Here is the first part of a story I wrote for Writer's Group about a 9 year old boy named Drew. For most of my life I attempted to "fit in", essentially trying to be somebody I'm not. My pre-teen self would have looked up to Drew. Even though he makes mistakes, he realizes the importance of staying true to himself. I hope you all enjoy!

Every recess Drew drank his juice box by himself in the sandbox. He would watch the other kids play while kicking tufts of sand with his sneakers. He had only been at Ellington Woods Elementary School for two weeks and already knew everyone’s names.

            Willy was the star athlete of the class. He ran the fastest, tackled the hardest, and kicked the furthest. During the first Monday of the second week of school, it became apparent to Drew Willy shined in other areas as well. He was an all around star.

            During the soccer game, one of Willy’s friends kicked the ball too far- so far it landed forcefully on the shins of a beautiful, big-chested sixth grader by the name of Chelsea. Drew was not the only person who noticed Chelsea. All the boys in Drew’s class talked about Chelsea as if she was a celebrity- that is, not for the likes of mere Fourth Graders.

            When the ball collided with Chelsea, she shrieked, “What the hell was that?” Her friends scanned the recess field for the culprit.

            The boy responsible for hurting Chelsea winced. “Oh crap. Should I say sorry?” He looked at his friends for support, possibly hoping, in Drew’s opinion, that someone else would take the blame.

            Willy shook his head, “Relax. I’ll take care of it.” Drew watched Willy saunter up to Chelsea. He spoke to her for a few minutes. Chelsea went from red-faced to nodding her head, and then airily giggling while flipping her hair- and she even brushed Willy’s shoulder before he turned back to his crew! It was then that Drew wished he had beyond perfect hearing so he could find out what Willy said to Chelsea. He noticed the look in Willy’s friends' eyes when he came back with the ball. It was the same look the firefighters gave the President of the United States when they met him face to face on television.       

            Surprisingly, Willy was also a star in the classroom. His short stories were lousy, but he always got A’s on math quizzes. “Yo, this is my third A.” Willy would boast while his crew high-fived him.

            “You’re so smart man. How do you do it?” His friend asked.

            “Well my dad went to Yale so I guess that’s where I got it from. He’s teaching me about binomials. He says I’m the smartest fourth grader in the world!”

            Drew’s dad also went to Yale- that is, he worked as an advisor for the Financial Aid office. He would tell Drew all kinds of stories about the students, but Drew never paid attention. Drew was nine years old and could care less about golf courses, and St. Tropez. What he cared about was making friends, but he didn’t know how. You see, Drew only had one friend his entire life.  Calvin and Drew had hung out every weekend until Calvin moved to California last summer. He was homeschooled by his mother until this year when she suddenly decided to get pregnant. Drew didn’t mind being homeschooled and his mom let him do whatever he wanted. She knew he was smart and well behaved, so she let him watch TV and eat gummy bears whenever he wanted.

            Drew was glad to be away from gummy bears for a while. After six years of eating them, they were starting to taste like cardboard. But he wanted someone to watch Ninja Turtles with. The first day of school he asked a tall boy in his class if he would come to his house sometime to watch Ninja Turtles. The boy scoffed, “Ninja Turtles is for nerds. I watch Family Guy.” Later he found out the unfriendly tall boy’s name was Derek and he was Willy’s best friend.

            
             
            
             Though Drew did not have any friends, no one was mean to him. Nobody tripped him when he walked. No one booed him when he didn’t make a catch. No one snickered when he answered Washington DC was the capital of Maryland. So far none of the mean kids scenarios he saw on television came true. Drew imagined it was because of the way he looked. He was neither tall nor short and had straight blond hair that was never poofy. His nose was like his mother’s- perfectly straight, and he had his father’s square jawline. He also wore t-shirts and jeans like everyone else in his class. Drew gradually learned these things prevented students from making fun of him like they did to poor Simon Baxter who was 150 pounds, had a lisp and a stuttering problem.

            He hoped one day someone would say something to him, but he had to wait until the third week of school for anyone to notice him.

            
             

            Drew was sitting at the end of a table chomping on his peanut butter and celery sandwich when a skinny, short brunette girl approached him. “Hey is it okay if I sit here for a sec?” The girl plopped down without waiting for an answer and started scribbling some notes in her notebook. He noticed the girl carried a sixth grade Math Book, and wore bright pink lip gloss and glitter eye makeup. The girl didn’t pay attention to him, but her head snapped back when another girl called her, “Rose, you need to hurry up. Mr. Cary will kill us if he finds out we 'borrowed' his book.”

            It was then that Drew noticed the “Teachers Edition” in bold print on the Sixth Grade Math Book. He looked up and saw Chelsea walking toward her friend, “Rose you seriously need to hurry up.”

            “I know. I only have two more pages to copy. I can’t fail this class.”

            Later Drew would give himself a pat on the back for how he behaved during the nerve-wrecking encounter. He didn’t drop his sandwich or open his mouth when Chelsea strolled over in her tight tank top and even tighter jeans. He didn’t blush when Chelsea briefly glanced at him- though he did look away. He managed to avert his eyes when Chelsea leaned over her friend’s head while hugging a copy of “The Secret Garden” close to her chest. Drew imagined he behaved just as Willy might have, had he been in the same situation. After Chelsea and Rose left, he noticed Willy staring at Chelsea and then at him from across the cafeteria. He couldn’t tell if Willy approved or disapproved.

            
              

             The next day Drew was sent to the principal’s office to fetch a trophy the class had won last year for the annual Tug of War contest. His teacher Mrs. Andrews decided he was a polite, quiet boy who could be trusted with the task. This was Drew’s second time in the principal’s office. The first time had been on the day before school at the New Student’s Meeting when Principal Dillinger shook his hand; Drew remembered the Principal’s hand felt slightly furry, almost as if he had hair growing from his palm.

            When he entered the Principal’s headquarters the woman behind the desk said he needed to stay in the waiting office because the Principal was busy. Drew sat on a navy blue chair and swung his feet in the air like he used to when he was five years old at church. His feet stopped moving when Chelsea huffed in wearing a light purple sundress with polka dots. She was accompanied by a tall, eagle-faced man with gray hair.

            She sat beside him. Her teacher sat beside her. Drew didn’t know if it was a blessing or a curse that there were only three chairs in the waiting room today. He hunched his back and tried not to look at Chelsea.

            “You’d better hope Principal Dillinger is in a good mood today. Otherwise there’ll be much to pay. I think the maximum penalty for cheating is expulsion. Do you know what the definition of expulsion is Chelsea?”

            “A super long suspension. I’ll have gray hair by the time I’m allowed back in school.” Chelsea rolled her eyes.  

            “Yes. You got that right. But let me tell you this, your attitude will guarantee much worse.”

            “Whatever.” Chelsea muttered then turned to Drew. “Have you been here before?”

            Drew blinked, “No, this is my first time.”

            “Oh really? Whad’ya do?”

            “Nothing. I’m just here to get a trophy that my class won.” In the past few weeks Drew noticed Willy always had a set look in his eyes- like he was trying not to seem excited or interested about anything. Drew tried to copy Willy’s look.

            “You’re lucky. This is my third time here. The first time I was here was in third grade when I stuck gum on my teacher’s chair. She was a real nutcase.”

            Chelsea’s teacher cleared his throat. She shrugged her shoulders and continued, “I hated that teacher. I hate all my teachers, except for dear Mr. Cary of course.” She nudged her teacher and laughed.

            Mr. Cary narrowed his eyes, “I see you have mastered the art of sarcasm Chelsea.”

            “But I mean it. You’re my favorite teacher in the world. You always talk about the funnest things. Fractions and decimals are my best friends. I’d hang out with them if I didn’t have any human friends.”

            Drew turned his head so she wouldn’t see him giggle. Chelsea was the funniest, most gorgeous girl he had ever met. She was something out of a Disney movie- maybe Merida from Brave or Elsa from Frozen.

            “That’s enough Chelsea.” Mr. Cary warned.

            Principal Dillinger opened his door, “What have we here?”

            Mr. Cary spoke, “I have reason to believe my student Chelsea Collins took my math book and copied all the answers.”

            “I’m very sorry to hear that Lance. Do you need a new math book?” Principal Dillinger asked.

            Mr. Cary blinked “With all due respect Principal Dillinger. This is a very serious issue. A student stealing a Teacher’s math book is like a thief robbing a bank. The consequences should be very severe.”

            “Innocent until proven guilty.” Chelsea muttered.

            “What did you say?” Principal Dillinger turned to Chelsea.

            “I said I wouldn’t dare do such a thing. Mr. Cary is a wonderful teacher. And he always has nice things to say about the school.” Chelsea promptly replied. “I hope you can let me explain what really happened Principal Dillinger.”

            “Come on in.” Principal Dillinger opened his door. Then he looked at Drew. “What are you doing here?”

            “Mrs. Andrews sent me here to get a trophy for my class.”

            “Oh yes. I remember. Wait ten minutes. I have to finish with these two first. Come in Lance, Chelsea.”

            Chelsea sprang into the Principal’s office like a spring bunny. Mr. Cary skulked behind her. Principal Dillinger closed the door. Twenty minutes later Chelsea hobbled out with a downcast face. She had the same expression as Drew when his mom took away his Playstation privileges for an entire month. Principal Dillinger spoke to Mr. Cary, “I trust the matter is resolved.” Then he said in a quiet voice so Drew and Chelsea couldn’t hear, “Lance, if you make fun of my wife one more time in front of your students I will pin your ears to the back of your head.”

            “My ears wouldn’t stretch that far. They’re not made out of elastic like yours.” Mr. Cary clapped Principal Dillinger’s back. “Let’s go fishing this weekend Alfred. I’d love to see you and your wife.”

            Drew stretched his mouth. He almost laughed until he saw Principal Dillinger frowning at him. “Come in. I have the trophy for you. We could use some good behavior here. Chelsea, Lance goodbye.”

            On the way back to class, Drew hugged the trophy tightly and imagined it was Chelsea he was holding. This was his best day in school so far. He hoped every day could be like this one.

            
             

            The next morning Drew walked in class ten minutes late. Drew’s mom forgot to set her alarm. She added a Snickers bar to Drew’s lunch as an apology. There was only one seat empty in the classroom, and it was next to Willy. Drew saw Mrs. Andrews shaking her head as he sat next to Willy. He thought he saw Willy roll his eyes when he sat down. Drew felt worse about Willy rolling his eyes than Mrs. Andrews shaking her head.

            He caught Willy rolling his eyes at him again when Mrs. Andrews asked him what year America gained independence from Britain.

            “July 4^th.” Drew wanted to pound his head when he heard himself say those words.

            “No Drew. I didn’t ask for the day. I asked for the year.” Mrs. Andrews shook her head. Drew heard a couple of snickers from his classmates. His face turned Barbie pink. It became pinker when he saw Willy roll his eyes again. Drew didn’t say a single word for the rest of the class. He tried not to look or think of Willy.

            After class was over Willy tapped Drew on the shoulder. “Hey, I’m Willy. What’s your name?”

            Drew squared his shoulders, “Drew.” He tried to look directly into Willy’s eyes.

            “What school did you go to before this one?” Willy asked.

            “I was homeschooled.” Drew fidgeted.

            “Homeschooled? You’ve never been inside of a school?”

            Drew almost said “Of course not. Home schooled is at home. That’s why it’s called homeschooled.” But he didn’t. Instead he said “No this is my first year in a real school.”

            “Do you play sports?” Willy lifted his chin.

            Drew paused a long time before answering. He didn’t know if it was smart to tell the truth: that he spent most of his free time watching cartoons and eating gummy bears, and the only sport he was good at was fooseball. Willy started to get impatient after Drew did not answer. “Do you play any sports?” Willy drew out each syllable as if he was talking to a half-deaf person.

            “I play fooseball.” Drew decided it was better to tell the truth. His family had a giant fooseball table which was used often during weekends. His dad crowned him the “fooseball champ.”

            “I play fooseball too. I beat my friends every single time.” Willy boasted.

            Drew nodded his head. “Fooseball is really fun.” He hoped Willy wouldn’t ask who he played fooseball with. He wasn’t sure he wanted Willy to know he only had two fooseball partners- his old friend Calvin and his dad.   

            “You sit by yourself at lunch.” Willy stated.

            Drew nodded his head.

            “You should join us today. But it’s only for one day. We decide if you can sit with us tomorrow.” Willy didn’t wait for Drew to respond. “See you at lunch new kid.”

            Drew closed his eyes. He didn’t want to panic, but a part of him wished he was in his living room watching Ninja Turtles. He wished he could be as brave as Donatello, Rafael, Leonardo, and Michaelangelo. Yet another part of him was excited to join Willy’s crew, even if it was only for a day. Drew imagined Willy clapping him on his back as he scored his first-ever touchdown.

            “That was great Drew! You’re going to be in the NFL!” Willy would shout. Willy’s friends would all give Drew high fives and maybe even chest bump him like they did in sports movies. Drew wanted to be the champion of Willy’s group, but he was not sure if he could do it. He was not even sure if Willy’s friends would like him. You see, Drew carried a plastic red lunch box with yellow handles. He noticed everyone in Willy’s crew carried brown paper bags. Drew decided he was going to give the Snickers bar his mom packed for him to Willy during lunch.

            
            

              Drew walked in the cafeteria two minutes after Willy’s crew settled in. His hand trembled slightly as he clutched his red lunch box with the ridiculous yellow handle. He walked over to Willy’s table and waited for someone to notice him. Willy looked up.

            “Hey Drew. You’re late.”

            “I’m two minutes late.” Drew said. He noticed Willy’s crew staring at him; he wasn’t sure what they were thinking. Six boys were at the table. They all had lines of sweat running down their foreheads from their soccer match. Drew sat next to Derek who was sitting across from Willy. He waited for someone to say something. When no one did, he asked, “How was your soccer game?”

            “It was awesome! I pummeled Willy. He’s good at kicking but I’m the fastest runner.” Derek grinned.

            “Please. You run like a girl.” Willy scoffed. He turned to Drew, “Doesn’t Derek run like a girl?”

            “I’m not sure. I can’t really tell.” Drew answered honestly. “He doesn’t look slow though.”

            “You hear that Willy? New kid thinks I’m fast.” Derek turned to Drew “I’m Derek by the way.”

            “I’m Drew.” Drew smiled as he remembered something. “You have the same name as Derek Jeter!”

            Derek laughed, “That’s right. Jeter’s my hero. I wish he would come back from retiring.”

            “Me too! Yankees are my favorite team.” Drew grinned. He felt himself relaxing when he saw Willy’s friends nodding their heads. “Have any of you been to a Yankees game?”

            “I have!” A boy in a red shirt exclaimed. “I went with my dad last summer. They annihilated the Cubs.”

            “That’s nothing new. Every baseball team in history has beaten the Cubs.” Willy took a bite of his sandwich. “Hey Drew. What do you think of the Cubs?”

            “I don’t know. I’ve never seen them play.” Drew answered truthfully. “I’ve only seen the Yankees play against the Mets.”

            “You know what Mets stands for right? My Entire Team Sucks.” Willy laughed. All of Willy’s friends laughed with him. Drew decided telling Willy that the Mets won the game against the Yankees wouldn’t be smart. He didn’t think Willy’s joke was funny, but he managed a smile.

            Drew turned to the boy in the red shirt, “What’s your name?”

            “I’m Jason.” He said. “And that’s Tyrone, Chris, Sam, and Derek.”

            “Hi guys.” Drew mumbled. He tried to think of something else to say. “This is my first time in a public school.”

            “What?” Jason looked surprised. “You’ve never been in school?”

            “No, he was homeschooled. He’s never been with other kids.” Willy butted in.

            “Really?” Jason studied Drew. “You seem normal just like everyone else.”

            “I’m just a regular kid.” Drew answered. He picked up his sandwich lying next to his lunch box and started chomping.

            “Nice lunchbox. Reminds me of Clifford.” Willy pointed at Drew’s red lunch box. “Does your mom still read you Clifford bedtime stories?” Willy nudged Jason and everyone started laughing.

            Drew gritted his teeth. He wanted to punch Willy, but he knew that would not be smart. “My aunt got this lunch box for me when she visited Florida.”

            “My Uncle lives in Florida.” Derek turned to Drew. “We go there every summer to visit him. He takes us to Disney World and Universal Studios.”

            “I’ve never been to Universal Studios. I’ve always wanted to ride the roller coasters there.” Drew replied.

            “You should go. It’s so much fun. Roller coasters are amazing.” Derek started describing the roller coasters at Universal Studios. Drew listened with round eyes. He loved roller coasters. Derek made him feel as if he was in Universal Studios. He could almost see the spirals of the red and yellow coaster and he felt a lurch in his stomach when Derek described how fast the coasters sped. Drew decided he would give the Snickers bar to Derek instead of Willy.

            “My mom packed this for me, but I want to give it to you. Thanks for letting me sit at your table.” Drew handed the Snickers bar to Derek.

            “Wow Snickers! That’s my favorite candy. You’re coming back tomorrow right?” Derek took the bar from Drew.

            “Yes.” Drew heard Willy snort, but he saw the other five boys nod their heads. In social studies Mrs. Andrews taught her students about government. She said “In most governments the majority has the power. It doesn’t matter if a few people disagree as long as everyone else agrees. Majority rules.”  

           
         
            Drew did not get Willy’s vote, but he still felt like a champ knowing that he was welcome at Willy’s table. He was glad his mom woke up late this morning, and even happier that she gave him candy. Drew now understood the power of a Snickers bar. But caramel was nowhere near as sweet as friendship. Drew finally knew what it felt like to have both.