ABSTRACT
Colby, a hearing-impaired student, sits alone outside the circle every day. He wants a friend more than anything in the world, but because he was bullied in third grade, he is so afraid of rejection that he keeps everyone at arm’s length. Marcia bosses the boys around to cover up the vulnerability she feels. She pretends to be tough so the jokes they make about her body don’t hurt as much. Cameron, excluded in fourth grade by the popular clique, waits quietly for someone to reach out to her, because she is too afraid to reach out to anyone herself. Timothy thinks he might be gay and is afraid his friends will reject him if they find out. Mariana has been sleeping on a mattress with her two sisters in the living room of a neighbor’s house since her family was evicted. Jennifer’s parents went through a difficult divorce last year, and now she lives between their two houses. She’s embarrassed that her family isn’t “normal like everyone else’s.” Travis’s mother was recently diagnosed with cancer, and he regrets that when she tried to hug him in front of his friends, he pushed her away. He didn’t want the guys to think he was a little kid.
