From Sidekick to Superhero (eBook)

The Journey Begins

Justin McLennan (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2018 | 1. Auflage
158 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-5439-2667-5 (ISBN)

Infos

'The Journey Begins' is the first book in the Sidekick to Superhero? series created to inspire and guide its readers to live a balanced and healthy life. On its own, or combined with the 'Sidekick to Superhero Workbook - Phase One,' this book will help its readers learn important life lessons through the main character's journey.

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"e;The Journey Begins"e; is the first book in the Sidekick to Superhero(TM) series created to inspire and guide its readers to live a balanced and healthy life. On its own, or combined with the "e;Sidekick to Superhero Workbook - Phase One,"e; this book will help its readers learn important life lessons through the main character's journey. Bodhi, a young teenager, is struggling to find his identity. He's never quite able to fit into the usual crowd that surrounds him at school until he meets Andy, a true Superhero. Together, Bodhi and Andy set off on a series of adventures that lead to Bodhi building his confidence, making new friends, and ultimately finding his path. Learning valuable life skills along the way, Bodhi uncovers his superpowers in hopes of becoming Andy's sidekick.

Textauszug

1

New Year, New Me

 

“Allow yourself to be a beginner. No one starts off being excellent.” –Wendy Flynn

 

At first, I was walking amongst giants just trying to survive. Now, I fly high above, stronger than any giant below.

 

The summer sun was cooling with each day’s passing, and it could only mean one thing: My life was about to become hard, scary, and full of fear for the next nine months, yet again. Growing up in a town built around football, I never fit in and knew that would never change. I walked amongst giants. No matter if they were younger or older, I always seemed to be the smallest. Every year, I prayed that would be the summer I would hit my growth spurt. I would no longer be walking amongst giants; I would be one of them.

 

It was the last day of summer, and I woke up feeling different. My bed seemed to have shrunk overnight, and my pajamas felt tight. Was this the morning I’d been waiting for? When my growth spurt finally began? I was so excited, I jumped straight out of bed, just to try on the mud-filled jeans I had worn the day before while playing in the river. I took my pajama bottoms off with one swift jump and ran to the corner of my room where my jeans sat atop the hamper. Filthy dirty but without a care, I swooped my left leg in. With such excitement building, I fell straight over while trying to step into the right pant leg. Slowly I pulled the waist of my pants all the way up. It was a miracle! My jeans that just yesterday went beyond my feet were now sitting at my ankles. I couldn’t believe it. The day had finally come. I would no longer be the smallest kid. My days of being bullied had come to an end!

 

I ran downstairs with a huge smile. Having forgotten to switch back out of my muddy, wet jeans, I left a trail of footprints on the rug. I ran into the kitchen and sat down in my chair, just like every other morning. My Mom, who couldn’t believe I was wearing these jeans in her house, said: “You look a little extra perky this morning. Someone’s excited about school to start tomorrow! Now take those filthy pants off and stop dirtying this place. You know we have company coming over.” Sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast, I couldn’t stop staring at the doorway molding. Every morning before the first day of school for the last nine years, I would stand with my back on the molding, and my Mom would draw a line with the year to mark my height. Knowing I had grown last night, I was excited to see the biggest gap yet on that wall. Especially with family coming over for our annual end of summer barbeque, I was giddy with anticipation to finally outgrow my little cousins. They might actually say things like, “Wow Bodhi, you’re so tall!” or “We need you on our team Bodhi, you’re one of the tallest kids here.”

 

As family started to arrive, I knew we would start off the barbecue with a game of football. Usually, this was the beginning of the next nine miserable months for me, but not this year! As we gathered in the backyard, all the cousins stood on the line to select teams. I typically would’ve stood at the end of the line, because it always feels better to have only one taller person on your side. But this year I walked right up to the middle. With my chest puffed out and shoulders raised, I was ready. I looked to my left, and there was my older cousin Garrett. He’d always been the tallest and strongest. And to my right was my younger brother. A full two years younger, my brother Will out stood me by a good 3 inches. But not today! Standing tall, ready for this to be the telling moment, I turned to my right side and looked at Will. Expecting him to notice immediately that he would once again be known as my “little” brother, I was met with disappointment. My eye level seemed to still be lower than his. Something must have been wrong! I was so confident that I had grown. My bed was smaller, my pajamas were too tight, and my jeans only went to my ankles. Did he really grow the same night as I did?

 

I enjoyed the family BBQ, but I still needed to know how much I had really grown. The next morning, my excitement was boiling up. Today was the real test; it was time for my Mom to measure me against the doorway. I jumped out of bed and slipped out of my pajamas. Getting ready for school, I washed my face, put on my school uniform, packed my bag, and was down the stairs in a flash. After my last bite of oatmeal, I heard the kitchen drawer creek open as my Mom searched for a pencil. It was time, and I was ready. How many inches would it be…three? Four? Five? Could six even be real? I pressed my heels up against the door molding, my back as straight as the molding it leaned against. The swooshing of the pencil touched my hair as my Mom marked the molding. I was ready for my Mom to say the magical words, “step back and close your eyes. Now open them in 3, 2, 1!” It was if as if I had just seen a ghost. I was shocked. The pencil mark my Mom had drawn was only one inch above last year’s mark. How could this be?

 

Immediately, I was in a rage, in total disbelief, and forced my Mom to try again. But, still, she marked the same exact spot. I did not want to face another year of school where I was the smallest. I turned my back, ran out of the kitchen, through the living room and up the stairs back to my room yelling, “I’m never going to grow. My life is over!” I slammed the door so hard that it knocked the picture off the hallway wall. Hiding under my covers, I could hear my Mom’s footsteps. “Go away!” I yelled. “I’m not going to school, and you can’t make me.” Mom continued into my room, sat on the edge of my bed and put her hand on my back. “It’s going to be alright, Bodhi. Your day will come,” she said. But, how could she be so sure? And even if she were right, it wasn’t going to be that day. She didn’t understand. She wasn’t the one who had to go to school each day, get humiliated by others, and walk the hallways scared of who was around the next corner.

 

After lying in bed for ten minutes, I calmed down and got myself together. I knew school was necessary, and skipping was not a choice. I splashed some water on my face, got my backpack and stepped into the car. It was about a 10-minute drive to school. First I’d see a stop sign, next the park, followed by the high school and then my school. With every familiar site, my emotions would twirl even more. I was angry, scared, frustrated, sad, and nervous. I feared everything that was yet to come. How was I ever going to get through another year of school? As we passed the high school, I could feel the car start to slow down. “You’ll never get through this year alive. They are just waiting to knock you down. There’s no turning back now.” The negative thoughts came rushing one after another. The blinker was ticking, the wheels began spinning, and I was staring straight down the belly of the monster.

 

There it was. The driveway to the front entrance of Jefferson Middle School. I looked for my opening, but it seemed as though there wasn’t a clear path anywhere. Hundreds of students filled every gap. The only thing between the first day of school and me was a round patch of grass with a flagpole in the middle that created a loop in front of the entrance. The car circled the flag, and we pulled up to the sidewalk. It was time to step out from the safety of our car and walk up the dreaded stairs. I just stared at the entrance, waiting for someone else to take the first step. But then I heard it, “Bye, Bodhi, have a wonderful day! Love you!” My Mom just made me prey for hungry predators.

 

Before I could even step into the school entrance, the football team began to tease me. I ran to my classroom as fast as possible and took three deep breaths. I was safe for now. Looking around the classroom, I looked for a seat as close to the teacher as possible. For the last three years, I spent most of my time searching for the safest place away from Donovan. Donovan was a transfer student from the school across town, who had stayed back a grade. He may not have been the brightest kid, but that didn’t matter. He was the oldest, strongest, fastest, and meanest kid in our grade. He was my worst nightmare.

 

I could hide from the older boys in the classroom and avoid the lunchroom, but I couldn’t evade Donovan. The bell rang, class was about to begin, and I couldn’t turn my head around. I knew he would be just a few seats back, waiting for me to turn so he could let me know he was there. Our teacher stood at her desk. “Good morning students and welcome to seventh grade. My name is Ms. Zaccone, but you can refer to me as Ms. Z.” SMACK! As soon as Ms. Z had turned her back to write her name on the board, a rubber band bounced off my neck. The pain was sharp. All I wanted to do was scream, but I knew doing so would only let him know it hurt. So instead, I held the pain in, squinted my eyes, and waited for it to go away.

 

A few hours went by, and Ms. Z hadn’t turned around long enough for Donovan to pick on me again. But now it was time for gym class, and I knew I would have to turn around eventually. I slowly turned my neck to the right as I got up out of my chair, hoping to not make eye contact with Donovan. I was out of my chair, walking into line and the coast was clear. The line started moving forward as we followed Ms. Z. I was just...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 24.4.2018
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Psychologie
• ISBN-10: 1-5439-2667-3 / 1543926673
• ISBN-13: 978-1-5439-2667-5 / 9781543926675