Age:
High School
Reading Level: 1.7
About the Author
S. A. Morris, a retired career banker and writer, was born and raised in Vermont. With a deep love for the Green Mountain State, she captures the essence of its vibrant and tranquil surroundings, making it an integral part of her work. From these roots springs a unique writing style that weaves together tales of perseverance, haunting beauty, and the profound connections people can develop with nature. Morris is a proud winner of the 2023 Storyshares Tough Topics writing contest. Through her stories and poetry, she hopes to offer readers important takeaways like the power of self-discovery and the inherent strength of the human spirit.
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Chapter One
Nina felt like she could fly home.
Not fly like the dragons on her trading cards.
Float.
Nina felt like the dragonfly that landed on a flower near the high school.
Its black body and bright blue wings were pretty against the stone path.
A dragonfly didn’t worry about much. It just thought about where it would land next. People didn’t scream and run away when they saw a dragonfly. They didn’t swat it away.
It must have been a happy life.
And today, Nina felt like she was a dragonfly.
This morning, she had a stack of trading cards in her backpack.
Now the stack was gone.
She only had one trading card left. It was a special one.
This didn’t worry her. She would make more.
She was the trading card queen.
And this is her story.
Chapter Two
Every day after class, Nina walked to the grade school to pick up Ben. She loved her little brother. She didn’t love this chore.
Other kids in tenth grade played on a tennis or soccer team. Maybe Nina could next year. That’s what her mother promised.
Things would get better now. They were safe and had a new home in the United States. Her mom took a second job to help pay Ben’s hospital bills. While her mother was at work, Nina had to watch Ben after school.
Nina knew better in her heart. Next year, something else would go wrong. Ben might go to the hospital again. If he did, mom would be with him. Then she might lose her job. They would have to move if they didn’t pay the rent.
Something always went wrong. Besides, Nina would never make a team. She didn’t know how to throw, kick, or cheer.
Sometimes she wished she did! She wished she had friends to walk with in the halls. She wanted to be someone else. Not the new girl from far away. The girl who got her school clothes from Goodwill.
No one was mean to her. She didn’t give them the chance.
She looked away when they looked at her. She walked with her head down in the hall. At lunch, she stayed in the bathroom. If someone came in, she pretended to brush her hair. She didn’t need to eat lunch alone if she stayed there.
Back in her old hometown, her friends had fun after school. Some worked, and some played a sport. They thought Nina was lucky to move to the United States. She could have a good life. They dreamed of being with Nina. Nina dreamed of being back with them.
Nina moved to the United States at the start of the school year. It had been five weeks. Nina hadn’t met a single friend.
Nina missed her old home. There, she had friends. Now, she felt all alone. She decided not to make friends. She was scared of being turned away.
