A Time to Stand Up

It's a little cheesy, not my favorite, but yeah...here it is

                  “Brinnngggg, Brinnnngggg.” Rang out the phone. I  rolled over my fuzzy yellow bed toward my desk where the phone was. “Hello?”

     “Hey! Jessica, its Alyssa,” came the response.

     “Hey!”

      “I’m having a birthday party this weekend and…..” there was silence. “I was wondering….. do you want to come?”

     I held my breath. Alyssa and I used to be really good friends until she became one of “them”. I mean, we’re still friends, but we just aren’t the same as before.

     “Yeah, sure.”

      “Cool. Oh, my mom says each girl can bring one girl of their choice so no one will feel uncomfortable.”

       “Ok, see you then.”

        “See ya.” I hung up and smiled bigger than I had in a while. I mean, to get to hang out with some of the coolest girls in the school, that was a dream come true.

*Later*

          The next morning in homeroom class, I was faced with a surprise. “Class,” our teacher called out.

“We have a new student today. She has been in Korea for the past few weeks, so she missed the beginning of school.” She went out of the room for a moment, and came back in with a short, Asian girl beside her. “This is Sun-Lee Kwong, and she will be joining our 7^th grade class. Everyone say hello.”

Everyone said hello, but by the way they said it, I could tell something was wrong. Our class had immediately accepted all the new kids this year, but with this girl, they seemed hesitant.

At lunchtime me, and a few of my friends sat at our spots. We were talking about our crazy, mean gym teacher, when I saw Sun-Lee. She was carrying around her lunch tray, looking around uncertainly, while a few kids behind her stood mocking her and pulling at the edge of their eyes like they were Asian. I thought about calling her over to our table, but seeing my friends laughing and saying what a creep she was, I decided to keep quiet. She finally went off and I didn’t see her until we had Spanish. Mrs. Levitte was showing us how to do time in Spanish, and we had to have a partner to make a schedule of our day in Spanish time. And of course, Mrs. Levitte paired me up with Sun-Lee. After we finished our work, we waited in silence until she spoke, “It’s weird trying to learn Spanish while I’m still learning English.”

            I looked at her, “Wait, you’re from China?”

            “Well, Korea, but if you mean I’ve never been to America, then yes.”

            “Wow.” I said. There was more silence until Sun-Lee spoke.

         “Can you come over today?”  Uh oh. If I went to Sun-Lee’s house or anywhere with her, everyone would hate me. But, of course, my mom wouldn't let me turn down a new kid’s invitation.

         “Well….I uhhhh….. I guess I could.” I finally replied.

She grinned. “Great. My mom said it’s fine for anyone to come over so you can just drive home with me.”   Of course, for me, it wasn’t so great.

 

*Later*

 After calling my mom, it was decided that I would go to her house and stay for dinner. Before I left with Sun Lee and her mom, I made sure none of my friends were in sight. Then I hopped in her car, hoping the time would pass quickly. When we got to her house, I was surprised. The house was smaller than mine, which is fairly small. She seemed to notice the look on my face and said, “I know it’s not much, but we don’t have enough to buy a bigger house.”

             “It’s enough that we can call it home,” her mom replied as she got out of the car.

We entered her house, and near the front was a beautiful grand piano.

Piano playing was one of my favorite pastimes, and this one was a rich deep brown, with engravings etched on the side. “It’s beautiful,” I breathed.

“It’s from Korea. It was my great-grandmother’s.” I sat down and pressed my fingers against the keys. Somehow playing had always relieved me of my stress and made me forget what was going on around me. We played on there about an hour and then went up to her room. She had drawings all over her room, ones that she had obviously drawn, and origami birds hanging from the ceiling. I looked around the room, impressed. “Did you do all this stuff?” I asked her. She nodded. “One of my old friends taught me how to draw anime. And then, almost all Asians know origami.” She smiled. We stayed in her room until I left to go home, which was around 8:00 pm. Sun-Lee had gotten me thinking…

             After the experience at Sun-Lee’s house, we started to do a lot together. In fact, when I was with her, I was always learning something new. She taught me how to make origami things, how to write a few Korean letters in the alphabet, and even taught me about stuff that was going on in Korea. I was really starting to like her. A few days later, we were walking and talking during recess, when I asked her, “This Friday…. I’m going to Alyssa’s birthday party…….and I can bring one friend…it would be really awesome if you could go.” She seemed to wonder if I was joking to be mean, but seeing and the look on my face, she knew I was being honest.

She smiled. “That’s sounds really fun. I’d love to.” I was in a way glad, but a little nervous. But altogether, I was fairly pleased with my choice. That night I was on AIM talking to Alyssa.

              Schoolgrl777: hey

                 LyssaBaby1234: hey

              

              LyssaBaby1234: ru comin to my bday party???

 

              Schoolgrl777: ya

         

                 LyssaBaby1234: who r u bringing???? 

         

       I paused. I decided I would get it over with now. I mean, it’s better to tell the person in advance. So I replied.

              Schoolgrl777: Sun Lee

        She didn’t reply for a while. I paced around my room, guessing the worst she could say. Then I heard the BLINK of a new message. I rushed back to the computer.

            LyssaBaby1234: LOL, Jessica ur SOO funny.

               Schoolgrl777: no im serious. Shes actually really nice.

               LyssaBaby1234: Wait, ur SERIOUS???!!!!

            Schoolgrl777: yeah……she’s my friend

              LyssaBaby1234: well, it is ur choice. But u know, kids will probly think ur a freak…

            Schoolgrl777: I know

               LyssaBaby1234: Well, I g2g to do my homework…..cya then J

          Schoolgrl777: cya

        

            I signed off AIM, considering canceling my invite for Sun-Lee. But no, I couldn’t. I’d just have to bring Sun-Lee, whether everyone hated me or not.

*Later*

    The next day at school, Alyssa came up to me in the hallway.

    “Ok, was that really you or did your little sister get on your AIM again?”

    “No, that was me.”

    “Jessica, I wish you didn’t have to do this.”

    “Well, Sun-Lee shouldn’t be teased by everyone.”

    “All’s I’m saying is if you bring her, kids might make fun of her and you.”

    “Well, at least then, she’ll still have me.” I said, “I’ll see you then”.

    “Bye,” she answered, then left.

            That evening, Sun-Lee and I went to the party. My stomach was lurching, but I didn’t say anything. We knocked on the door and waited. Alyssa answered. She seemed happy, but when she saw Sun-Lee next to me, she stopped smiling.

         “Oh, hey,” was all she said. “Come on in”. Sun-Lee and I stepped inside. There was music and kids were all around in their pajamas, but when people started to see us, they stopped. Slowly, the talking and partying ended. Now all that happened was murmuring whispers coming from a few girls. “Look who brought the freak show” and “Oh my gosh!!! It’s the Chinese creep!” Sun-Lee didn’t say anything, but by the way she was shaking, I could tell she was keeping from crying. Then one kid pulled at the side of her eyes and went, “Oooohhh, I’m Sun-Lee and I’m from China!”

            “I’m Korean,” she whispered in a shaky voice. But no one heard her. By now, everyone was laughing and mocking her. She looked at me. Her eyes were welled up in tears. All she said to me was, “I’m sorry, I have to go.” She turned to leave, but I stopped her. “Wait,” I said. This time I was not going to act like a coward and  let them tease her. Time to stand up for my friend.

               “DON’T MAKE FUN OF MY FRIEND!!!!!” I shouted over all the noise,    definitely louder than I had ever spoken. Everyone turned. “Sun-Lee is my friend, and you’re not going to make fun of her. I’m not staying unless Sun-Lee does.”

               “Then leave,” a girl shouted. Wow, I couldn’t believe I was doing this. I turned to Sun-Lee. “Let’s go,”  I said and started to leave. Then, something wonderful happened. I heard Alyssa’s voice. “If you’re going to make fun of Jessica and her friend, then you’ll have to leave this party.” She declared. No one moved toward the door. So Sun-Lee and I stayed.

*Later*

Ever since the party, no one has made fun of Sun-Lee. After she got comfortable at the party, she was really funny and everyone started to like her. In a way, she’s actually started to become sort of popular. I’m just glad she’s still my friend. And, ever since Alyssa stood up for me, we’ve been closer than we ever were. Because of Sun- Lee, I earned two great friends.

THE END

 

Author's Note

Ya, I dont like it, but who knows? Maybe someone will.....

Reviews

[David Carlson]

Not really my choice of reading material, so I can't say much.

However I did like your use of the IM conversation. Use that idea in another story. I'd cut back on the crazy names and IM slang, even if that's how you really IM. But it's a good idea, and I certainly like the whole concept of standing up for one's friend, cliched as that may be. Loyalty is a good thing to write about.

Here's a good related line from a character in a movie:
"This is what I remember: someone standing over me, between me and my enemies, saying, 'This man is my friend; no one touches him!' I'm going to remember that for a long time."

[LouisianaBird]

I am that someone who took joy in this story. Yes,it's not the best but I know how Sun-Lee feels I only wish I had someone like Jessica to stick up for me.. Good job! :)