them and focused on the green blades between his fingers.

"Hey, Harry."

Harry wasn't one to ignore people when they were speaking to him and he looked up with sad eyes, "What?"

Andrew and Oliver stood above him with mocking smiles, "Where's your girlfriend? Jenny said she saw them take her to the loony bin!"

Harry's fists clenched around several blades of grass and his jaw clenched as he looked at the two boys "Stop it."

Oliver didn't listen and prodded him further, "Your girlfriend's a whacko!"

Tears were threatening to spill over, "Stop it."

The two boys noticed the gleam in his eyes and it only encouraged their teasing. Andrew spoke up instead of letting Oliver continue his lead, "Jane and Harry sitting in-"

Harry was fed up with their teasing. Jane was different but that didn't make her bad and they didn't have any right to talk about her when she wasn't there.

The two boys didn't see it coming. He pushed them both to the ground and punched at Oliver with all the strength that he had. Oliver cried and held his hands up to absorb the blows and Andrew ran off to go get their teacher.

"I said stop it!"

Harry wasn't helping his case at all, but he didn't care because he was defending Jane. Jane and her pretty dark eyes and cheeks dotted with freckles.

By the time the teachers had pulled him away, there were tears streaming down his face and his nose was runny.

They waited to ask him what happened until they had already asked the other two boys, who, of course, said that they'd just come over to say hello and he'd attacked them.

Harry was calm as he wiped his eyes and told the truth, "They were making fun of Jane. I asked them to stop three times. They didn't stop when I asked nicely, so I hit them."

Mrs. Hillary told him that it was no excuse and he wasn't allowed to come back to school for three whole days. After that, no one messed with him anymore because he scared them. Harry didn't mind it though, because Jane was gone and they were mean anyway.

A few years passed by before his sister was also taken away like Jane, except this time he saw it and he hated every second of it. Soon after his sister was taken away, he and his parents moved to another town to avoid the gossip and the rumors.