I'd met Maura on the first day of school in the first grade. She was a short, plump girl with red hair in a braid, fidgeting with her overall straps. At recess, she sat against the back wall of the school by herself.
Scott Farner had been chasing me around the playground, trying to poke me with a stick. I was nearly out of breath by the time I reached the other side of the schoolyard. I fell to my knees at the back walll, looking around to see if he was still after me. She glanced over at me and curled herself up in a ball.
"Hello," I said, smiling at her.
"Hi."
"Aren't you bored over here by yourself?" I asked. She looked like she was about to burst into tears.
"I'm okay."
"My name's Eileen. Want to be friends?"
"I'm Maura," she mumbled, her knees held up to her face. "Okay, I guess."
I heard a shrill laugh from behind me.
"I gotcha, Hawkins!" Scott cried, poking me in the back with the stick. "You can run, but you can't - oh." He glanced over at Maura.
"Oh, go away, Scott!" I said, standing between him and Maura. "Go bug somebody else!"
"Who's that, the blob?" he said with a sneer. "Wow, she's fat!"
I looked back at Maura. She was starting to sob.
"Leave her alone!" I said. I got closer to him, ready to push him away. "Go pick on somebody else!"
"You're right," he said, backing off. "She might pop if I poke her with this!" He jabbed stick at me again and ran off.
"Are you okay?" I asked Maura once he was gone. She was sobbing and shaking. "He's just a big bully."
"Uh huh," she said, looking up at me. "Why's he so mean?"
"I dunno," I shrugged. "He just is." She nodded and looked away again.
I sat with her until the bell rang, letting her follow me back in line.
I'd love to know what you think - Lee
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