This is my first fic, so if you have any comments or constructive criticism i would like to hear them.
I want to thank Eich for her encouraging words and helping me improve this little fic, you can also find her on Tumblr(enchanteob).
She is the most amazing writer so if you haven't already, you should check out her stories!
You're the best!
English is not my native language, so please forgive me for any mistakes.
I hope you enjoy.
It was a beautiful spring day. The sun was shining bright and there was not a cloud in the sky as 8 year old Gail walked past the park. The scent of fresh cut grass hanging in the air as she made her way to school, accompanied by Arnie in her right hand and with a backpack on her shoulder.
Arnie was Gail's most treasured stuffed animal. A blue elephant with only one ear, she had him since she was a little girl.
They've been many places together and gone through some small accidents, like the time when they went cycling and Arnie fell from Gail's hand right between the chaincase of her bike. When Gail had tried to free him, she had accidently ripped off his ear. She had carefully untangled the separated ear from the chaincase before rushing back home. It wasn't possible to reattach the ear to its body, but her mom had fixed the hole in Arnie's head that night and putted a bandage over it, just like a nurse does when people need stitches, she had told a relieved Gail while depositing the stuffed elephant in her waiting arms.
Gail was quite excited to go to school today, because their teacher, miss Williams, had told them that all the kids could bring their favourite toy to class. So here she was, walking down the street on her way to school with Arnie.
When Gail arrived, she walked straight to her classroom like she always did. All the other kids were still at the playground as usual, except for one girl, who was already inside setting up a microscope. The girl had her brown hair up in a ponytail, and dark rimmed glasses on her face. "I haven't seen her before" Gail thought before starting to walk towards the brunette girl.
She held out a hand. "Hi, i'm Gail. Who are you and why have you brought that to school?" The sudden intrusion startled the brunette, and she looked up at the blue eyed girl with dirty blonde hair. Her eyes fell on the hand in front of her and she shook the offered hand with a polite smile.
"I'm Holly, and this is a microscope. We could bring our favourite thing today and I assume that is why you brought your...Elephant" the girl replied. "Miss Williams said we could bring our favourite toy today, and that's not a toy" Gail explained with a smirk. In response, Holly simply arched an eyebrow and snorted.
At that moment, the other kids came into the classroom so Gail quickly sat down in the seat in front of Holly. The classroom was filled with the buzz of voices and steps as the children begin to settle down but Gail didn't pay attention to any of it until couple of boys stopped in front of her.
"What did you bring Peck? Dumbo I see" Seth teased. "Couldn't leave your stuffed animal in bed Gail? You're such a baby" his friend Jason whined in a childish tone. Gail held Arnie against her chest as Seth tried to take him from her, making her tight her hold on him.
"Everyone in their seats please" Miss Williams said when she walked into the classroom. A dark skinned woman in her fourties, with braided hair sitting in a messy bun on top of her head and a voice that carried just enough authority to be heard over the murmurs. All the kids sat down and placed their toy on their desks.
"Goodmorning, before we begin with showing what you've brought today, I want to introduce you all to a new class member, Holly Stewart". Holly offered her classmates a small wave and the teacher went on.
"Holly just moved here from Ottawa, and she will be joining us from now on." The kids murmured quiet 'hellos' before she went on.
"Why don't we take turns to introduce ourselves, and then you can also show which toy you've brought today? Seth do you want to start?" Seth had sat down in front of Gail and was still trying to grab Arnie from her. But when Miss Williams talked to him, he knew had been caught.
"Uh sure." The blond haired boy with freckled face staggered while turning to face the rest of the kids. "Hi, i'm Seth. I brought my new remote controlled race car. I got it for my birthday last week". He finished looking proudly at the miniature car in his hands. Miss Williams nodded, and pointed at Traci to go next. "I'm Traci, I brought my Barbie. I have lots of Barbies, she excitedly went on. Like cheerleader and prinsess Barbies but this is my favourite one. Because it's a cop and I want to be a cop when I grow up."
All of the kids took turns in introducing themselves and explaining why those were their favourite toys. But when it was Gail's turn, she was a bit more reserved than the rest of her classmates had been. "Gail? You're next". Miss Williams spoke urging her on. Gail sighed but turned a little in her seat, so that Holly could see her, and started to speak quietly.
"I'm Gail, but you already knew that." She muttered the last part more to herself than to anybody else. "I brought Arnie, he's been my stuffed animal since I was a baby and we're together all the time. I can tell him everything, and he never tells anyone my secrets and that is why he's my favourite."
Soft giggles sounded from the classroom and Seth turned to face her "You baby." He whispered to Gail. "Ssshh kids!" Miss Williams scolded. "Let's just listen to what everyone has to say. I don't want to hear you mocking each other."
The class went on while Gail sadly looked down at Arnie. She felt a hand on her shoulder and heard someone whispering behind her. "I think Arnie is pretty cool." Gail turned her head, just enough to see Holly's encouraging look and gave her a weak grateful smile in return.
After everyone had showed their toys, it was Holly's turn. "I brought a microscope, because there are a zillion things happening around us all the time that are too tiny for our eyes to see, but with this microscope you can see everything from up close." She smiled and shrugged. "I think that's really cool so…" Gail turned around in her seat and looked at Holly. "Nerd" she whispered while smiling at the brunette.
During lunch break, Gail sat down with Arnie at a pick-nick bench outside to eat her sandwich. She was happily munching on her lunch, when footsteps stopped close to her. "Do you mind if I come sit with you?" Holly asked. Gail looked up at the brunette girl and shook her head. Holly sat down and unwrapped her sandwich. "Do you live far from school?" She asked and took a bite.
Gail shook her head once again, looking at her. "No, not really I only live 8 blocks away, close to High Park. "I live a 5 minute walk from High Park, we must be living pretty close to each other" Holly replied with a kind smile. After that, they eat their lunch while sitting in comfortable silence with Holly occasionally glancing at the girl beside her, taking Gail in.
"You know, it's kinda weird when you look at me like that". The dirty blonde girl said with a smirk, after she had thrown their trash in the bin. "Sorry" Holly muttered, while a blush crept up her face. When she looked up shyly, Gail was still smirking at her.
"Well look who we have here." Seth and Jason walked towards them and stood behind Gail. "Our little baby and her best friend Dumbo." Gail's smirk dropped at the sound of their voices. Seth looked at Holly next. "You should come sit with us, so baby and her fluffly best friend can talk to each other, they're together all the time anyway. I'm sure that boring elephant is enough company for her."
Holly looked at Gail, whose eyes were casted down at the table. "I'm doing fine right here." She said without looking at the boys. Gail was surprised at this. Her head shot up and her eyes met Holly's, to see the brunette giving her a small smile.
"So you prefer sitting with this toddler then?" Jason asked rather aghast. Holly started to feel irritated by these two boys. She rolled her eyes and looked at them. "The only toddlers I see are the two of you, so why don't you just leave us alone and go play with your remote controlled car?! "Gail's eyes were so wide that she was afraid they might fall out of her head. Nobody has ever stood up for her like that before and she was grateful that this new girl cared enough to do this for her.
The boys looked quite flabbergasted. They were the popular kids and anyone would kill to be a part of their group. "We didn't want to hang out with a nerd like you anyway." Jason retorted, trying to hide his surprise while they turned around and walked away.
Gail's mouth still hung open by what had just played out in front of her. Holly looked into her eyes, crooked smile on her lips. "Thank you" The blonde said in a whisper. "It's okay. But why do you let them say stuff like that?" Holly asked.
Gail shrugged, looking very insecure in that moment. "I don't know, they just started bullying me one day and I thought they would get tired of it eventually if I kept my mouth shut. But it just got worse." She swallowed hard, feeling more self-conscious. "Every day when walk home from school they make fun of me and punch me or push me, and I'm scared that if I try to stand up for myself it'll get uglier" Gail answered quietly.
Holly glanced over the girls shoulder to see the boys still looking in their direction, she frowned at them before returning her gaze to Gail. Her eyes becoming soft and holding nothing but sincerity as she spoke. "Well, that's gonna be over soon because I'll walk you home and if they keep on bothering you I'll use one of my taekwondo moves on them. They'll be running for the hills". She started giggling the second half of the sentence.
Gail was a little taken back by this comment, but felt an unusual warmth spread through her body. "How can she be this wonderful to a complete stranger" she thought while smiling at Holly's idea.
And the brunette was right, after the third day that Holly had walked her home the bullying started to diminish. The best part of it was that she never actually needed to use one of said taekwondo moves, Jason and Seth were like scared little cats when Holly had simply threatened to use them. They didn't dare to find out if she was bluffing or telling the truth.
Gail was thankful for this nerdy girl, who wanted to be her new friend. She genuinely liked Holly, which was something that didn't happen often, and knew that Holly liked her too, which also was something that didn't happen very often.
Between her new friend and this newfound security, she was actually starting to enjoy going to school again.