Eddie, The School's Biggest Loser?

• Nathaniel De Weys, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2012

EDDIE: THE SCHOOL'S BIGGEST LOSER?

Eddie stared sadly at the concrete. It was just another school lunchtime by himself.
He studied the other children. One boy with short brown hair was kicking a soccer ball. Eddie watched him for a bit then turned his head away.
Suddenly there was a stinging pain in his shin. He looked down and saw the boy's ball at his feet. The boy ran over and grabbed it, giving Eddie a quick look before he ran off.
"Gee, I wish people would talk to me," Eddie thought.
He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, wondering why people didn't like him. His best friend, Stan, went to another school so he had no one to play with. He was just too shy.
The bell rang and Eddie headed back inside.
"Great," he told himself. "There goes another lunchtime."
Walking home, Eddie met Stan and told him about his day.
"Wow," Stan said sympathetically.
He thought for a minute and then said,
"Do you know how you're having your birthday and you were only going to invite me?"
Eddie nodded.
"How about you invite everyone in the class and go somewhere special!"
"Great idea!" Eddie answered excitedly.
"We could go to Woody's Skate and Play - that's a really cool place. We can ride our scooters and bikes, even the skateboards."
"It sounds awesome. I'll definitely be there!" Stan told him.
As he put the invitations in mailboxes, Eddie thought how this could change things.
The day of his birthday, Eddie arrived early so he could greet the guests as they came through the doors.
The first person to arrive was Stan.
Eddie was a bit disappointed but, one by one, the other guests started to come and soon everyone was there.
Nearly all the kids came up and told Eddie he was a really great guy, inviting the whole class.
Eddie smiled; he was liking this already.
He saw children buzzing around play equipment like flies. He looked in the other direction and saw a big skating rink filled with people.
Eddie chose to play before skating and all the other guests ran after him as if an angry bull was on their heels.
Everybody wanted to be with Eddie. It felt good playing with other people.
Finally, it was time to go home.
As Eddie got into bed that night, he wondered how school would go tomorrow.
Next day at lunchtime Eddie saw the brown-haired boy making a beeline for him. He now knew his name was Jack.
"Hey, Eddie," Jack said. "Thanks for inviting me to your party, it was really fun."
As he said this Eddie wondered if all the other children would treat him like this too.
"Would you like to come and kick my soccer ball?" asked Jack.
"Yeah, sure," replied Eddie. "Race you there!"
As Eddie ran off, his classmates swarmed around him. He knew this would be no ordinary lunchtime.
THE END