Tina was never an outspoken little girl. Her teachers liked her well enough, and her classmates dealt with her, but she never had any friends. She was lonely, but she tried not to mind. People just didn't want to be friends with the shy girl. She could deal with that, but what she couldn't deal with were all the people who liked to pick on her. In her seven year old mind, they really hated her, and she couldn't stand that. She wanted to stand up for herself, or to even talk to someone who would understand. But she was never good with words. She was just the shy girl in her first grade class, and she just had to deal with it.
So she sat in her corner of the room, drawing halfheartedly on her notebook as most of her classmates ran outside for recess. Tina hated recess, she wanted to talk to people, but she wasn't sure how, and when she just stood there, the boys would push her down. Eventually, she just decided to stay inside, even though she knew that wouldn't stop them from being mean. Her stomach twisted as she waited for whatever funny prank they would pull today. Sure enough about ten minutes into recess, she felt a hand push her head onto her desk. Pain flared in her head and tears began to form in her eyes, but she was trying really hard not to make a sound. She tried to pick her head up, but someone pushed it back down. She could hear her book bag being unzipped and the contents being thrown all around her. The tears finally fell as a notebook hit her in the head, and she tried to drown out what they were saying with the sound of her soft sobs. It will be over soon, they'll get bored and go outside to play.
"Hey! Leave her alone!" A high pitched voice said, making Tina's sobs stall. She really wanted to pick her head up and see who it was that had finally noticed her, but she was afraid of getting shoved back into the desk. Besides, she was sure whoever it was would go away once they realized who they were standing up for. She was Timid Tina, the girl no one ever saw. No one cared if people were mean to her.
"Why should we, what does it matter to you?" They asked, sounding as surprised as she was that someone had stopped them. She heard an arrogant snort, and she risk a peak at her hero. It was a small brunette boy with his hands on his hips. She couldn't really see who it was, but she had never wanted someone to be her friend so badly, or to actually exist. She was almost convinced that this was all a dream and she was actually at home, her mother trying to feed her some odd soup and ibuprofen to lower her temperature.
"You pick on everyone, and not only is it stupid and should have been stopped long before now, but you've crossed a line. You don't hurt girls. It's pathetic." He said, sounding angry. Surprisingly, Tina felt the weight being lifted from her back, and she slowly sat up. Now she could fully see the boy, and she recognized him. He was kind of like her, quiet and disliked. But he wasn't shy. He played by himself, but he really didn't mind. He would talk to people, but people didn't usually talk to him. However, she had never seen him get angry like this. He was usually so calm. Tina was embarrassed that she couldn't remember his name.
"What's the difference, your just as much of a girl as she is." They said, coming closer to him. A rush of fear chilled her. Would they actually hurt the boy? He didn't seem nearly as worried as she did as he smiled slyly.
"I'm more of a man than your ever going to be, and more of a woman than your ever going to get. Now run along, that monitor is going to come back any minute now." Tina felt her jaw actually drop. The boys looked flustered, but they were backing up.
"Whatever, this is a waste of time anyway. But both of you better watch it." They said, going outside. Tina quickly collected herself and looked down so that he couldn't see her blushing. She was expecting him to slip away, but he sat down in the chair next to her.
"Are you ok? Hey, don't listen to those idiots; they probably don't remember what they had for breakfast this morning." He said, sounding lighthearted. And just like that, Tina felt tears fall down her face. She wasn't sure why, she only knew that it felt amazing for him to talk to her, to care about her. No one did that, other than her parents. She was Tina, she didn't have any friends, and she didn't really care. So why did he reduce her to tears with this one act of kindness? Even now, he was peaking down to get a better look at her face, his eyes showing concern. It only made her cry harder.
"Oh honey, it's ok." He said softly, pulling her into a hug and letting her sob into his nice jacket. She felt her whole body shaking, but it helped that he was rubbing soothing circles into her back and whispering in her ear. Soon her sobs turned to soft sniffles and the boy pulled back to look in her eyes.
"You feel better now?" He asked, as she nodded shyly. She was rewarded with one of the brightest smiles she had ever seen.
"Good, my name's Kurt, and your Tina Cohen-Chang. It's a pleasure to formally meet you." He said, sounding much older than he was. Tina felt a genuine smile play at her lips.
"You too, thanks for helping me." She said in her quiet, sing-song voice. His smile faltered a bit.
"You don't have to thank me, those boys shouldn't be able to get away with that. And no one should ever have to be sad alone." He said, taking her hands. She felt her cheeks redden, but for once she isnt actually embarrassed. She feels warm inside, and it was nice.