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D A Z Z L E |
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To see the hidden story, just click on the sparkling background. Then, click CTRL and A together.(cool, huh?) |
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The DAZZLING Stranger Ruthie’s three sisters were older, pretty,
and they could dance and do flips. They had friends who came over and laughed
about secret things. Ruthie was good at math. That was it. She had no
friends, and no secrets. In math class, being good at math was pretty
fun. She stood out in that class. And when it was time to take a test, lots
of people wanted to sit near her. Other times, when the teacher needed
someone to help explain something, she would be asked to do it and that was
fun, too. Finally, her math teacher liked her and she liked him, so that was
fun. In fact, math class was the best part of her day Unfortunately, Ruthie didn’t have math
class all day long. She had to
spend hours in classes like English, history, and computers. She was not good
at any of those things. So, she kind of ignored everyone, sat quietly, and
tried to be invisible. And even though everybody knew her name and was nice
to her, she had no friends. The worst time of the day for her was P.E. You
see, Ruthie couldn’t catch a ball or play sports. And when it came to
pick teams, she was never wanted. So, her coach came up with an idea. He
would let her keep score. Now, they chose Ruthie to be scorekeeper every
single time. It was because, of course, she was good at math. She
didn’t enjoy it, but it was easier than getting teased for dropping the
ball or getting hit on the head. And one day, it turned out to be a good
thing she was keeping score – a really good thing. That day, Ruthie was sitting on the bleachers
keeping score and hoping the basketball game would finish early. She was
bored and wanted to leave, though she knew that in her next class, she would
just blend into the background – same as always. Then, suddenly, a stranger came into the
classroom. It was a new boy, and he was very tall and very handsome.
Everybody soon learned that he was going to be in their class, and when the
teacher introduced him, they found out his name was Jim. All the girls smiled at Jim. All the boys did,
too. He had such a nice face and such a neat smile that everyone liked him.
When the teacher asked him if he’d like to join the game, he said,
“No, thank you.” Then, he sat on the bleachers by Ruthie and he
smiled at her. “Hi,” he said. Up close, he was even
more amazing than he had seemed from across the room. Ruthie felt shy and she
could not speak to answer him. She just nodded. Then, she got back to keeping
score. “It’s two points, not one,” he
told her after a while. “What?” For a second, she didn’t
understand what he meant, and then she realized he was pointing to the
scoreboard. She was very nervous, but she listened when he said,
“It’s supposed to be two points there, not one.” She
realized her mistake and fixed it. “Yes, thank you,” she finally
said. They spent the whole class period watching the
game together and once in a while, Jim would even talk to her. It was hard to
be friendly, but she tried to carry on her side of the conversation. She was
surprised, but also very happy that he seemed to want to be her friend. After a while, she began to relax and enjoy
herself. Then, after the game, Jim helped Ruthie put away the chalkboard that
she had been using to keep score. He also offered to help her put away all
the sports equipment. Finally, he walked with her to History, because they
had the same class. They didn’t have any other classes
together that day, so Ruthie thought that she probably wouldn’t get to
see him again, but at lunch, Jim sat with Ruthie. Then, other people came to
the table. He had invited the shy, quiet kids to sit with them. Even though
they seemed nervous, he got them all talking and they had a nice time. After school, they played tag in the park
together, and Jim walked Ruthie home afterward. “Mom, this is
Jim,” Ruthie said as they walked into the kitchen. Mom gave them both
some melted ham and cheese sandwiches. Jim said her mom’s sandwiches
smelled great and Ruthie smiled. Mom gave them orange juice and they sat down
to eat. Jim and Ruthie ate and then he said, “I
have to go home. It was nice meeting you, Ruthie. You are a sweet
person.” He left with a smile and a wave. The next day, Jim was not in school. The teacher
did not know what had happened to him. “He didn’t call to say he
would not be here today.” Then, another day passed and still Jim did
not come. But just as they had done when Jim was there,
the shy kids all sat together for lunch and talked. They played together
after school, too. After a while, they became close friends, and they had
secret things to laugh about like Ruthie’s big sisters did. Next week, they found out that Jim’s
family had moved away because his Grandma got sick. He wrote a letter to the
school thanking them for making him feel welcome, but no one ever saw him
again. Still, Ruthie never forgot the dazzling stranger who made school fun
for her and all her new friends. The End |
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