Nina & I
Nina is the quiet and shy girl that sits in front of me at school. She is the biggest and tallest kid in class, and I am the smallest and shortest. I sometimes have to wave my arms and shout to get my teacher's attention, which always gets me into trouble. Nina just sits there and says nothing until the teacher calls her name. I’m so short most everyone thinks I am still in kindergarten, and it makes me scream! When Nina gets teased about her size, she just walks away and cries.
Nina always seems to be alone and never plays with others on the playground. She spends recess under the canopy outside, painting colorful drawings on an easel. I can see her from the top of the monkey bars. She paints the prettiest flowers, butterflies, and rainbows! I like watching her paint because it is the only time I see her smile.
Sometimes I get mad at Nina. I don't even think she knows I sit behind her in class. No matter how many times I call her name, she won’t turn around and talk to me! All I see are her long ponytails tied in ribbons on the back of her head. When I want to pull her hair, I kick her chair instead.
“Lisa!” Our teacher, Miss Maxwell, shouts out to me, “Stop kicking Nina’s chair this instant!”
I stop kicking Nina’s chair and apologize, but I still don't think it's fair! It makes me angry when I get in trouble. Why can’t she understand that all I want to do is, be her friend?
Nina and I take the bus home from school everyday. When I get on the bus, she turns her head and stares out the window. I sit right behind her and kick her seat until the bus driver tells me to stop. I switch seats right across from Nina before my stop. When she notices me sitting there, I stick out my tongue. She wrinkled her nose and turned away.
For days afterward, I purposively found a seat near Nina on the bus. Each day I would stare at her and then stick out my tongue. One day, I noticed Nina wasn't sitting on the bus. When I got off on my stop, I saw mom waiting for me at our front door. She was not happy! Mom had just got off the phone with Miss Maxwell, and I was in trouble again!
“Why are you sticking out your tongue on the bus?”
I didn’t know how to answer. I know sticking my tongue at Nina was wrong, but I only did it because I thought she didn't like me. I didn't realize it was making her afraid!
“How are you going to fix this problem?” Mom asked.
I really didn't know what to do. I wanted to be friends with Nina, but how was I if she won’t speak to me?
My mom suggested that I write a list of everything I knew about Nina. Although my list was very short, it did give me some ideas!
The very next day, I went to school wearing red shorts, a yellow shirt, a green jacket, an orange scarf, and purple and blue polka-dotted knee socks. I looked crazy, like a walking rainbow! Everyone laughed when they saw me come to class, but I didn’t mind because I heard Nina giggle.
Instead of playing on the monkey bars, I went down to the canopy where Nina was and painted butterflies. When I was finished, my butterflies looked more like flying pigs, but when Nina saw them, it made her laugh.
Later that day, before getting off the bus, I left a note on the empty seat next to Nina. On the note I had drawn a flower and a smiley face with the words: "I’m sorry! Can we be friends?"
When I walked home, I saw Nina's face staring back at me from the bus window as it passed me by. I wondered what Nina was thinking. Would Nina reply, or had she already ripped my note into hundred pieces?
The next day was a Saturday, so I was busy playing in my room when I heard my mom call out to me:
“Lisa, there is someone here to see you!”
I wondered who it was, so I excitedly ran out to see! I couldn't believe who I saw standing there! Hiding behind her mom, grinning back at me, was Nina!
“Lisa," my mother asked, "can you show Nina your room while her mother and I get to know each other?”
Happily, I went over to Nina, took her hand, and led her to my room. I showed her my dolls, video games, and books; I even introduced her to my annoying little brother, James. Nina just sat there, at the end of my bed, looking amazed at the drawings of flying pigs on my bedroom wall.
"Does your mom really let you draw on the walls?" Nina asked.
"Doesn't yours?" I answered back.
"No!" laughed Nina.
I took out my crayons and paper and handed them over to her.
“Can you show me how to draw a butterfly?” I asked.
“Only if you show me how to swing on the monkey bars.” Nina giggled.
Ever since that day, Nina and I learned how to be the best of friends! The more we got to know each other, the more we discovered how alike we really were.
For example, Nina isn't as quiet as most people think. In fact, she can scream much louder than me!
During recess, you can find us together on the playground. My butterfly paintings look much better now, and Nina can climb the monkey bars even faster than me!
Nina is a friend who sits in front of me in class. Some wonder how we can be such good friends and still be so different. Although we may look and act differently, our differences only make our friendship more fun and exciting! We don’t get loud or cry anymore for being different. Nina and I just walk away holding each other's hands and smile!
Started as poem:
Nina and I
Nina is a girl I always see
Sitting at the desk in front of me
She keeps her hair up in a braid
Always looking a bit afraid
She is big, and she is tall
I am short and very small
Others tease her for her size
She laughs back at them until she cries
Her eyes are brown, and mine are green
She is quiet, and she is shy
I am loud and like to scream!
I spy while I swing on the monkey bars
As she paints the planet Mars
I watch her and sit awhile
Because it is the only time I see her smile
Why can't she see me sitting there?
She turns her head away each time I stare
I kick her chair and call out her name
But she just sits there just the same
"Lisa, Lisa, lower your voice," Teacher Brown calls out
There is no need for you to shout!
I am told to apologize.
But all I see are Nina's sad eyes
How can I make her understand?
That all I want to be is her friend?
On the bus on my way home
Nina looks out the window all alone
I look at her, hoping to see
Nina looking back at me
She turns to me when I call her name
I stick out my tongue, and then a grin
Nina sadly turns away
And I don't know what to say
Nina is sad
And I feel bad
Lisa, Lisa, my mom calls to me
There is a problem we must discuss!
Teacher Brown is on the phone
Why can't you leave Nina alone?
Nina's mom is in distress!
Why are you sticking out your tongue on the bus?
I didn't know how to answer or what to say
I only know I could not stop acting that way
Every day since that day, I must confess
I stuck my tongue at her on the bus
I just did not realize or know
How it made Nina feel so low
One day there was a knock on the door
"Lisa, Lisa," my mom tells me, "there is someone here for you to see."
To my surprise, standing there
Was Nina with her long brown hair
I listen to my mother explain and say,
"Nina has come to play
Now go show Nina what you like to do and see
While her mother and I enjoy our tea."
I take Nina's hand and lead her on her way
To books, toys, favorite dolls, and video games
And my little brother, we call James
It isn't long until I see
Nina smiling next to me
I'm sorry that I made you cry
I'm sorry that I seemed so mean
I just didn't know why or how
But I can see that you see me now
Nina Nina is a girl I always see
Sitting in the chair alongside me
No matter what they may say
We will laugh and play the day away
We are more alike than what they know
Hand in hand, side by side, we go
Nina and I
Our friendship will forever grow
Others tease her for her size.
I only see a friend with big brown eyes.
No comments:
Post a Comment