"Zackary the odd duck", all the kids teased, and that sends him crawling in his shell.
Zackary just couldn't understand why the kids tease and make fun of him as if he was an alien from out of space. He would hide behind an object quickly as he could when he spotted the bigger boys from a distance.
He patiently waited as he hid behind a stump from an old broken tree, almost taking its shape and appearing invincible to any looking on. Over a period of time he became good at hiding and he considered himself to be a 'master hider'; in which he learnt to be very patient and quiet as the trouble makers went by without realizing he was there.
As Zackary grew up, he became tired of hiding and not having any friends in his neighbourhood. He thought about making changes and the type of things he would have to do if he was going to change things. The next week he stopped hiding behind objects, he didn't cross to the other side of the street when the bigger boys were coming. He simply stuck to his lane and held his breath as they made fun of him.
He had had enough, he decide he was not going to be cowering each time they make fun at him, he was going to stand up for himself.
One Saturday afternoon, when the neighbourhood kids were all at the play ground having all sorts of fun, Zackary decided to go over for a change. A group of boys spotted him walking by the basket ball court and one of them threw the ball, hitting him in the head which knocked him to the ground. At that moment Zackary whispered under breath, "I've had enough." He slowly picked up the ball and walked over to the court, he held the ball up and challenged the boy to a one-on-one game. They laughed at him, but the boy accepted the challenge.
Zackary, was no champion at the game, in fact he was small compared to the other boy. I wasn't sure he would score any goal, but he knew he could run, dodge and hide faster that any of them. So, he decided to try his developed talent as master hider and do the best he could to tire out the other boy.
All the other kids gathered around the court to see what would happen, they were all amazed to see Zackary challenging the play ground jock. He never tried to score a goal, he kept dodging, bouncing and running with the ball until the boy was so tired he gave up.
From that day Zackary was never afraid to visit the playground or walk around the neighbourhood. All the other boys were impressed at his tactics, they invited him to join the baseball team as their secret weapon against other teams.
Zackary was never the best, but he just tried what he knew at his best.
No comments:
Post a Comment