Gerry was new at school and so had made no friends yet. It was a small school, a good twenty miles from the center of town.
It was the last class of the day when fellow student Pamela spoke up to remind everyone to come over after school for some punch, cake and games to celebrate her birthday. The other kids were laughing and anxious to have fun with the games. Pam sat down and turned to Gerry. She smiled and said “My home isn’t very far away . . . and my parents are nice. Can you Join us?” Gerry nodded his head and managed a smile. Pam wrote down her address with a hastily drawn map. “See you in a few” she said, as the buzzer declared school was over.
As Gerry got his coat out of his locker, he noticed the other class members with little packages and beautiful wrapping paper and birthday ribbons. He saw his own eyes and considered going or not going. He had no money on him and his parents wouldn’t be home for a couple hours yet. He had just decided not to go to Pam’s birthday party, when a tug of his sleeve turned him to face Pam. She looked at his cap with a heart in the center of it, just past its bill and said, “Take heart.” She smiled and skipped away. Talking to himself Gerry said, “Well, I guess that settles it.”
Gerry walked out into the damp and rainy weather shaking his head. He fought the wind a little bit and made a game out of dodging the wet leaves. The afternoon sun was shining and had turned many leaves to gold. One caught his eye as it fluttered down. In the middle of the leaf was a hole that resembled a heart. He carefully picked up the leaf and looked it over. It was barely wet. He placed it between two note papers and pressed them carefully as his mind created a short poem.
“Yellow, orange, laying on the ground
The wet leaves changing from gold to brown.
“Yellow, orange, laying on the ground
The wet leaves changing from gold to brown.
They ride the winds of the still wet air.
One caught my eye and I took heart for my leaf to share.”
Gerry ducked into a covered bus stop and wrote the poem down and folded it with the note papers. He felt better about going to a stranger’s home. A few minutes later he was knocking on the door of the party. He was surprised. Everyone was so friendly. Pam’s parents were gracious, even the other boys were kind and nice. An hour later he was walking home. He had turned down two rides with smiles. His spirits were well beyond what he expected. He was walking on air. And best, yet? Pam had fawned on his leaf poem and its beauty in front of everyone. His fear of being the new kid in school had bothered him, and now it was a thing of the past. He was accepted. Now his father would not be so anxious about making friends at work and in the neighborhood, too.
