Josie'striumph

Josie'sTriumph

byVivienSmith

EventhoughIamtheolderbrother and she’stheyounger sister,Josiewasalwaysa head talleranda good forty pounds heavier thanmewhenweweregrowingup. [WU1]I hated that![WU2] I was the bigbrother.Iwassupposedtobedominantandprotective.Butwhileshewasthe biggestkidinschool,Iwas nearly thesmallest.

Josie’s sizeandstrengthonlymademylackof those twoqualities moreapparent. I was two years ahead of her in school, whichmeantthatbythetimeshegottomiddleschoolI wasalreadyan 8thgrader.Kids inmiddleschoolarenotkindoraccepting,andoverthe years they hadcontinually madefunofmypuny size andlackofathletic ability.[WU3]Butthe teasing reached a whole newlevelwhen Josie enteredmiddleschool.Nowtheyhadanew anglefortormentingme.

Theywouldtaunt,"HeyShrimp! Your sister still beatyouup?"Or, on the bus, theywouldchant again and again, “Paul, Paul, he’s so small, but his sister'stenfeettall!"Iguess thatrhymewashurtfultobothofus,butIonlyfeltmyown humiliation. It baffles [WU4]me that I took no notice of my sister’s feelings. The jokes they threw at her; like whenthey called her, “Josie theGiant," offered me suchrelief because I wasn’t theirtarget,thatI did nothing tostopthem. Nothing seemedtobother Josie anyway.Inever heard her complain once or so much as saw her wince. Ijustassumedthather interior wasas steely as her exterior.

That was until the day she snapped.

Therewasanewgirl,Ginny,inJosie'sclasswhoworereallythick glasses,andwithout them,wasnearly blind.She,tomy relief hadtemporarilybecomethebuttof their jokes and pranks.Thelatestchantthatthekidshadcomeupwith was,"Ginny, Ginny,short and fat, squinty eyed and blind as a bat!” In all fairness,Ginny wasn’t fatatall,butthekids chantedthat because it rhymed withbat.

It startedasanormallunchbreak,withJosieandGinnystandingtogetherin line. Suddenly,Tommy PedersonranupbehindGinnyandsnatchedherglasses off of herface. Everyonebeganthechantastheycarelessly tossedherglassesdowntheline.Iwatched Josie'sfaceasitwashappening.Thereseemedtobeangerbeyond that of the normal 6thgrade capacitybrewing behind her eyes. Tommy Pedersongot theglasses backandwas wavingthemaroundintheair.That'swhenit happened.WithonehandJosiegrabbedthe glassesfromhimandwiththeothershepunchedhimintheface.Shehithimwithsuch forcethathe fellover.Everyonefrozeinshockforaseconduntil Tommy screamed"Get her!"Theremusthavebeen15differentstudentswhorushedtowardJosie.Sheheldthe glasses upasiftoprotectthem andlookedpanickeduntilshemadeeyecontactwithme. "Josie! Here!” I hollered, gesturing thatshethrowmetheglasses.She tossed me the glasses and miraculously,Icaughtthem.Shethenfacedthestudentswhowererushing towardher. She skillfully defendedherself by knockingthemdownoneatatimeas they approachedher.Shestopped fighting only when no one else dared move towardher.

Ibroughttheglassesoverandhandedthemto Tommy as he was picking himself upoffthe floor, humiliated. "Sayyou'resorryandgiveGinnybackherglasses!” I demanded. But hesaid nothing.Josieslowlywalkedoverandpunchedhiminthe stomach.Hedoubledover gaspingforbreath."Sayyou'resorryandgiveherbackherglasses,"sherepeatedasshe draggedhimovertoGinny."S-s-sorry,"stammeredTommyashehandedhertheglasses. Ginnytookthem,hereyesroundwithshock.

At that point somebody started clapping. It was quiet at first, and then almost everyone joined in; everyone that is, except the kids Josie had beaten up. They sat in stunned silence, knowing that this day marked a change for us all.

[WU1]Compound/complexsentence

[WU2]Simple sentence

[WU3]Compound sentence using F.A.N.B.O.Y.S.

[WU4]Great word choice.