Layla and her family lived in a large house in a neighborhood full of kids. She made friends easily and Layla would often have friends over to play in her backyard. They’d play “Kick-the-Can” and “Hide and Seek” and run and laugh until dark. Next door lived a grouchy old man named Harry Smith. He would often grumble about Layla’s dog barking or if anyone stepped on his lawn. The kids in the neighborhood referred to Layla’s neighbor as “Scary Harry”. He would often shake his fist and yell at the children through the window to stop making so much noise. One day Layla was feeling guilty for all the names that she and the neighborhood kids called the old man next door. She told her mom about the way she was feeling. Her mom asked her what she was going to do about it? Her mom told her that she would support her in her decision. Layla knew that meant that her mom wanted her to start solving her own problems. After some thought, Layla decided to bake some of her homemade oatmeal and raisin cookies and bring them over to Mr. Smith. Nervously, she rang the doorbell and waited on Mr. Smith’s front steps. When Mr. Smith finally arrived at the door, he couldn’t help but smile at Layla as she handed him the platter of cookies. They became friends of an unlikely sort. “Scary Mr. Harry” was actually a war veteran full of fascinating stories and a great listener. Layla would share her own “war stories” of growing up, and Mr. Smith would give a comforting smile and tell her it would all be o.k. 

Marcos and Sergio were cousins and the best of friends. Their mothers were sisters and since times were tough, they shared a home. The boys had grown up together and they were similar in many ways. They shared the same interests, and even the same chores. They were quite different however in the way the handled their money that they earned for these chores. Marcos liked to save most of his allowance each week and he would only spend a little of it here and there. The rest of the money would go straight into a bank account that his grandfather help set up for him. Marcos was saving up for a Go-kart that he had wanted forever (so it seemed). Sergio, on the other hand, spent his allowance like it was burning a hole in his pocket. He was constantly buying soda pop, candy, comic books, and anything he could get a hold of. Sergio did not have any money left over to put in the bank. His bank account was bare. Months went by, and the time came when Marcos had finally saved enough money for the Go-kart that he had been dreaming about. On the big day, his mother drove him to the bank to withdraw the money for the long awaited prize. Excitement overcame Marcos as he entered the sporting goods store, and pointed out the “lemon twist-yellow hot rod (o.k. it was just a Go-kart) that he was about to buy. His mother helped him purchase the rest of the safety gear he needed for his new rig. Marcos had a blast riding his new Go-Kart at his uncle’s property. Meanwhile, Sergio watched as his cousin enjoyed the payoff of his frugality. Sergio regretted his silly spending choices and agreed to follow Marcos’ money management advice. He vowed that some day they would ride, side by side, enjoying the same “fruits of their labor”.

Ashley’s mother worked for a wealthy family ~ The Sheltons. Her mother provided maid services for them such as: cleaning bathrooms, doing dishes, washing windows, and laundering clothes. Ashley would often help around their own apartment. She and her mom would dance, listen to music, and often make a game out of even the most tedious chores. Ashley and her mother had always been close. One day, Ashley went along to the Shelton's to help her mother. Her mother had told her that “it would be fun” and that she would give Ashley a small allowance if she would help her with cleaning the house. When they arrived in the neighborhood, there was a special code that they had to enter at the gate to even get to the house. Ashley’s eyes widened as she and her mother pulled up to the mansion. The lawn was manicured like a golf course and beautiful flowers adorned the front yard. Even the bushes looked like big emerald sculptures. As they entered the home, Ashley was astonished by the grandness of the home. She asked permission to explore a little. She came upon a bedroom where she heard some crying. Peeking in the door she saw a girl about Ashley’s age and quickly introduced herself as to not startle her. The girl told Ashley that her name was Abigail. Ashley asked Abigail what was wrong and Abigail told her that she was just lonely. She went on to say that she hadn’t seen her father for two months because he was “away on business” and her mother was never around because of her work schedule. A strange feeling came over Ashley, almost a guilt, as she thought about how envious that she had always been of “rich girls”. Abigail asked Ashley if she wanted to swim in her swimming pool with her. Ashley politely declined, as she knew she was there to work. Ashley smiled and said…”maybe next time!” The girls exchanged phone numbers and made plans to get together soon. When Ashley asked Abigail what she wanted to do, Abigail replied….”Just talk.”

“Yah, that would be awesome…Let me call you right back!” Jesse hung up the phone excitedly. Blake, one of the popular kids in his class, had invited him to his birthday party. The party was going to be at Skate Central Roller Rink…his favorite place to hang out. There were cool “old-school” video games there, laser light shows, and the best pizza in town. Jesse was staying with his grandma because his parents were out of town, and he was sure that she would agree to take him to the party. Jesse ran down stairs to ask for his grandma’s permission. As he entered the kitchen, he saw his grandma sitting at the table with a board game set up and a big bright smile on her face. “You don’t think you’ll beat me twice do you?..” she said, with a twinkle in her eye. Jesse had forgotten that he had told her that they would play board games and order Chinese food, like they often did together. Despite his guilty feeling, he couldn’t resist asking her if he could go to Blake’s birthday party instead. His grandma, trying to hide her disappointment, gave Jesse a gentle smile and agreed to take him to the party. At Skate Central they played video games, skated, and ate pizza. Everyone was having a blast. Everyone that is, except for Jesse. He felt horrible for leaving his grandma home alone and breaking their plans together. Jesse’s friends even commented and asked him what was up with his bad mood. Jesse finally couldn’t stand his guilty conscience any longer, and staying at the party just wasn’t worth it. He asked to use the phone at the front desk to call his grandma to see if she could pick him up early. “Of course honey…I’ll come to get you. Is everything alright?” his grandma replied worriedly. ~ Even though Jesse’s grandmother was not mad at him for going to the party, he was angry with himself for being selfish. He made himself a promise that night.

Trinity wanted a puppy so badly and begged her mom and dad for one whenever an opportunity came up. She had always loved dogs and would watch National Canine Competitions and any dog shows she could find on television. Trinity desperately wanted a pure bred German Shepherd ever since she had seen “Aphrodite - Goddess of Beauty”, win the BEST IN SHOW in the National Kennel Club Competition. She decided that she wouldn’t be satisfied with just any dog. Trinity’s birthday arrived and her heart pounded as her dad carried in her gift which was hard to disguise. It was obviously a puppy kennel with a blanket strewn across it to conceal its contents. Wild with excitement, Trinity raced over and ripped off the blanket. Her eyes fell upon the contents of her gift, and there looking up at her was a scruffy, awkward little puppy. Trinity tried to act thrilled to receive a puppy that she had always asked for. But, inside she was deeply disappointed with the scrawny, little, floppy-eared “mutt” she saw in front of her. This pup was certainly a far cry from “Aphrodite - Goddess of Beauty”. Trinity’s father explained that he had gotten the puppy from a friend at work who needed to find a home for the puppy. It was the runt of the litter and no one was interested in adopting him. Her dad went on to say that he was sorry that he couldn’t get her a German Shepherd pup like she had wanted, but they were just too expensive. The puppy whimpered, poked his nose out of the kennel, and blinked his little brown eyes as he looked up at Trinity. Trinity’s heart immediately softened and she pulled him from the kennel into her arms. The puppy gently licked her face and nibbled on her ear. She felt a little ashamed of how she felt at first and quickly had a change of attitude. She ended up naming the puppy Gus, and he grew up to be loyal and smart. Gus had become Trinity’s best friend and although Gus would probably never win any fancy competitions, he had won her heart. 

The big day had arrived of the “Pride Assembly” at school. Three times a year, students were recognized by their teachers for academic success and behavior. The winners would receive a fancy certificate, recognition from the principal, a t-shirt, and their pictures were taken and hung up on the “Wall of Fame”. After the ceremony, cake and punch were served to the winners. Parents of the winners were notified to come to see the ceremony and the whole school watched as the few selected students received their awards. It was a big honor for the students who received the award. The recipients remained a secret until they announced the “Pride Award” winners at the assembly. The kids were called to the auditorium and the audience was abuzz of kids whispering to each other about who they thought would receive the awards. They kept turning to look at the back where the parents sat to see if they could get a glimpse of whose parents or family were there. Often, it was fairly obvious to the students who was going to receive the awards. It was time for the teachers to announce the winners of the awards and hand out the certificates. Several names were called and the children clapped as their classmates received their awards. Some students in the audience gave the winners a “thumbs-up”, while others pouted because they thought that they should have won. Just as the ceremony was coming to a close, Ms. Valdez, the principal, announced that she had one more special “Character Award” to give. She began by saying that the boy winning this award was a student who she saw in the grocery store one day. Ms. Valdez said that this student did not know that she was there as she was behind him in the checkout aisle. She watched as this boy was polite and courteous to the clerk and even returned a fifty dollar bill to a gentleman who had dropped it. ~ As Ms. Valdez announced the name of this student, she ended by saying that what had impressed her the most about this boy was that this behavior was displayed even “when no one was looking” ..... (so he thought).

Adam had never learned to snowboard or ski. When he moved to a mountain town called Winter Gulch, he met a group of kids from school who went snowboarding almost every weekend. Winter sports were such a big deal that the kids had a longer school day Mondays through Thursdays and didn’t attend school on Fridays so they could go snowboarding or skiing. This I could get used to, Adam thought , and besides... how hard can snowboarding really be? The kids from school finally asked Adam if he wanted to go with them to “take a couple laps through the terrain park and stomp some big jumps”. Everyone just assumed that Adam could snowboard or ski. Adam was too prideful to tell them that he couldn’t, and that he had never even been in the mountains until he and his family moved to Winter Gulch. Adam couldn’t believe that he had just let them believe that he was a snowboarder. He agreed to meet them at the resort. When Adam arrived at the park, all the kids had their own boards and gear. He told the kids that he needed to rent some gear for the day and made some excuse as to why he didn’t have his own. He went on to say that he would meet up with them later. Adam went up the ski lift and fell immediately as he unloaded. He prayed that none of the kids had seen him. He knew right away that the sport was much harder than he first thought. Adam fell on his face; he fell on his back; he fell on his side, then he almost ran into someone. He was totally OC (out of control)! He lost his goggles, hat, and gloves… what a “yard sale”! An instructor saw Adam struggling and approached him to help. Together they got down the mountain. Adam was visibly shaken and exhausted from his first run. Just then, Drake, one of the kids that he was supposed to meet, rode up to him and sprayed him with snow. Drake pushed his goggles up and said, “Dude….I saw what happened,…that was gnarly!” “Why didn’t you just tell us you didn’t know how to shred?” “We can help you bro…that’s what friends do.” 

A new girl named Nina moved to Green Acres. It was a small town, so when someone new arrived, all the kids heard about it. When Nina first came to class, all the kids stared as Ms. Milbrandt introduced her and directed her to her seat at the back of the room. With her head down, she sheepishly took her seat and started to unpack her school supplies from her back pack. The entire contents of her tattered back pack were a few used pencils, a small journal, and a broken eraser. Nina’s hair was tangled, her clothes were stained, and her shoes were ragged and worn. Almost immediately, kids began to stare at Nina. Amy, one of the popular girls in class, began to whisper to her crew of other “It Girls” and point at Nina. Nina could feel the blood rush to her face as she endured the behavior from the girls. Ever since Kindergarten, Amy seemed to “run the show” when it came to who was let in the popular crowd, and who was ousted. Amy was a pretty girl (if you didn’t go past the way she looked), and other girls seemed frightened to stand up to her, as they were afraid of being targeted themselves. Nonetheless, Amy seemed to possess a strange power that was hard to resist. Amy decided to make it her new hobby to pick on Nina. She never did anything to Nina in front of Ms. Milbrandt, but when Ms. Milbrandt turned her back, Amy began her quiet terrorizing. Amy would laugh as she would “accidentally” knock Nina’s books on the floor or make rude gestures and crude remarks. This bullying went on for a few days until Kadie, one of the “It Girls”, had had enough of Amy’s antics and decided to take a stand against Amy’s cruel conduct. Kadie invited Nina to sit with her at lunch and hang out with her at recess. Nina shyly accepted Kadie’s invitation and for the first time since arriving at Green Acres, she smiled. Kadie knew that she would be giving up her position in the “It Girl” crew by befriending Nina, but she did not care. She was just ashamed she hadn’t acted sooner. For the first time in a long time, Kadie didn’t feel like an imposter, being someone she was not. Kadie soon realized that she and Nina had quite a bit in common, and despite her appearance, Nina was smart and funny. Interestingly enough, the other “It Girls” followed Kadie’s lead, and joined the girls at lunch. And, can you guess who sat alone that day at lunch, with a lot to think about...? 

Anthony and Max had been best friends since they were in pre school. Their mothers worked together in the same office building, they lived in the same neighborhood, and attended the same school. Anthony was a great athlete and was good at every sport it seemed. Anthony struggled with his school work from time to time, but that’s what Max was for ; he would be right there to help him through the tough assignments in class. Max, on the other hand, was a straight A student and although he wasn’t a great athlete, excelled at nearly every subject at school. They both knew their strengths and understood their shortcomings. Despite their differences, they had the greatest time together. They had even made a pact that they’d be friends forever. One summer Anthony’s dad helped the boys build a tree house in the giant oak tree in Anthony’s back yard. When the boys weren’t at the local swimming pool, they’d spend their time in the tree house playing video games, reading comic books, and telling stories. Inside the tree house, they hung posters, and carved their names and the names of girls at school they had crushes on. Time passed, and the boys got older. The time that they spent in the tree house became less and less, as they occupied their time with other things as teenagers do. They would still sometimes look up at the big tree and the rickety old boards that formed the walls, and laugh at all the fun times they had up there. Anthony and Max went to high school together and continued to have different interests. They hung out with different crowds now, but some how, they had always managed to find time to hang out with each other too. The time came when the tree house would have to be taken down. The old oak, which supported the little house for so long was brittle and dying, and its branches were no longer safe to climb. Anthony and Max helped Anthony’s dad take down the old tree house. They were a little embarrassed when they looked at each other with a few tears in their eyes. They wondered why that old tree house had meant so much to them

I knew it was the wrong decision when I saw the butterfly flutter from my palm and fly out of sight. The wings were mostly a brilliant orange with black veins running throughout. The outer edge of the wings had a thick, black border. Decorating the border of its wings were pearly white spots ranging in size. At the upper corner of the top set of wings were teardrop shaped, reddish-orange spots. I still remember to this day all this detail. With it gone, I had to focus again on my brother and his friends as they played their baseball game at our local park. Actually, that’s not true at all. I wasn’t really focused on their game, but my anxiety about being next up to bat. I didn’t play sports ~ I still don’t ~ but my older brother brought me along. In his words, “C’mon Billy, I just think you need to move your body a little more.” There was no cruelty in his words, but they stung nonetheless. I knew that he meant I was too “soft in the middle” and needed to slim down a little and look more like he did. ~ There I was standing on the sidelines of our local park’s baseball diamond. I guess I was standing there out of self blame for being a quiet, shy boy who watched life from his bedroom window and drew pictures of nature and wrote adventure stories of talking trees and animals. I was standing there because I told my brother I would play, but when that butterfly flew away, I knew I made the wrong decision. ~ You see, I went on to make a fool of myself that day. I know the age old advice…If at first you don’t succeed; try, try again. I realized that I didn’t want to succeed in baseball, nor any sport for that matter. That day, I really just wanted to watch that butterfly and maybe think of an adventure to write about

Destiny sat alone at recess. She had asked several girls to play, but they all turned down her invitations. No matter what anyone said or did, Destiny always had to brag about herself and tell a story to make herself look better than everyone else. Everyone began to get tired of always being interrupted or “one-upped” all the time. Not only did it get extremely annoying, but more than once, she was caught telling lies. Destiny was losing her friends and she knew it. She wasn’t sure what to do. How did things get this bad? Destiny’s birthday was coming up and her parents gave her permission to invite up to five friends to a sleepover at her house. She narrowed down her list of girls to invite and handed out her invitations. Destiny thought this sleepover would be a good opportunity to gain some of her friendships back. To her surprise though, all five girls made an excuse as to why they couldn’t go to her party! Destiny felt her heart break. Destiny’s teacher had overheard several of these conversations, and asked Destiny to have lunch with her. Ms. White then had a very honest talk with Destiny and helped her see for herself why everyone was declining her party invitations. Destiny had a good cry and knew what she must do. From then on, Destiny made a mindful effort to listen more than talk and let others share their own achievements or stories. She also realized that telling fibs was no way to make and keep friends either. It wasn’t too long before Destiny found that her classmates were more accepting of her friendship and invites. She knew now how to change her own “Destiny”.