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with all kinds of stuff on it, just for me. They had taken up a collection

and bought me school supplies, notebooks, all kinds of different

clothes— jeans, tops, sweatsuits. It was like Christmas. I was overcome

by emotion. People who had never spoken to me before were coming up

to me to introduce themselves. I got all kinds of invitations to their

houses. Their genuine outpouring of concern really touched me. In that

instant, I finally breathed a sigh of relief and thought for the first time that

things were going to be okay. I made friends that day.

Milling around: moving around aimlessly

Shove: push hard

The next day at school was unusual. Zan was changing for the gym

class when students gathered around him and asked him to hurry. Zan

was accustomed to strange happenings and so, did not react much. The

students pushed him into the gym and he realized the reason when he

reached. There was a table full of articles like notebooks, clothes,

stationery items. It felt like Christmas time. Zan got emotional. He made

new friends. They invited him to their

houses. He was moved by their concern

for him. He felt relieved because it was for

the first time that he felt something good

was happening to him. He made new

friends that day.

A month later, I was at my house watching

them rebuild it. But this time it was

different— I wasn‟t alone. I was with two of my new friends from school.

It took a fire for me to stop focusing on my feelings of insecurity and

open up to all the wonderful people around me. Now I was sitting there