A Short Story: Riffenburg Middle School

Julie shuddered as she passed the doors on her way out of the Riffenburg Middle School. The chilly fall air was bringing goose-bumps to her bare skin. As she walked up to the soccer game, she was deciding what team she would want to be on. “Can I play?” She asked the boys, ready to run around. “No,” Jonathan replied, wiping mud from his knee and breathing hard. “Soccer’s a boys sport. Go play hopscotch with the other girls.” He sneered at her as he said this. “That’s where you belong.” Julie, feeling irritated, raised her voice over the sniggering from the other players. “I can play just as well as any of you! This game would benefit from some real talent!” “I don’t care if you’re good!” He yelled back at her. “Girls don’t play sports.
“You’re a girl. You shouldn’t be running around.”
“I’m it, though.” Hurrying off again, she made a mental note not to go near him for the rest of the game.
The rest of the period went fine for Julie. Jonathan, having lost the PE argument, was avoiding her now. This gave her something to think about. Has he decided to stop bothering me? she wondered. But for the time being, she was happy with her situation.
At the end of the day, the class went outside.
“Everyone onto the swings!” The teacher bellowed. “We’re going to play on them until the buses come!”
On the swings, Matthew sat next to Julie. Jonathan wasn’t intent on swinging, so he wasn’t bothering them.
“Were you trying to talk to me in the gym?” Matthew asked.
“Yeah” Julie replied, quickly losing her nerve. “I was wondering what you thought about Jonathan.” She said quietly, hoping Jonathan wouldn’t overhear. “Do you agree with his thoughts about girls?”
“I thought that’s what you were going to say. And no, I don’t agree with him. I think that girls can do all the same things as
“What position do you want me to play?” She asked.

…

Julie, having been included in everything since Matthew stood up to Jonathan, was elated. However, whenever she talked to Jonathan, there was an awkward tension between them. She felt as though he was still being mean to her, even though he wasn’t, and he even gave her light smiles every once in awhile. On a day just like any other, Julie went out to play on the field. Jonathan beckoned her over to him. “Yeah?” She asked, butterflies forming in her stomach.
“I just wanted to say sorry.” He apologized. “For how I acted to you. I know it wasn’t right to treat you badly just because you aren’t a guy.”
“That’s alright.” She replied, thoroughly relieved. “I know that you don’t act that way anymore.” Smiling, she said, “I think we’re past that now.”
Walking over to play the game, Julie and Jonathan were laughing and enjoying themselves. And just like that, they had become best friends. And to think that Julie had ever been afraid of Jonathan. How silly that seemed now. Now that everything was okay in her