Paul Moves West
I forgot to mention this earlier, but I was actually born close to the coast of North Carolina, not in Pine Grove, which is in the western part of the state. Anyway, my father got a job offer in Pine Grove, and he announced that we were moving. I was a bit nervous at first, but I knew that I would be bringing one friend with me, my dog, Yukon. I was twelve, going on thirteen at the time. I was eager to start at my new school. Unfortunately, I got beat up on the first day. When I got off the bus to go home, Mother saw me limping. "Paul!" she cried in horror. "What happened to you?" I said, "I got beat up." She said, "That's horrible. Why did they do this to you?" I said, "I don't know. I tried to be friends with them, but they knocked me down, and before I could get up, they beat on me and left." She said, "Let's go inside. I'll clean your wounds and patch them up." She did just that. That night, as I was settling into bed, Mother came in to check on me. I was sad, because I had not found any friends, being the loser I thought I was. She said, "Don't give up, Paul. I'm sure you'll find friends." I said, "Really?" She said, "Of course. Try reaching out to someone. You can make friends that way." I said, "I'll try it." She then said, "Remember this. It's not the ones who hurt you that matter, but the ones who made you smile again." I smiled and said, "I'll remember that."
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I forgot to mention this earlier, but I was actually born close to the coast of North Carolina, not in Pine Grove, which is in the western part of the state. Anyway, my father got a job offer in Pine Grove, and he announced that we were moving. I was a bit nervous at first, but I knew that I would be bringing one friend with me, my dog, Yukon. I was twelve, going on thirteen at the time. I was eager to start at my new school. Unfortunately, I got beat up on the first day. When I got off the bus to go home, Mother saw me limping. "Paul!" she cried in horror. "What happened to you?" I said, "I got beat up." She said, "That's horrible. Why did they do this to you?" I said, "I don't know. I tried to be friends with them, but they knocked me down, and before I could get up, they beat on me and left." She said, "Let's go inside. I'll clean your wounds and patch them up." She did just that. That night, as I was settling into bed, Mother came in to check on me. I was sad, because I had not found any friends, being the loser I thought I was. She said, "Don't give up, Paul. I'm sure you'll find friends." I said, "Really?" She said, "Of course. Try reaching out to someone. You can make friends that way." I said, "I'll try it." She then said, "Remember this. It's not the ones who hurt you that matter, but the ones who made you smile again." I smiled and said, "I'll remember that."
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It was summer, and I was back at início helping my parents with the farm. The summer was really fun, and I really enjoyed it. Hillel and I kept in touch throughout the summer. One day, when we talked over the phone, I said, "My parents said it was okay with them. I wanted to ask you if you would like to share an apartment with me this year. I don't want to go through another bad roommate experience." He said, "I'd amor to! I'll go ask my parents if it's okay." There was silence for a long time. After a long time of silence, I heard Hillel's voice again. He said, "I'm back. They said that since it was okay with your parents, it was okay with them." I said, "That's great." Toward the end of the summer, we moved into our apartment. I was glad that I didn't have to put up with a roommate listening to rap música and refusing to turn it down. I later learned that Hillel was a very valuable roommate. I never knew that one day, he would end up saving my life.
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