As a child the world seems perfect and insignificant, you don’t think of the way thing could have ended. You don’t regret the words you say, the decisions you make. But sometimes, a child does remember. Those words. Those decisions. The way things were.
“Carly!” my friend Aly called to me as she ran across the playground one warm may day. Aly and I had recently become friends on account of my best friend moving that year. I had needed a new best friend, but the slot seemed to be filled throughout everyone in my class of 63. Including, Aly, but that did not stop me.
“Aly!” I called running to her petite tan body. Aly was one of the tiniest girls in our class, while I was one of the biggest. Of course, kids being kids as adults would say, made fun of me and my weight. “Wanna play soup?” I asked gesturing to our favorite play ground game.
This was a game Callie and I had made up years ago in the second game. It consisted of gathering leaves sticks and other items around the school and stirring, mashing, and splitting them together to make “soup.”
“I’m sorry,” Aly said, her light brown hair falling in her face. “I promised Kelsi I’d play with her… And ya know, Kelsi and you…” Kelsi was Aly’s “best friend.” That place that had been filled since first grade, and at that elementary school, you stuck to your best friend till you died.
“Oh,” I nodded. I did not like Kelsi a whole lot but I never had really hated her. She just hated me. “Maybe we could play all together!” I smiled, my blue eyes shining at her. I was not one to dwell on the negative, but rather play on the positive.
Aly smiled and nodded in agreement. “Ya!” Soon she grabbed my hand we ran over to the play ground equipment. Kelsi was not exactly happy when I started joining in but she did not argue and soon the dreaded bell rang for us kids to go back to class. A few subjects of boredom and giggling later it was time for gym. My worst subject.
“Today,” Mr. Rich said smiling. His hair as white as snow and his body limping, after multiple knee surgeries. “We are going to prepare for the run again.” Mr. Rich was obsessive with this run that occurred every year. The school with the most participants one prizes, as did the kids that finished in first. But I hated running most of all, and to this day I still do.
A groan escaped my lips as we lined up to walk out to the playground where we would be forced to run around the fence. Aly walked down next to me a smile across her small face and next to her was Kelsi whispering secrets into her ear. Ones I would never hear.
“Hey Aly, Kelsi!” I said smiling. I knew to treat Kelsi nicely as that is the way I wished she would treat me. “Wanna walk today?” Sometimes if a student, such as myself, wanted to walk they could. They just wouldn’t get a good grade.
“Sure!” Aly said smiling, looking over too Kelsi who seemed to be ignoring me but nodded anyway. As we reached the dull gravel of the play ground Mr. Rich began his usual monologue of how things worked and lined us up.
“On your mark,” Mr. Rich said anticipation of other kids was high in the air. “Get set, go!” Aly Kelsi and I took off running but as soon as we reached the fence, we stopped. There was no way I would make it a mile, even if I did try. Which was never going to happen.
Things started out ok, Aly started talking about her cat “kitty” and Kelsi muttered something about her dog. The sun was warm beating against us as it was reaching near two o’clock. I was starting to feel included, a feeling I rarely felt, as we reached the halfway point.
“Let’s play run away from Carly,” Kelsi suddenly whispered maliciously in Aly’s ear. It was loud enough that I could hear it, but I did not say a word as tears began to fill my eyes. My heart felt like it was being torn into two as my eyes stung from holding back the tears.
“I don’t know,” Aly said she also was whispering loud enough that in the silence I could still hear them. My heart felt a twinge of hope. At least Aly might have my back, I thought.
“Come on the Fatty won’t catch us.” She said even louder than before her deep blue eye glaring at me. “Come on!” My eyes were turning red. I thought Aly was my friend, why would she run from me? My heart pounded in my chest as I waited for her decision.
Aly’s medium brown eyes glanced at me. A look of pity, and regret filled them. “Okay,” she finally said after moment of silence.
Tears soon swelled up in my eyes, I was once again left in the dust. My legs began to run after their sleek tiny figures as they soon became shadows in the distance. I didn’t have enough endurance, and I collapsed ten and there. Crying my eyes out. It hurt me that they would do such a thing. It hurt me that Aly would do such a thing. My body laid in the grass as I cried, pulling my knees up to my chest. I was the last one that was to walk to the group but lying there then, they had forgotten about me. Which only made me cry harder?
Days after, my parents talked to the principle and Mr. Rich. But they were no help; they talked to the Aly and Kelsi whom had “no clue” what I was talking about. The principle had said “kids will be kids. They will stop eventually.” But it continued, well on into middle school, and even now in high school.
When kids do that they aren’t just being kids. They are actually hurting someone, someone who could eventually turn out to be the best person in the world. Sometimes things don’t just stop. Sometimes things are never forgotten. And sometimes kids aren’t just kids.