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CHAPTER 1
It was a nice day to walk to the bus stop. Steve offered to get his little brother, Richard, off the bus. Richard liked when his brother came to get him off the bus.
Playing football and wrestling took up a lot of Steve's time, so when the springtime came, Steve liked to do things for Richard.
Richard was quiet all the way home.
When they got inside, Steve asked, "What's wrong Richard?"
"I have a problem!" Richard said.
Richard told Steve there was a new girl in school. She had just moved here with her family. "The teacher said she was from Poland," said Richard. "Some of the kids are making fun of how she talks. I wanted to include her in our baseball game at recess, but it was just us boys, and they said she couldn't play. She sat by herself," Richard exclaimed, "and she looked so sad."
Steve sat down with Richard. "You know, when we first moved here, you were just a baby. I was the new kid in school. I was overweight back then, and kids made fun of me." Steve put his hand on Richard's shoulder. "I was sad." Steve paused for a moment and added, "Then, I made a friend, and he included me at recess. My weight made me different from the other kids until someone had the courage to say that it didn't. I wound up being a pretty good football player."
Richard couldn't believe it. "You were the new kid? You were different? How could that be?" asked Richard. His brother had so many friends. His brother was the captain of his wrestling team. It was hard to imagine his big brother not being included in any games at recess.
"Richard," Steve sighed. "What's this new girls" name?"
Richard answered, "Her name is Alexandra. She has long brown hair, and she likes to draw!"
"Don't you like to draw too?" Steve asked.
"Yes," said Richard.
"Well then, you are the same," said Steve.
Richard knew what he had to do, but he wondered how he would do it. It wasn't just that Alexandra was new or that she spoke differently. It was also that she was a GIRL!
Girls had never played baseball with the boys before. When Alexandra asked if she could play, she was laughed at. Richard knew she felt bad.
Richard thought hard.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Choosing Kindness"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Steven Michael Grudzien.
Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
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