Chapter 1
Jennie was 7 years old when she met her for the first time…
A young, seven-year-old girl leaned against the base of a tree, hiding her face in her knees as sobs wrecked through her body. The young girl was the new student at the elementary school, having just moved to Athalia, Ohio from Korea. It was her first day of school and she had been excited about the prospect of making new friends. She had spent the whole car ride jumping up and down in her seat, anxious to meet new people. Her mother had walked her to the main office before leaving her there with a fond smile and a kiss on the forehead, sure that she was leaving her in capable hands.
The principal smiled amusedly at the girl who looked like she was about to burst from excitement. “Follow me, I’ll take you to your first class”, she told her. The girl followed him down a long hallway, looking at the posters sticking on the walls. He stopped in front of a wooden door and knocked on it, waiting until a kind-looking woman stuck her head out. She saw the small girl standing beside the principal and smiled kindly at her. “I’ll take it from here” she told the principal.
“Hello Jennie, my name is Ms. Willows and I will be your teacher during the rest of the year”. Jennie smiled at her. She motioned at the young girl to come in and then turned to face the class. “Everyone, say hello to Jennie, she has just moved here from Korea so I want everyone to give her a warm welcome”. Turning to look at Jennie, she motioned her forward. “Why don’t you tell us something about you so we can get to know you?”.
Jennie smiled brightly at her new classmates. “I am Jennie, I has no siblings and I loves musik” she told them proudly. Her classmates started laughing at her broken English. “Go back to Korea” a voice shouted at her from the back, making the others laugh even harder. “
“Hey, that’s not how you treat a classmate” Ms. Willows told them angrily. “Whoever, said that better apologize to Jennie right now”. The silence stretched on, as everyone was unwilling to admit who had shouted the harsh words. With an apologetic glance at the confused girl, Ms. Willows told her to sit down so they could start the class.
Jennie couldn’t understand why everyone had laughed like that and sat down in her appointed seat wondering what she had done wrong. The rest of the day went by quietly and soon it was time for recess. The whole class ran out the moment the bell rang, leaving Jennie behind with only the teacher for company. Ms. Willows walked up to Jennie’s seat, where she was still sitting and smiled sadly down at her. “I apologize for what happened earlier. Kids your age can be really cruel. But don’t worry, not everyone is like that.” She waited for a response but when she saw she wasn’t going to get one she smiled at the young girl once more before leaving the classroom.
Jennie was still confused about what had happened but she took Ms. Willow’s words about not everyone being like that to heart and stood up, eager once again to make new friends. She followed the noise of children playing and laughing all the way to the playground. She stood in the edge of the playground for a few minutes, watching the other kids playing around and trying to decide where to go to first. After watching for a while, a group of girls her age caught her eye. They were sitting on the grass in a circle laughing and watching a group of older kids playing a game of football. Jennie approached them with a smile. The moment they noticed her standing there they immediately stopped talking and turned to look at her. Jennie felt nervousness bubble in her stomach at their stares but she ignored it and instead tried introducing herself. “Hello, I am Jennie”, she told them, proudly smiling at the fact that she hadn’t stuttered. The girls, however, burst out laughing the moment they heard her thick accent. Jennie’s smile crumbled as the girls continued laughing. Feeling embarrassed, the young girl quickly turned around and ran, wanting to get away from the mocking laughter. She got to the edge of the playground, the farthest she could get away from the group of girls, before sitting down on the shade offered by a large apple tree. Jennie watched the other kids laughing with their friends for a few seconds before the first tears made their way down her cheeks. Before long, she had her head buried in her knees, her little body trembling with the force of her sobs.
After a short while, Jennie was surprised by the feeling of a hand resting on her shoulder. She looked up, wiping away tears as she did, and saw a girl her age standing before her. The girl in question had long dark hair, light brown eyes and was tall for her age, especially compared to Jennie’s small height. The girl sat down in front of Jennie without a word and smiled at her. “I’ve never seen you before, who are you?”, the girl asked her bluntly, but not unkindly.
The girl couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but something about the warmth and kindness that the blonde girl’s smile radiated made her feel safe. “I’m Jennie” she told her, smiling back shyly, tears long forgotten. And when the girl had no reaction whatsoever to her accent, she knew that Ms. Willow had been right, because this girl was definitely not like the other kids. “I’m Lisa”.