You Outshine the Morning Sun

Molly

"Will you stop following me around?" Cam told me as I trailed behind her on the sidewalk. We'd just gotten off the subway and were walking to school. I wasn't sure how I wasn't supposed to follow her - we were going to the same place.

I slowed down a little so I wasn't close to her. Mom told me to stick together with Cam when we rode the subway with our friends. They were letting us ride alone in the morning now, as long as we were in a group.

As soon as we were at school, Cam made a beeline for her classroom. I wandered past her room to get to mine. She was laughing and smiling already with her friends. I wished she like me as much as she liked her friends. But, I was still her pesky little stepsister.

I hung up my backpack at my cubby in the hallway and began to get out the things I needed. As I made my pile on the floor, I heard a couple girls come up to me. They were third graders, and I knew they were popular.

"Oh my God, she's such a weenie," one of the girls laughed. I knew they were talking about me. I was small for my age.

"And look at her clothes. She dresses likes she's in preschool or something."

I turned around to look at them. They were sizing me up and I felt immediately self-conscious. I bit my lip, wanting to leave but not knowing how. I was frozen.

"She can't even talk," the first one laughed.

"Hey!" I heard a familiar voice yell. I looked to my right and saw Cam, her arms crossed. "Leave her alone."

"Why do you care?"

"She's my step-sister," Cam told them, walking up closer. "She's a first grader and you're in third grade. How pathetic is it that you're picking on her?"

The girls seemed to be at a loss for words. They weren't expecting anyone to step in. I certainly wasn't expecting Cam to step in. I thought she was my least favorite fan in the world.

"Get out of here!" Cam told them, glaring. They left, giggling and Cam turned back to me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said, feeling relieved.

"They didn't touch you did they?"

"Uh-uh," I said.

"Don't pay attention to them. They're stupid."

The bell rang, so it was time to get to class. Cam turned and started walking away.

"Cam?" I called. She turned around. "Thank you."

She just smiled and wandered off to the bathroom. I hurried off to class with my things, suddenly feeling better about my day. Maybe Cam didn't completely hate me after all.

The rest of the day was going well until the end of the day. I sat on the steps outside, waiting for Cam like usual, when the same girls from this morning came up to me. One of them flicked a rubber band at my head.

"Dork!" one of them said. "No big sister to protect you now."

I cowered, wanting to curl up into a ball and disappear. There weren't any teachers around to save me. That's when one of them got shoved forward and almost fell down the steps.

"Are you seriously picking on her again?" Cam asked the girl, exasperated.

"Sorry, she's such an easy target," the one who just got pushed said.

"I told you to leave her alone," Cam gritted through her teeth. I stood up and moved closer to my sister, feeling protected.

"What are you gonna do?" The other one said.