A Bully or a Friend?
By S.S.
One spring day Samantha’s class got a big surprise. A new kid came in. His name was James and he was rather tall and definitely bigger than anyone else in the fifth grade. He had sweat running down his face. Samantha’s first impression was that James was kind of scary.
Later that week, Samantha got put with James in partner talk. “I wish he had never come here. It was just perfect without him before,” thought Samantha as she examined his ugly sweatshirt.
James looked at Samantha with glowing eyes. She was sure that he was going to beat her up. She could not believe that she got stuck with him.
When Samantha sat down with James she hissed at him, “Look Jame-O Weird-O, I don’t want to work with you just as much as you don’t want to work with me!”
James just stared back at Samantha. “We need to answer these questions,” he said quietly.
“Duh!” she answered.
They got to work. The book they were supposed to discuss was, “Because of Winn Dixie.” It was a story about a girl who finds a dog and keeps it as her pet. Samantha loved dogs and found herself in a better mood as they talked about the book. “Do you have any pets?” Samantha asked.
“Yes,” I have a hamster named Kit Kat and a cat named Rain,” he said.
“Those are cool names,” said Samantha. “I have a poodle named Alexandra. She’s so cute. Maybe you could meet her someday.”
“That’s so weird,” answered James. “I love poodles. They rock,” he yelled.
Samantha began to realize that they had more in common than she had guessed. After school that day, Samantha asked James, “Are you free on Sunday?”
“Yes!” he said.
“Can you come over to my house?” Samantha asked.
“Sure,” he said. “Great.”
“I gotta go. I need to practice my piano,” Samantha said. “See ya tomorrow!”
When Samantha got to her house, she ran inside. “Mom!” she yelled. I met this one boy at school! He was so nicd! His name was James. I invited him to come over on Sunday.”
Many weeks went by. James and Samantha spent a lot of time together. They discovered they enjoyed doing a lot of the same things. They went to the movies together, hung out at the park and taught Samantha’s dog new tricks.
One day, James decided that they had been spending too much time together.
“James you said you would play with me today,” Samantha whined.
“I wanna play with Chris. Sorry,” he answered.
“You’re stupid,” Samantha said. “Who would want to play with you anyway?” Samantha shouted.
“I knew it from the beginning. You’re just stupid and weird,” James cried.
On the way home from school that day, Samantha tried to think about what she had said to James. She kicked a can as she stumbled home under the blazing sun. Her stomach started to feel queasy. She felt like she had just said a rude thing to the president.
When she got home, she called James on the phone. “Hey James,” she said droopily. “Sorry about recess. Can we still be friends?”
“O.K. I am sorry too!” James said.
Samantha realized how scared she had been at the thought of losing James’ friendship. From then on, when she met new people, she got to know them before she jumped to conclusions.
By S.S.
One spring day Samantha’s class got a big surprise. A new kid came in. His name was James and he was rather tall and definitely bigger than anyone else in the fifth grade. He had sweat running down his face. Samantha’s first impression was that James was kind of scary.
Later that week, Samantha got put with James in partner talk. “I wish he had never come here. It was just perfect without him before,” thought Samantha as she examined his ugly sweatshirt.
James looked at Samantha with glowing eyes. She was sure that he was going to beat her up. She could not believe that she got stuck with him.
When Samantha sat down with James she hissed at him, “Look Jame-O Weird-O, I don’t want to work with you just as much as you don’t want to work with me!”
James just stared back at Samantha. “We need to answer these questions,” he said quietly.
“Duh!” she answered.
They got to work. The book they were supposed to discuss was, “Because of Winn Dixie.” It was a story about a girl who finds a dog and keeps it as her pet. Samantha loved dogs and found herself in a better mood as they talked about the book. “Do you have any pets?” Samantha asked.
“Yes,” I have a hamster named Kit Kat and a cat named Rain,” he said.
“Those are cool names,” said Samantha. “I have a poodle named Alexandra. She’s so cute. Maybe you could meet her someday.”
“That’s so weird,” answered James. “I love poodles. They rock,” he yelled.
Samantha began to realize that they had more in common than she had guessed. After school that day, Samantha asked James, “Are you free on Sunday?”
“Yes!” he said.
“Can you come over to my house?” Samantha asked.
“Sure,” he said. “Great.”
“I gotta go. I need to practice my piano,” Samantha said. “See ya tomorrow!”
When Samantha got to her house, she ran inside. “Mom!” she yelled. I met this one boy at school! He was so nicd! His name was James. I invited him to come over on Sunday.”
Many weeks went by. James and Samantha spent a lot of time together. They discovered they enjoyed doing a lot of the same things. They went to the movies together, hung out at the park and taught Samantha’s dog new tricks.
One day, James decided that they had been spending too much time together.
“James you said you would play with me today,” Samantha whined.
“I wanna play with Chris. Sorry,” he answered.
“You’re stupid,” Samantha said. “Who would want to play with you anyway?” Samantha shouted.
“I knew it from the beginning. You’re just stupid and weird,” James cried.
On the way home from school that day, Samantha tried to think about what she had said to James. She kicked a can as she stumbled home under the blazing sun. Her stomach started to feel queasy. She felt like she had just said a rude thing to the president.
When she got home, she called James on the phone. “Hey James,” she said droopily. “Sorry about recess. Can we still be friends?”
“O.K. I am sorry too!” James said.
Samantha realized how scared she had been at the thought of losing James’ friendship. From then on, when she met new people, she got to know them before she jumped to conclusions.