"Family Means No One's Left Behind"~ A Greenflame and Children Story

Chapter Five: The Announcement and New Friends

Lari's Point of View~
After a while of discussing the assembly, dad went back home and I went to the counselor's office because Mrs. Winston wanted me to talk more about the situation with her. I walked down the hall to Mrs. Richards' office. I stared at the door and I had butterflies in my stomach. I took a deep breath and opened it. "Oh, Lari, I was expecting to see you here. Mrs. Winston told me that you were getting bullied over the past couple of weeks. Do you wish to talk to me about it more?" Mrs. Richards said. I nodded and sat down in the chair in front of her desk. "When you're ready to begin, just say so. I won't rush you." She said in a calm tone. I took a moment to gather up the words I wanted to say. "When it first began, they'd make fun of my eyes and throw paper balls at me. Then, they'd call me names and say things like I don't belong anywhere else besides The Cursed Realm. And they would say that I don't deserve to be called the ninjas' son just because of my powers. It hurts a lot, to be made fun and laughed at every day. It got harder over time and I felt more ashamed of myself and more hatred towards myself too because I kept it in. The reason why I didn't tell anyone was because I was too afraid of what they'd think of me. And every time I looked at myself, all I ever could see was a big mistake that wasn't getting better, only worse." I explained. "Hmm...well now that you did, we can help you, Lari. It takes a lot of courage to confess a situation like this for some children and it can be difficult to handle as well." Mrs. Richards said. "But now, I feel as if that mistake, that scar that had been left by all the teasing is slowly getting better and beginning to heal. Dad said that the thing I didn't understand was that if one person can be hurt by others, then that person could be healed by another. The ones that had helped me see it through, were my brothers and sisters and parents. They helped me climb out of the dark hole that I'd fallen into and see the light of new hope and pride. They were by my side when I needed it. And I know now, that I can always count on them and they can count on me." I said. "That's wonderful Lari, how you came to that realization. I'm really glad for you. And I think that's exactly what you should you say at the assembly." Said Mrs. Richards. I nodded and smiled. We talked for a few more minutes before the bell rang and I went back to my class. I saw Kano and his gang sitting at a table, giving me distasteful looks. I only looked away and sat down at my desk. About half an hour later, Mrs. Winston called over the loudspeakers. "Can I please have the 6th-grade course come down to the gym for a special assembly. And teachers, could you please turn on your projector screens?" She said. "Okay class, you heard her. Now, line up in order, no rushing." Said our teacher. The class was quiet and lined up at the door. We walked down the hall and into the gym. The administrator lead us to our seats and everyone sat down. "Good morning 6th graders!" Said Mrs. Winston. "Good morning Mrs. Winston." The students responded. "The reason why I have called you all here today is because there's been a serious problem with school bullying in this grade." She said. The whole gym was quiet, but there were a few whispers that I could hear around me. "Lari Smith, would you care to come down here and tell them how you feel about this?" She asked. I stood up and walked down the steps and then I was facing in front of the whole grade and the other grades that had on their projectors. I gulped and took a deep breath. "Most of you may know who I am, but for those who don't know, I'm Lari. I have four siblings, two brothers and two sisters. And I've been a victim of school bullying for a long time. When the teasing first started to occur, kids in my classes would make fun of me because of my eyes and throw balled up sheets of paper at my head. Then as it progressed, they'd call me names and say things like I didn't belong anywhere else but The Cursed Realm or that I didn't deserve to be the ninjas' son just because I have different powers from them. What they said and did, it hurt me and every time I looked at myself, I saw nothing but a huge mistake that was instead of getting better, it was getting worse. I used to think that I'd never be able to get out of that mess and that I would still continue to suffer from the bullying and that scar would never go away. But now, that mistake, that scar that was left by all the taunting is getting better and is healing. My dad said that the thing that I didn't know was that if someone could be hurt by others, then that person could also be healed by others too. The people who helped me see it through were my brothers and sisters and parents. They helped me climb out of the deep hole that I'd fallen into and see the new light of hope and pride. They were by my side when I needed it and I know that I can count on them and they can count on me. If you are or know someone that is facing the same problem as me, don't make the same mistake I did by not telling anyone. You have to tell someone that you're getting bullied because if you don't, then it'll only get worse." I spoke into the microphone. There was silence before an eruption of applause. I smiled and went back up to my seat on the bleachers. "Thank you, Lari, for saying those things and students, I hope that you learned something about school bullying this morning." Said Mrs. Winston. Soon we were dismissed from the gym and walked back to class. When I sat down at my desk, Sonia, a girl in my class walked up in front of me and said, "Lari, I am so sorry for what I did. I just didn't want the other kids to think bad about me. I hope you can forgive me and we can be friends." I smiled and said, "It's okay, I forgive you and sure, I'd like to be friends." Sonia smiled and nodded. Then she went back to her desk and class began. After first period, more kids came up to me and apologized and said they wanted to be friends. I agreed and soon we were all in a small group. But I can't say that everyone did that. Kano and his gang came back from detention with angry looks on their faces, but I didn't let those expressions scare me and I ignored them. After second period, it was time for connections and since today was Monday, I had PE and so did Kano, plus some of his friends. Today, we were practicing for the soccer tournament in about 2 weeks. And I was on the team. We were going to be facing the soccer team that represents Jamanakai Village. I was really excited about the game. We were the top 2 teams and whoever wins gets the Golden Blade Trophy. But unfortunately, Kano and a couple of his friends were also on the team. They played as offense and I played as defense. I was good with both legs, but I preferably use my left. Coach Ryan is also very helpful in giving us advice on our skill practices. "Okay boys, if you need to change out, then go ahead." Coach said. Me and most of the other boys got up and went to the locker room. The room smelled weird, but I was quite used to it. I changed into a t-shirt and gym shorts that went down to my knees. I put my sneakers back on and tied them. I put my bag in Locker 59 and shut it closed. I walked out of the room and sat back down on my number which was 37. "Okay, now it's time for warm-up stretching." Said Coach. We all stood up and began to stretch from left to right. After warm-ups, Coach Ryan took the team outside and the second coach, Coach Daniels watched the rest of the kids. It wasn't that cold outside so we were able to practice. "Now, I want you guys to practice a 5 on 3 and remember to pass the ball backward and forwards as well." Said Coach. We all got into our positions. Coach Ryan blew the whistle and everything was set into play. When the ball came my way, I kicked it back up the field. "Good job Lari!" I heard Coach shout from the other side. Our goalie, Nathaniel hadn't given up a goal yet and that was really good. After about an hour of practicing, the bell rang and we went back inside to change. I went in the locker room and grabbed my bag. I changed back into my original clothes and got a drink of water before heading back to my number. "Excellent work out there guys, and remember to keep practicing at home as well. I know that we can do this." Said Coach Ryan as we walked out of the gym and into the hall.

{In May and Akidah's Class~}

May's Point of View~
We were on our way to lunch and when we got there, the room was crowded. Me and Akidah grabbed a tray and our lunch then went to our seats. I looked to my right and saw Mia. She sat there alone. "Hey, Akidah, look, Mia's all alone over there. Wanna go and maybe be friends with her?" I told her. "Sure! I've been wanting to make friends with her." She said. We got up and moved over to Mia. She looked up from her tray. "Hey Mia, um, we were wondering if you'd like to have some company. Is that okay?" I asked. "Oh, um, sure I guess." She replied. "So, what do you like to do for fun?" Asked Akidah. "Training and keeping up with me and my grandmother's goal, to make this a better place to live." She said sternly. "Oh, okay. That's fine." Said Akidah kinda awkwardly. "Are you liking it here so far? I mean at the school and the city." I asked. "It's not like how Stixx was, but I guess it's fine in the city. The school, on the other hand, that's more of a challenge." Mia said. "How so? If you don't mind me asking." Akidah asked. "I guess it's because there's a lot more socialization than at my last school. And I'm not really used to that type of interaction. I've never really had friends back in Stixx." She said. I felt bad for her, not having any friends for who-knows-how-long while in Stixx. "Well, if you'd like, we'll be your friends. I've been wanting to be friends with you ever since Friday." Said Akidah in a cheerful tone. "Really? You'd be willing to be my friends?" Mia asked. "Sure! Why not? We do have some things in common." I said. And for the first time that I've seen, Mia smiled. "Maybe if you have time, we can introduce you to the rest of our family," I said. "Okay, I'd like to meet them. I've always wanted to see the ninja ever since the whole 'Preeminent Incident'." She said. We talked for a while more until it was time to leave.

Narration~
The rest of the school day went by quickly and the three of them, Lari, May, and Akidah had made some new friends. Mia was coming over to the house for the evening and everyone was getting ready for her arrival.