Growing up I've never fit in anywhere, especially in my class. I always get dirty looks by everyone and I don't know why. Maybe because I'm different? But how? I don't even know what I'm doing wrong.
I'm Chloe and I go to Westwood Academy school. Right now I'm in the eighth grade. It's living Hell! Every day when I go to school everyone stares at me. It makes me anxious because I've always cared about what people think of me. At lunch I always sit in the corner somewhere and draw. Since I was a kid drawing has been my passion and my way of relaxing. Nobody knows what I like or what I do but, honestly, I prefer It that way. Every time I feel scared or anxious, I draw. From the fifth grade I've been bullied by some of my classmates. Rhea are Diana, Henry and Nora. They keep saying I'm weird for always being quiet and getting scared when talking to people. My mom tries to comfort me by saying to just ignore them and that it's normal that some people get social anxiety like me. My mom once told me if anyone says something mean to me, I should tell a teacher or someone about it, but my teacher Mrs. Williams says that I need to work on myself and not be a baby. That's why I don't tell anyone because they won't do anything. Even if I try to tell principal Harry, he just laughs it off and says "it's just a joke". For me, that's not something to joke about. Recently, for the past weeks I've been feeling sick. Each day in class I feel like I will throw up. My head would start to hurt and I would feel dizzy. I didn't think much of it until one morning I was brushing my hair and noticed it started to fall out. I panicked. I ran to the kitchen and told mom about it. She was shocked and rushed me to the hospital. Doctor Kenny examined me and after looking at my results, he looked at my mom with serious face and said that I had stage 4 cancer and I needed to get special treatment, which costs a lot of money. My mom looked pale when he said the news. She's always struggled with finances because she's a single mom working two jobs the whole day. I know she works very hard and she's always exhausted after work. She's a brave woman and even though she's exhausted, she makes time for me and smiles at me, but that smile feels "off". Maybe because I know she fakes it just to make me think that everything is okay. I wonder if she still thinks of dad. Maybe that's why she looks sad? My dad left when I was 11 years old. I remember that day when he yelled at mom and left with another "better" woman and asked for divorce. When he left she was crying hard in her room. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to make things worse. Few months pasted since the doctor diagnosed me with Cancer and I only got worse.And I also got bullied even more in class. My mom was very stressed out because of my treatment and other bills were coming. The only thing I could hope for was to get better.
Today after school I was walking home and my bullies were in front of me. As usual, they said mean and hurtful things. I started to cry. I didn't know how to defend myself until a guy came and stood beside me. My bullies just took one look at him and walked away. When he turned around I recognized him. He was the same age as me, but in a different class. I never really talked to him. He seemed nice. He looked at me and smiled. That smile was different. It was soft and gentle. He said I was beautiful and I shouldn't let them bully me. I was shocked. Nobody ever told me that. After that day we became friends and talked a lot. He would always stay next to me if anyone tried to say something mean or bully me again. And because of him I opened up a little bit to others and started to be friends with other classmates. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be confident enough to even stand up for myself if I was getting picked on. I started to get to know him better. His name is Mark and he also likes to draw like me. He told me that in the past he was also quiet and didn't talk to anyone and when he saw me it was like he saw himself and that's why he couldn't let me get bullied. Few weeks passed and I got better. My hair was growing back! And when I came to my doctor for a check-up, he told me I managed to get rid of Cancer. I couldn't believe it and neither did my mom. We were both so happy that we celebrated in a small coffee shop downtown. The day after, I came running to Mark and told him the news. He was so happy for me. When I came home, I got a text from him. He asked me if we could meet up the next day. I woke up early in the morning and waited for him next to a park. He came with flowers and confessed he had feelings for me and even before we met he had a crush on me, but didn't have enough courage to come up to me and talk to me.He asked me to be his girlfriend. I was so excited so I said yes.
From that day on, everything changed. I started to se the world with different eyes and I started to smile. Mark and I were walking together on Monday evening and saw a little kid looking sad. I asked him what was wrong. He told me he didn't have many friends and that he didn't fit in very well. I told him no to worry and that everything would be alright. He looked up at me and smiled. That beautiful smile that made a difference was everything I've ever needed.