“I saw what they did. Those guys pick on me too.”
Kevin stared at the chocolate treat on his desk. At first he was reluctant to take it, but eventually he reached for it and opted to pick off the lint with his fingers.
“I’m Perry,” he said, and Kevin wondered why he was still whispering. The other kids were still out for recess.
“I’m Kevin,” he whispered back, and it started to feel like it was a secret between them, something everyone else was excluded from. He liked it.
“Why do they pick on you?” Perry asked.
“Because I’m small. Why do they pick on you?”
“Because I’m black.”
His eyebrows creased a little. “That’s a stupid reason.”
“I know. It’s ’coz they really stupid,” he replied with a shrug.
“Yeah.” And from beneath the stifled tears, Kevin felt a small titter burst out of him. “Their stupid could fill a whole bus.”
“Their stupid could fill the Empire State building.”
They were talking a little louder now, excitement filling their voices as they talked about Dennis’ crew and their stupidness. “Their stupid could fill a blue whale.”
At that point they debated whether or not a blue whale was bigger than the Empire State building. After Kevin told him thata whale could probably eat the Empire State building in one swallow, they unanimously concluded that a whale was bigger.
Perry decided to pull out the big guns. “Their stupid could fill the Grand Canyon.”
“Whoa.” Kevin sat back because he truly was in awe. “That’s a whole lot of stupid.”
“Hey,” Perry said, talking a bit faster when he saw Miss Woodslow walk in after recess. “Do you wanna come to my house after school? My mom got me a new Batman and it’s really cool. I also got some cool video games.”
“Uh…I don’t know. I have to ask my mom.”
“I’ll ask her.”
And just like that, the matter was settled. The day seemed to go by much quicker after that and when the last bell rang, Perry waited for him as he slung his backpack onto his shoulder. They walked side by side to the school gates. Kevin was excited and also a little nervous. He was a quiet child and no one in his class ever really spoke to him. No one understood him, but Perry didn’t seem to care about any of that. They had one thing in common and that seemed like it was enough for him to build a friendship on.
His mother was already at the gates by the time he reached it. Kneeling down in front of him, she kissed his forehead. Kevin felt a bit embarrassed that she’d done that in front of his new friend, but, once again, Perry didn’t seem to care.
“Hi, honey,” she said sweetly. “How was your day?”
“Okay.”
She noticed his ripped pants and her hand went to his knee, rubbing it like she knew it hurt. She always knew. She couldn’t take away the pain, but that never stopped her from trying. “What happened here?”
“I fell.”
He glanced at Perry and he seemed quite fine with not revealing the truth. It was their little secret.
“Hi, Kevin’s mom,” Perry chirped before she probed any further. “Can Kevin come over to my house today? He really wants to. He likes Batman as much as I do and I really want him to see my fortress…and my treehouse. Is it okay, huh? Can he come? Please. Can he come?”
Watching him, Kevin understood why Perry had volunteered to ask. His brown puppy-dog eyes were pleading with her and he could see his mother soften. She didn’t have the will to say no.
“Now, why are you harassing this poor lady?”
“It’s quite all right,” his mother responded to the other woman as she stood up. “He seems very excited to have this playdate.”
Kevin looked up and saw Perry’s mother. She was a beautiful woman, almost as pretty as his mom, and she had the same warm brown eyes as Perry. She leaned over and kissed his head and Perry didn’t waste any time trying to convince her too.
