"Hey, Brenda, is it OK if I sit here maybe?"
"Sorry. Our table is full."
I was in the fourth grade. I was new at school. And each day I ate lunch 1. I would often sit at the end of a long table of people. I tried to look busy, taking long, slow bites of my favorite food. 2 I hoped time could move more quickly.
This experience hurt. It hurt not to belong to a group. I wanted to tell my 3. I wanted to ask her what was wrong with me. I wanted to tell her how much I 4 it. But I couldn't do that, because my mom loved me and I knew she would try to 5 my problem. She would try to call other moms and make me friends. She would do this out of 6. However, it would make me feel worse. So I ignored the problem.
I ate lunch on my own for months 7 one day I came home, went straight to my room and burst into tears. The pain of my 8 could no longer be contained. My mom came in and sat beside me.
She gently asked, "Honey, what's been going on?"
9. I said, "Mommy, I eat lunch alone."
Those five words broke my mom's heart. I 10 see the pain in her eyes.
My mom said to me, "Baby, I know it hurts. When I came to this country from India, I didn't know anyone."
"But you have lots of 11.
"Now I do, honey, but I didn't know anyone when I came. And when I got my first job, I also sat at a lunch table by 12 for a while. It made me feel sad. Is that how you feel?"
"Yeah, it makes me sad."
"Yes, that's 13 we sometimes go through in all our life. But do you know 14 I learned? Most hard things we face in life don't last forever. Be 15 and sincere and you will make many friends in no time."
On hearing the words, I felt much better. I made up my mind to face the challenges more confidently and blend into my classmates.
