I Decided To Become A Nice Person, My Incredible Journey
that winter when I was in fifth grade the world turned all white with snow our classroom was cozy but one day the principal brought in a new girl named Maya she seemed shy and wore old clothes our teacher Miss Albert asked us to welcome her but most of us stayed quiet Maya sat next to me smiled but I moved away I friends were Kendra and Sophie we whispered secrets and giggled together Maya tried to join us once with her toys but we said no as days passed we whispered and laughed about Maya's old clothes and strange toys we didn't want to play with her as spring arrived Maya wore a pretty dress but it looked like someone else's we called her never knew and laughed again one day she jumped rope alone not looking at us this time she didn't ask us if we wanted to play with her she jumped and jumped and jumped until we went back inside then one day Maya didn't come to school in class that morning we talked about kindness Miss
Albert placed a big bowl on her desk and filled it with water we all gathered around and watched her drop a small Stone into it tiny waves spread out from the stone this is what kindness is like every little act we do sends ripples into the world then miss Albert Let each of us drop a stone in while sharing Our Kind Deeds Joseph had helped his grandmother Kendra changed her baby brother's diaper and even Andrew the bully had done something nice by carrying the teacher's books upstairs I stood there holding Miss Albert's Rock but I couldn't think of anything to share I passed the stone on Maya didn't come to school the next day or the day after that every morning I walked to school slowly hoping today would be the day Maya returned and smiled at me I promised myself this would be the day I smiled back Each Kindness Mrs Albert had said makes the whole world a little bit better but Maya never came back to school Miss Albert told us she had to move away I walked home alone thinking of the smiles I never shared the kindness I never gave I threw stones into the pond watching the ripples it was like the chances of of being kind to Maya were gone forever that day as I walked home alone from school I noticed a boy standing on the corner looking lost and confused hey are you okay I think I'm lost I can't find my way home I thought about what Miss Albert had taught us about kindness so I decided to help you know what you can come with me to my house and we'll figure it out from there thank you so much I really appreciate it he followed me and as we walked we started chatting I'm Hope by the way I'm Jake nice to meet you hope he looked poor and I thought my wealthy family would be thrilled to help someone in need well not exactly Jake and I entered the house while my parents were in the middle of an argument they stopped immediately when they saw us hope who is this so remember when I said I wanted to start being kind well I found this boy who seemed lost and I thought we could help him find his way home are you out of your mind what if he's a serial killer or someone dangerous he's 12 mom and since you're overreacting I'll take him to my room come on Jake let's go I took his hand and led him upstairs to my bedroom mom was such a a narcissist even though I was young I could see right through her like this one time when I was six I was excited for take your child to work day I thought Mom would show me off at her big office but nope she was too busy shining like a star with her work friends I tried to keep up with her but she didn't even look at me it was like I was invisible then at lunch while I was alone munching on a cheese sandwich I overheard her her boss said she was great at her job and she told him kids would just get in my way ouch that stung I was sitting right there and she acted like I did didn't exist it hit me hard to Mom her job was everything and me I just didn't fit into her perfect picture and from that day on I didn't look at her the same way if she wasn't going to act like my mom I wasn't going to treat her like one but in my bedroom Jake had a point not to be rude but aren't you being a bit mean to your mom even though you're trying to be kinder well zip it or I'll beat you in the next game now pass me the PlayStation controller game on and just like that Jake and I hit it off he was new in town and didn't have much that's why he was lost that Day Mom didn't like us hanging out but I didn't let that bother me life was more fun with Jake and I felt like I was really becoming nicer a few weeks later I asked Dad if Jake could join my private school dad always called me as little princess and would do anything for me so he said yes well my best friends Kendra and Sophie hadn't changed one bit they were still pretty mean I kept Jake a secret from them for the last few months Jake and I agreed to act like strangers at school until I figured things out and felt brave enough to be his friend openly the day Jake started at school ker and Sophie surprised me look at that hottie over there he looks poor but God I'd pay him to be my boyfriend yeah let's pay him together we can share him so when Maya joined us last year we didn't want to hang out with her because she didn't have much money but now you're all excited about a guy just because he's good-looking oh my God why are you so obsessed with this Maya girl listen Sophie let's hire some private investigator to find this Maya for our friend and she can just shut up about it you're hilarious but seriously just leave Jake at out of your games wait how do you know his name you ever heard a teacher say it but really just leave him be you know hope since you're so insistent now I really want to talk to him let's go Sophie great just what I needed they went to him and said hey there Jake you're new here right yeah we thought you looked interesting want to hang out with us Jake seemed to be taken aback but agreed to chat with them for the next few days Kendra and Sophie became interested in Jake they wanted him to be their friend but they had a different plan in mind they offered him money to run errands and do things for them I tried to warn Jake that he was worth more than being used like that but he didn't listen he said if you want me to stop helping them you'll have to tell them that we're friends I didn't know what to say to that I wasn't ready to ruin my image by having a poor friend especially because Kendra and Sophie wouldn't stop laughing at me yeah that's what I thought with those words Jake distanced himself from me and grew closer to Kendra and Sophie they started giving him more money and he became somewhat distant I missed my friend then one day I saw Jake holding their coats and acting like a servant I'd had enough enough I approached him and dragged him aside why are you acting like this don't you have any dignity you want money fine I'll give you money just stop hanging out with them well I don't mind helping the prettiest and most popular girls in school everyone now respects me and thinks I'm cool and also I don't know why but you act like you're better than them well I am you'd rather see them treating me like this than standing up for your friend because you're too ashamed to have someone like me as a friend how does that make you better than them at least they're nice to their parents while you're rude to your mom and Tak advantage of your sweet dad you never show him any love tears welled up in my eyes but I couldn't speak so I just stormed off to make things worse that night my mom came to my room and said hey hope I wanted to let you know that I've decided to divorce your dad I've packed my things and I'm leaving in the morning I came to ask if you wanted to come and live with me although I already know what you'll say yeah since you already know please leave and close the door behind you mom left and I buried my head in the pillow letting out a frustrated scream but I refused to let my tears fall I took a deep breath and decided I was going to take matters into my own hands tomorrow I was going to teach all these jerks a lesson the moment I saw Jake the next morning I said I'm going to ask my dad to stop paying for your school if you don't stop hanging out with Kendra and Sophie how about that yeah cool I'll ask Kendra and Sophie to help they'd love to now please go away I have some things to do yeah like licking Kendra's shoes for example suddenly Jake looked at me with Angry Eyes and a Stern expression he held my shoulders and pushed me back slightly listen hope you need to understand that you're acting like a bully even if you don't see it threatening your friend to do things that only benefit you is selfish and wrong I appreciate everything you've done for me but for now please don't talk to me whenever you see me just look the other way I hope you have a good life hope and with that he walked away I stood there in shock then rushed to the bathroom to let out my feelings when I got there I found Kendra and Sophie laughing and chatting in a moment of frustration I said listen you two you need to stop treating Jake like he's here to do your commands wa calm down girl we don't treat him like that at all he's just a nice guy who offers to help but you pay him yeah so what if you have a friend who has less money than you and could use some help why not oh come on we all know you're not exactly the nicest people yeah we're not denying that but at least we're not ashamed to be seen with a less fortunate friend in public unlike you how did you even know that Jake was my friend well it's pretty obvious that you care about Jake we even think you have a crush on him yeah just be nice to the person you like I know it can be hard for you but look at us we can do it if being nice to a friend means treating them like a servant then I'll pass on that kind of advice from people like you with that I left the bathroom weeks passed and I stopped talking to Jake Kendra Sophie and my mom although mom hadn't stopped messaging me and inviting me to her house I ignored her one day I woke up super sick and couldn't go to school for 4 days no one asked about me or missed me I felt very sad and vulnerable I didn't know what to do but I knew I had to talk to someone and I knew exactly L who that someone would be I went to miss Albert's house she looked surprised to see me I told her everything I don't get it I wanted to be kind I helped a person in need but they chose to be with someone mean and when I tried to warn them they told me to buzz off and now the mean people are the ones who are giving me advice to be a kind person how exactly did that happen honey you helped a person in need and it's a good thing but you want to help them on your own terms only and this isn't how kindness works sometimes you have to go out of your way to help others true it basically implied that I was ashamed of Jake and now he chose to be with some Mean Girls remember that there's goodness in everyone even if you think they aren't nice we're human beings we have goodness and evilness and the best of us are the ones who can control their evilness when it's most called for I hugged Miss Albert tightly and left the next morning I entered the classroom and excused my teacher to say something I just want to say I'm sorry to Jake he's a good guy and I'm honored to be his friend the whole class fell silent surprised by My Confession Jake smiled warmly at me and I could see the relief in his eyes your mom's been texting me and asking me about you she doesn't know we weren't talking obviously want to go to her place after school I'd love to go with you I smiled and nodded my