"I can't believe you two. Making fun of somebody is bad enough, but making fun of somebody with a disability?! What made either of you think that was ok?!"

Chandler and Ashley were sitting in Principal Ramirez's office. She had heard about their behavior towards Lincoln that morning and was not gonna let them go unpunished.

"C'mon, It's Lincoln Lame. He's already a big loser and that leg of his just makes him an ugly big loser." Said Chandler, loads of attitude coming out of his mouth.

Ramirez couldn't believe the bad choice Chandler had just made.

"You two are going to spending the next 2 months in detention! And on top of that, you'll be staying here after school cleaning every chalkboard in this building during that time! I will also be informing your parents about this too! And I don't want to see either of you picking on Lincoln or any of his friends and family again! Now get out of my office!" Shouted Ramirez.

As they walked out, the two kids were fuming. Chandler wasn't upset about his dad being told what happened, but cleaning every chalkboard and sitting in detention for two months was enough to make his blood boil. Same with Ashley.

"I don't care what she says, Lincoln will be treated the way a loser like him deserves." Growled Chandler.

Meanwhile, Rita and Lincoln had arrived at the Royal Woods Physical Therapy Center. It was a spacious building that was colorfully painted and looked very modern.

"I'll come pick you up in an hour, ok honey?" Asked Rita, giving him a hug and a kiss."Ok mom." Said Lincoln sadly as he got out of the car. He was still upset that everyone was treating him differently than before. Rita watched as he slowly limped to the front door as she drove away. "Please, let something happen to help my son."

In the main lobby, Lincoln went to the front desk to speak with the manager. "Um, excuse me?" The manager looked up and saw Lincoln standing there. "Oh, hello there. Can I help you?" He asked. "Oh, I'm looking for Ms. Ava Zimmer. My doctor told her I was coming to start P.T." Explained Lincoln. "Oh yes! Dr. Ralph did inform us that a boy your age would be coming today. The main exercise room is just down there. Ava will be in there in a few minutes." Replied the manager. "Ok. Thank you." Said Lincoln.

When Lincoln arrived at the exercise room, he found it was full of exercise balls, makeshift stairs, handlebars, weights, and other equipment.

As Lincoln ventured further into the room, he suddenly realized that he wasn't alone.

Using a weight machine was a girl in a electric wheelchair who was Lincoln's age. She had brown curly hair that was tied in pigtails and wore a red T-shirt with a white polo under it, blue jeans, and white sneakers. She was using the machine to increase her arm strength as she lifted the weights with cables attached to her hands.

As she finished, she noticed Lincoln looking around. She unfastened the cables and moved towards him.

Lincoln was turned around and didn't notice the girl approaching him. "Hi there." Lincoln jumped and fell in surprise. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" Cried the girl. "No, no, it's ok." Said Lincoln as he struggled back onto his feet. "I have a little sister who scares me 24/7. I'm used to it. I did see you earlier by the machine." "Yeah, it's my go to workout. Really helps. I'm Brittany by the way." "Oh, I'm Lincoln. It's nice to meet you."

Brittany then noticed Lincoln's leg. Her smile faded. Lincoln, seeing Brittany was looking at it, began to shuffle away. "I know, I know, I look ugly with it. "I'll just find wait till no one's here." "Wait! Lincoln, I didn't mean to stare!" Said Brittany. Lincoln stopped. Just then, Ava walked in. She was a young woman in her early twenties who's black hair was tied in a ponytail, wore a Grey workout shirt with dark grey leggings and blue running shoes.

"Brittany, is everything ok? I heard you shout." Asked Ava. "It was me." Said Lincoln. "She saw my fake leg and I realized I was making her uncomfortable so I decided to leave." Ava's face fell. "No, that's not true at all." Said Brittany. "I'm sorry, I've just never met someone with a prosthetic leg before. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings Lincoln." Ava looked at Lincoln. "So you're the boy Ralph told me about. I've been looking forward to meeting you." "Really? You don't think I look ugly and weird?" Asked Lincoln. "No! Of course not? Why would anyone think of you that way?" Asked Ava. Lincoln hung his head and told Brittany and Ava about his day at school.

Ava's heart sank. She had been working with kids who had received prosthetic limbs for quite some time and knew exactly what Lincoln was going through. "Don't worry. We don't tolerate people like that here. You're no different than everyone else. And if they can't see that? Then they don't deserve your friendship." Lincoln smiled a little.

"Now, why don't we get started?" Ava suggested. "And I can help too." Added Brittany.

Lincoln went through various different exercises. The staircase model helped him learn to put more pressure on his leg, the handlebars helped him learn to balance, and treadmills helped him get used to walking without the cane. He and Brittany talked the whole time. Though she didn't ask, Lincoln told her what had happened to him and the result shocked her. Aside from that. Brittany told him ways to ignore judgmental people and some of her hobbies and interests. The more they talked, the happier Lincoln became.

After an hour, Lincoln was slowly getting his strength back. He was still limping, but he didn't have to use the cane anymore! Ava was very impressed. "I'm amazed Lincoln. It's only been an hour and you're walking well enough without your cane! That's amazing!" "Thanks Ava." Said Lincoln, who was now feeling much better.

As Ava went to the lobby to take care of something. Brittany spoke to Lincoln. "I really had fun helping you today. You're great." She said. "Thanks. You're great too." Replied Lincoln. "Say, do you think you'd want to hang out sometime? I know some great places around here." "I'd love to Lincoln, but, I actually live in Hazeltucky. My parents bring me here because it's the only P.T center close to us. But, we can still call each other if that's ok." Lincoln liked that idea. "Yeah, I'd like that." She pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled her number on it. Then, her phone buzzed. "Oh, my dad's here. I gotta go. It was really nice meeting you Lincoln!" And she leaned in a gave him a hug. As she drove away, Lincoln felt happier than he had been all day.

Later, Ava was waiting with Lincoln outside for Rita to pick him up. "I'm really proud of you kiddo. You're a strong boy. And I know you're going to do great in this world." "Thank you Ava. You're very kind."

Soon, Rita arrived. She and Ava introduced themselves and talked for a bit. Ava told her about Lincoln recovering quickly and how Brittany had helped him feel better about his situation. Rita was absolutely thrilled to hear that Lincoln had made a new friend.

Soon, they were on their way home. As they drove, Lincoln told Rita all about Brittany. "She's really great! She helped me during my exercises and we both have some of the same interests!" Said Lincoln happily.

"I'm so happy for you sweetie." Said Rita happily. They continued to drive home as Rita said to herself. "Thank you."

Stay tuned for chapter 7!