Stories of Our Life: The Second Volume

14: Scraped Elbows

School was a scarily fun place.

At least, to five-year-old Newt.

Little copper-haired Newt Scamander sat under a tree in one corner of the playground, knees tucked to his chest as his bright blue eyes watched his classmates and kids from other the other classes run around and chase each other. Squealing, shouting, and laughing can be heard all around. Teachers watched from the sidelines, smiling as they chatted about, all the while keeping a keen eye on the kids; some joined the little ones playing, helping them get on the slides or push them higher on the swings.

Now, Newt wanted to join those kids. But, unfortunately for him, he was shy—very, very shy.

Newt was the new kid in school. His family had just moved in three months ago and were yet to get to know the town and the people living in it. On his first day, when he was asked to introduce himself to his new classmates, all the little boy could do was stare at his shoes and keep his mouth shut. Despite all the prodding his teacher (who was a kind man, Newt will admit that) for him to say something, Newt didn't budge, his incredible shyness overwhelming him. And because of that, Newt became known as "the quiet, weird kid" in his class.

And being the quiet, reserved kid he was, Newt became a constant target for the bullies. They'd tease and pester him in any way they can; they'd steal his snacks, they'd steal the toys he wanted to play with, and even ruin his drawings if they even cared to do so.

That drove Newt to become more of a recluse in his class. He started avoiding as many people as he could. During recess, he'd opt to stay inside the classroom and look through the picture books in store. During playtimes (especially ones held inside the classroom), he'd sit in one corner where he knows no one would notice him and play with the toys he grabbed before the others or sit and read.

And Newt liked it that way. No one bothered him, no one teased him. Just plain peacefulness all to himself.

But today, however, his teacher, Mr. Dumbledore, managed to convince him to join the rest of his classmates outside for recess. And, as much as Newt said that he'd much rather be in the company of his beloved picture books, he still found himself outside in the playground.

And that's how he ended up sitting under a tree, watching the rest of his classmates have fun.

Raking his eyes across the playground, Newt spotted the monkey bars nearby, set apart from the rest of the slides, swings, etc.. It was completely empty, and Newt knew exactly why.

From what he heard from his classmates and from what he saw through the classroom window when he wasn't outside in the playground with the others, the monkey bars was what many of the kids consider as a challenge.

"Only the big kids can swing across the monkey bars!" he heard one of the boys tell his friends one day.

"Yeah! And only the brave ones can do it!" one of them agreed.

And it seemed to be true to our little Scamander. Newt had always seen most kids avoid playing at the monkey bars a lot, and those who dared either ended up successfully getting across (with much effort, and usually they were the older ones) or fall and cry.

Heck, even those conceited bullies didn't even dare try.

(Well, one tried but he ended up whining like a baby. He didn't cry because Newt knew too well that that kid wouldn't want to be seen as weak. He had to assert his dominance over the rest of the kids somehow.)

With those details in mind, Newt came to a decision: He'll try his hand at the monkey bars.

It could be impossible, five-year-old Newt knew. But, maybe if he could just get across it, maybe the other kids wouldn't see him as a weak target for the bullies anymore. Maybe he'd even have friends.