Why?

Author: Audrey Menard
From: Ottawa, Canada
Age: 11
Date: 12th Jan 1998, 8:50 AM
Rating: 5
Comment:
Title: Why?

I can't wait until tommorow! We're going to have a new student in our class. I've always loved making new friends and I can't wait to meet the new kid. I hope it's a girl. Yeah, a nice, funny, active girl. It could be a boy too. A real nice guy that didn't tease the girls. Maybe Miss. Jones will pick me to show her around; that would be quite an honor.
I'm going to be real nice tommorow. I'll make the new kid feel like she's been going to this school for years like I have. I'll introduce her or him to all my friends and show them the nice and kids and the mean kids. I was going to have a new friend tommorow, I really was positive I would.
Now here comes the big moment. I can hear footsteps in the hall. Soon Miss. Jones would introduce the new kid. Everyone would ask her or him questios and she or he'd the center of attention. The door is opening now, I just can't wait. Everybody's eyes are on the door now and we all can't wait.
A tall girl entered the room. Some started wisdpering but I said nothing. Were they all talking about her color? Was it because she was black? I didn't mind, my friend Joey was black. I smiled at the new girl but everybody else looked mortified. I wondered what had tooken everybody. The principal told us that her name was Tiffany, Tiffany Troop. Miss Jones asked who wanted to show Tiffany around for the next few days. I lifted my hand as quickly as I could. I looked around to see who else wanted to but I found but one hand up, mine.
Tiffany's real nice. She's very funny too. If only the other kids knew, knew what a great friend she was. I haven't even known her for a day but I still think she's great, I really do! We're going to walk home together. She lives close to where I live so we decided to walk to school together everyday.
We started walking out of the school when a bunch of boys came up behind us. They started screaming things like "We don't want any chocolate people here! or Go away black poo!" They were really mean. Tiffany burst into tears and she was very sad. I felt rage and pain for her. How could they be so blind? I turned around and started screaming at them. I told them that they were stupid and that they were racist. They just laughed and ran away.
Tiffany cried all he way home. She was evry sad. She told me that she was really hoping that they wouldn't be racist at our school. She told me that everywhere she went people teased her. I was very upset. Tffany had to go through so much just because she was black. But why?
Tonight as I went to bed I cried. I cried for Tiffany and for all the kids that get teased because poeple are racist. I had a nightmare that night. A horrid dream that I was being teased because I was white; it hurt a lot inside of me, like I had swallowed a knife blade.
Today I'm going to do something to help Tiffany. Yesterday, in the middle of the night after I had awaken from my nightmare I had written a poem. I was going to ask Miss. Jones if I could read it in front of the class. My poem was pretty good if I can say so myself. It may be a longshot but it's worth the try, it's worth Tiffany's happiness.

Why oh why
Does racism exist?
My oh my
How do they persist?

Why oh why
Do we do this to each other?
My of my
Why even bother?

Why oh why
All this pain?
My oh my
There is nothing to gain!

Why oh why
Can't we be different?
My oh my
Stop being so indifferent!


I went to school confident and ready. Miss Jones accepted I read my poem in front of the class. I was really nervous but I wanted to please Tiffany so I took a deep breath and read it. People looked at me stunned and astonished. Miss Jones even started crying. So did some other kids. Tiffany was trembling but she stayed cool. Some kids started clapping and that's when I knew I had succeeded. Tiffany had now gotten up and many kids were telling her how much they were sorry. She pushed through the crowd and came walking towards me. She gave me a big hug and the whole class started cheering.
That day was an important one in my life. I learned an important lesson: No matter someone looks like, they're a person, just like me.

Audrey, this is an excellent story - thankyou for sharing it with us. I think we could all learn a lot from your story. I'm sure if everybody took your attitude, we'd have more happiness and less violence.


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