Freaked Out
©
By: Brett
at was a football. He was so happy that he was moving because he hated elementary school in his old town, Mile High. He was always getting thrown around. All those wild kids were stepping on him. But he worried that people weren’t going to like him in his new middle school in Gillette, Massachusetts. When he told his mom this, his mom kept saying, “Nonsense, what’s not to like?” That’s when school started.
The first day of school turned out to be pretty normal, and not as bad as he thought it would be. However, all the other balls were staring at him. There was not one other football in the entire school, which made him feel like an outsider even more than he already was being the new ball in school. All of the kids were technically new to the school because it was a middle school and everyone was just starting. There were other kinds of balls like tennis balls, basketballs, and baseballs, just no footballs. He noticed that the soccer balls were the popular balls, the rulers of the school. The leader of the soccer balls was named Shot. Pat could tell that Shot’s gang was scared of him. Pat overheard Shot saying mean things about him. He made fun of his oval shape. Pat got the feeling Shot’s gang didn’t really like to hang out with him because one of Shot’s gang members, named Kick, exclaimed, “I know he’s different, but if you think about it, aren’t we all?” Shot fired back, “No, not really!” Kick backed down, but Pat knew that Kick was trying to help, and that maybe they could be friends.
The second day before school, Pat’s mom exclaimed to him, “Maybe you should tryout for the soccer team! That’s a good way to try and fit in.” When he got to school he decided to take his mom’s idea and try out for the soccer team. Pat couldn't even describe how nervous he was. If he messed up then he would be even more embarrassed than before.
He tried and tried, but he couldn’t even get kick. Everyone was laughing like crazy.
Pat ran to the bathroom and broke into tears. Eventually, the principal came into the bathroom and had a talk with him.
They decided it would be best if he went home for the day. Pat’s mom started driving to the school as soon as she got the call from the principal.
When she picked him up she tried doing everything she could to cheer him up, but he wouldn’t be cheered. The next day Pat walked into school with his face red and his head down. He was super embarrassed about yesterday’s incident. He thought nothing could get worse that day, until he walked into his class. Mr. Brady announced, “You're going to have a project with an assigned partner.” Of course his partner was one of the soccerballs. Kick was it could've been worse, like getting Shot as a partner.
The first day when Pat was working on the project with Kick it didn't go so well. They both had their arms crossed and were standing apart from each other. The second day of working on their project went a little differently. Pat tried to introduce himself more to Kick. He talked about how he liked telling jokes, trying new things, and playing video games. Kick then started telling about what he liked. It turned out they liked similar things, in fact they liked the exact things. Pat and Kick got the project done very quickly. They started hanging out a lot after school playing video games.
One day at school Shot came up to kick with his gang and started making fun of him for hanging out with Pat. Kick just ignored him because he knew that that Pat was actually a cool ball.
That day at lunch Shot and his gang came over to Kick and Pat to make fun of them for the fourth time that day. But right then, when Shot was about to push them both over, Kick screamed, “Stop! I’m done with you guys being so mean to Pat just because of how he looks. It doesn’t matter how someone looks on the outside. It just matters how they act on the inside. And frankly, working with Pat on the project made me realize that he’s a pretty cool ball, and you’re just a jerk.”
Pat couldn't believe what he just saw. His eyes were wide open and his jaw dropped. Shot and his gang gang walked away trying not to lose their mojo. Finally, Pat said, “How can I thank you? Dude, they're never going to bother us again.” Kick exclaimed, “You’ve done too much for me, I had to do something for you.” That night Pat told his mom every single thing that happened that day. His
mom had her hands over her mouth and couldn't believe that a ball would actually do something like that.
The next day Bart and Sam, 2 out of 3, of the soccerballs apologized to Pat and Kick. Bart and Sam had butterflies in their stomachs. But Kick and Pat said, “You want to hang out?” Bart and Sam had a huge smile on their faces. That’s definitely a smile they’ll never forget.
Later on that day, Shot slowly walked over to Pat and Kick. But he didn’t go over there to make fun of them, he wanted to apologize like Bart and Sam did. After Shot and Kick thought about it, they decided to forgive him. For some reason they just broke into laughter.
Shot vowed that he’d never be mean again. Since then, Shot has been one of the nicest balls you’ll ever meet.
Brett Miller©