Kindnes is More Powerful

I had this story published in "Chicken Soup For the Preteen Soul Part 2" I share it here:


"Is she coming?" my shaky voice
cracked. I didn't dare look behind
me. My sister, Kayleen, turned to
see the front of the middle school
where eager seventh- and eighthgraders
were pushing their way to
carpools or making their way
down the sidewalk toward an
evening of television and
homework.
"No," she whispered, "but if we
walk faster, maybe we'll miss her
completely. I'll bet she's still waiting for you outside the gym door."
I walked faster with my head bent down because tears were stinging my eyes and my
nose had started to run. My heart was beating furiously and I had a sick feeling in my
stomach.
Who was "she"? you might be wondering. Her name was Sabrina,
and she was a bully. We were in gym class together, and I was less
than athletic--more like pathetic! I didn't run very fast, and I was
afraid of being hit by a ball, so I was a ducker not a catcher.
That day during gym class, we had played soccer. I not only
embarrassed myself, I also made Sabrina mad--basically because
she was on my team, and we didn't win. So, in the shower, she
threatened me! "I'll meet you after class," she sneered, "and you
will wish you and I had never met!"
I didn't need to wait until after class, I already wished we had never met!
As soon as class was over, I snuck out the teacher's entrance and ran to my locker where
Kayleen was already waiting for me, so we could walk home together.
"What's up with you?" she asked, noticing the look of panic in my eyes. "Sabrina!" I
choked. "We lost the soccer game in gym and it was my fault. She was on my team."
"Oh," Kayleen simply stated, but she patted my back in understanding. "Well," she said,
"We'll walk down Seventeenth South instead of Harrison. It's out of the way enough that
Sabrina won't have a clue."
From Chicken Soup
for the Preteen Soul 2,
written by Janalea
Jeppson
Page 1 of 2
We got home safely, but the next day arrived in record time. As Kayleen and I made our
way up the steep Harrison Avenue hill, I felt sick. "I still think you should tell
somebody," Kayleen chirped every few minutes.
I never replied until she had said that at least ten times, and then I burst out, "Tell
somebody what? That Sabrina is mean and scary and just creeps me out? She's never
actually done anything! Am I supposed to just tell them I am a big, fat baby who can't
handle seventh grade because she is in it, too? What am I supposed to say?" Kayleen
didn't respond. We walked the rest of the way in silence.
In homeroom, Sabrina's best friend passed me a note that stated, "At lunch, you will pay
for running away!" I didn't even look up, but I accidentally swallowed my gum and
choked until Mr. McKonkie excused me to go and get a drink.
Walking down the hall, I felt a slight sense of relief and freedom. Still, the note had me
scared, and I ducked into the girls' bathroom and just cried. When I calmed down
enough, I washed my face so I could go back to class without it being totally obvious.
As I made my way down the hallway, I had a sick feeling that I was being followed.
Suddenly, someone kicked me in the back of the leg, hard. I almost fell over. "You little
chicken!" Sabrina's voice sneered. I didn't turn around, I just walked faster. Why wasn't
she in class? I wondered in my panic. I turned to go into Mr. McKonkie's class, but
Sabrina blocked me. I turned again and started running down the hall. I had no idea
what she was going to do, but three months of constant harassment was weighing
heavily on my mind, and I was really freaked out.
Sabrina was now chasing me. At last, she caught up with me enough to kick the back of
my legs, trying to knock me down. In a panic, I swung around to the staircase that led to
the science and math department. Sabrina was so close to me by then that my sudden
shift in direction knocked her off balance and she toppled down the stairs. I stood there
watching her fall.
At first, I felt a sudden independence and victory. I turned to walk away from her when
I noticed she hadn't stook up yet. Instinct took over, and I suddenly wasn't afraid of her
anymore. I practically jumped down the stairs and touched her shoulder. "Can I help?" I
asked. When she looked up, I could tell she was in pain. "I can't walk," she moaned. I
helped her into a standing position, put her arm around my shoulder and together we
hobbled to the nurse's office.
Sabrina never harassed me after that. We never became friends, but from that moment at
the foot of the stairs, I knew I had earned her respect. She still hated being on my team
in gym class, but things were different. Her best friend would still start in on me
sometimes, but Sabrina would shake her head and quietly say, "Leave her alone."
And she always would.