Raindrops

• Jessica Huang, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2011

She watched as the raindrops smashed against the windows, followed by an occasional hail piece. Korra tried to block out the sounds of all her peers screaming around her, they were so annoying, was it really that hard to just sit down somewhere and talk softly?
Of course not, coming from Korra the very thought of that was ridiculous, just like everything else she suggested. She had learned to just keep her mouth shut and try blend into the background of all those other kids who had shunned her, to them, Korra was just another tiny raindrop. She was only another person without much significance in the world.
Sighing, Korra lifted herself off of the table and wandered out of the classroom. She stared at all the other kids in the corridors who were running around and screaming, wanting to be heard over the noise of all the other kids. Frustrated, Korra stomped forward, pushing her way through the enormous crowds until she finally reached the door leading to the oval.
Korra pushed the door open and stepped out onto the wet grass. She winced slightly as the raindrops landed on her face, sliding down her face like daggers. She didn’t mind.
Korra smiled and started towards the centre of the oval, where nobody was sure to bother her. She stopped suddenly when she realised that she would be the centre of attention if she sat alone in the oval on a rainy day.
She heaved another huge sigh, changing her direction towards a large tree near an edge of the main building and sat herself down against the wall. Nobody would see her there unless they were to stick their head out the window directly above her and look straight down.
She checked her watch; 1:30, another 30 minutes before class started again. Shaking her head, Korra laid her head back against the concrete wall. She could always rest that 30 minutes away, taking all the bullying from the other kids would always wear her out enough to make her just collapse sometimes. Class wouldn’t really better, even the teachers sometimes left her out of class conversations and activities. It still didn’t matter, school was still better than being at home with…
“Korra?” A voice called softly above her. Slightly surprised, Korra twisted around and looked up to see the concerned face of one of her classmates; Priscilla. Korra usually saw her around those ‘popular’ kids who constantly bullied her. Though strangely enough, Priscilla never joined in on their teasing.
“Korra, what are you doing out here in the rain, you’ll get drenched!” Priscilla called down to her.
Korra hesitated before looking back to the ground, “I don’t mind it…” She muttered.
“Korra, you’ll catch a cold, get in here!” When Korra didn’t reply, Priscilla tried again.
“What’ll you say to your parents when you say you caught a cold because you stayed out here in the rain?”
Again Korra didn’t reply. Priscilla didn’t try again either; she must have gotten frustrated and left. Korra was half right.
Korra felt herself being yanked up by someone. Looking up she saw it was Priscilla who immediately started firing questions at her.
“Why are you always alone?! Why have you never given a real smile?!”
Priscilla let go of her arm. However, Priscilla felt a sudden urge to look at Korra’s arms though, it was filled with bruises.
“Korra… those bruises… they…” Korra looked away, feeling stupid for letting Priscilla see her arm.
“Why haven’t you told someone? Like your parents?”
“Because…”
Priscilla’s face darkened when she realised. She sighed and gave Korra reassuring smile.
“Look, you don’t need to keep hiding it, you need to tell someone, they’ll help you, and I’LL help you!”
When Korra didn’t respond, Priscilla finally put her foot down.
“Look! If you don’t tell someone, I’LL tell someone! Please, I just want to help you. I hate seeing you alone and upset…”
Korra looked up, confused, “You mean it?”
Priscilla nodded furiously, “YES! Now trust me on this, we’ll help you get your life back on track, you don’t need to be sad for the rest of your life!”
Korra hesitated before smiling, her first real smile in years.
“OK…”