Angela Stands Up

By Roxy Loneman-Meyer

Share:

Winner of the Barbie Dream Gap x Girls Write Now: Inspiring Women Writing Contest in the Age 9-12 Category

Angela was 10 years old. She just moved from Vietnam to Somerville, Massachusetts. She was starting her first Ghost Festival away from her original home. The Ghost Festival is a holiday where people celebrate their ancestors with a delicious meal and extra chairs and plates of food for their ancestors in the summer, and she was afraid that her ancestors couldn’t find her because she lived in Somerville. She was scared and lonely because no one wanted to be her friend. They thought she was weird and ignorant.

When she started school that fall, the kids bullied her and so did the teachers because she was from another place. The school bell rang, it was time for lunch. She was glad it was time because she didn’t have to do math. She hated math. Her mom packed her some pho, but the kids that sat at her table made fun of her because it looked weird and smelled weird. After lunch, it was time to go home. She told her parents about school, but they couldn’t do anything about it because they didn’t know much about the law. 

Soon the weekend came to an end and Monday was beginning. She went to school and she went to class, and in class there was a bully named Briella. 

She said “Why do your eyes look like that?”. 

Angela said “Look like what?” 

Briella and her friends started laughing at her eyes. She felt bad for the look of her eyes and for her race. She wanted to disappear from existence forever, but then she heard a new anonymous voice. It was another new kid! But she heard an annoying voice tease the new kid. It was Briella, of course, she thought in her head. 

When Briella and her mean friends walked away Angela walked over to the new kid and said “What’s your name?” 

The new kid replied “Ethan.” 

Angela said “Do you want to be friends?” Ethan screeched with joy. Angela asked, “Do you have any other friends?” 

Ethan said, “No, I don’t because everyone thinks because my brain thinks differently it is bad.” 

They had lunch with each other and laughed at each other’s jokes. Then, the school bell rang and it was time to go home. They said “I’ll see you tomorrow!” and then walked home.

When Angela got home, she told her parents all about Ethan and how they became friends. “He is so fun and cool!” Angela said to her parents at the dinner table. 

Her parents made some pho. Pho was her favorite food. After dinner, she brushed her teeth and put her pajamas on and went to bed. It was nice and cozy.

The next day, she went to school and saw Ethan and was so happy to see him. They sat next to each other, and Briella made up a rumor that Ethan and Angela were dating, but they weren’t. So Ethan told the teacher, but she didn’t do anything about it because he was different and thought differently. So when they didn’t do anything about it he started to cry. A lot. Because he had Down Syndrome. So she tried to comfort him, but that didn’t help. He just cried and cried. So he ran away from her and the classroom. She tried to run after him, but it was no use. He just left her. It was time for lunch, and she saw him sitting in the principal’s office crying. His mom picked him up, and he went home. She was sad and sorry for him. She wanted him to come to lunch with her.

The next day Briella was bullying Ethan, again of course. She wanted to help him but she couldn’t, because she didn’t know what to do. 

She didn’t say anything until….*WHAM* She couldn’t believe her eyes. Briella punched him in his face! Then she felt the sudden urge to do what was right, even though she was a shy kid. So she went up to Briella, and told her off. 

”WHY DO YOU LIKE HURTING KIDS WHEN ALL THEY DO IS BE KIDS FOR PETE’S SAKE, SHUT UP AND BE QUIET LITTLE MISS POPULAR, ALL YOU WANT TO DO IS BE A JERK TO THESE INNOCENT KIDS, YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU MADE THE WRONG CHOICE, MISSY!” Everyone was staring at Briella. They saw her for what she was: a bully.

“Angela, how could you do this? I thought you were a good, nice, shy little kid.”

“I’M IN FOURTH GRADE, AND SO ARE YOU.”

“But I-I-I I’m sorry Angela for being a jerk to you and Ethan.”

“THAT DOESN’T CHANGE ANYTHING AT ALL,  YOU HAVE TO NEVER TALK TO US AGAIN TO  ACTUALLY BE SORRY!

 “….”

 “That’s what I thought, c’mon, Ethan, let’s go.”

“Okay,” he sniffled.

The next day, it was Thursday. When Briella went through the front doors, no one was in the halls, or the office, or in the classrooms. She was confused about what was going on.  

“What’s going on?” She asked Tom, a kid in her math class.

“You might not want to see,” he said.

She went towards the noises anyway. It was Angela! And it wasn’t just her, but Ethan was there too! And they were surrounded by kids, big and small, short and tall, young and old. The kids were laughing at a really funny joke that Ethan told them. Everyone was just so happy and Angela felt brave and loved.

“Angela?”

“Briella.”

“Hi.”

“Don’t you ‘Hi’ me, I’m still mad at you, you know.”

“Yes I know.”

Angela thought for a minute and said, “If you’ll stop being mean to me, Ethan and other kids around the school, then you can play with us. Can you please try your best to be nicer?”

 “Okay. I will try,” Briella said.

“Thank you, Briella.” Then both girls smiled.

As the days went on, Angela felt pride, kindness, heroism and helpfulness. When she saw others hurt, she helped. She had more friends by her side to help, and she even invited them to celebrate the Ghost Festival with her the next year. She felt calm and supported.