Chapter 3: The Broken Frisbee

RINGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!

The bell finally rang. Abby practically flew out of her seat—it was recess time. After being stuck in a chair all morning, she couldn’t wait to run, jump, and breathe fresh air.

Sophie had gone to her locker to grab her frisbee and told Abby to meet her by the swings. While Abby waited, she climbed onto a swing and challenged herself to jump off mid-air.

But just as she was about to leap, she saw Sophie running toward her—pale and wide-eyed. She clutched her frisbee, now broken in two.

“L-look what they did,” Sophie said breathlessly. “My sister gave this to me for my birthday. She even had it personalized in my favorite color.”

Abby’s eyes narrowed. “Who did it?”

“John. And his gang. I heard them talking about you. They said they were going to ‘teach you a lesson.’ I tried to sneak away… but they saw me.”

Before Abby could respond, a group of boys came marching toward her. They wore smug grins, and the boy Abby had faced on the bus—John—stepped forward.

He looked fiercer standing than he had sitting. Abby felt like her bones were melting. Part of her wanted to run, but she saw Sophie trembling behind her.

That did it.

Abby stood tall and said firmly, “Is there something you want? Or are you just here to ruin someone’s first recess?”

John blinked. The smugness faded from his face. For a moment, he looked stunned—then turned around and walked away.

He kept his distance for the rest of recess, but he didn’t stop picking on others. Just before recess ended, Abby saw John and his gang teasing a first grader.

“Stop it!” she said, marching over.

John looked up, surprised.

“It’s not nice to pick on kids,” Abby said calmly. “We should be kind—that’s how we make friends. Hey, why don’t you all come over to my house tomorrow? I made three dozen double chocolate chip cookies yesterday, and we’ve got lemonade. Then we can do homework together.”

The boys looked at John. It was clear they wanted to go. John looked conflicted too, but he scoffed.

“We’re too busy. Besides, we don’t like cookies or lemonade.”

The bell rang. John bolted inside, his gang behind him.

“Thanks for sticking up for me,” the first grader said.

“Don’t mention it,” Abby replied. “Now you better get to class.”

Abby and Sophie walked back together. Science class was a mess, and not just for them. One girl stared at the teacher with a blank expression.

“This is going to be a long day,” Abby thought. Sophie must have thought the same—she nodded knowingly.