Taya's life was forever changed by one kiss, and it wasn't even a real kiss.
Taya Williams had been living her life cautiously and drama-free, until one day she found herself as the female lead for the school's theater production. She soon realized...
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T E N Y E A R S A G O
"You mess with her again, I will kill you," Ryder growled as he slapped the side of the kid's head again and the kid trembled in response.
Those were the usual three kids that would always steal her lunch, and Taya never even knew their names. There was the tall fat one, the short fat one, and the fat one with glasses—that was how Taya would refer to them.
"Now get outta here!" Ryder shouted again and the three kids scrambled away.
"I think you're too much, Ry. You're scaring them off," Taya said to Ryder as they watched the three kids ran and fell on top of each other.
"That's the point. This is what you gotta do to bullies. You stand your ground, show them that you're not afraid. Show them that they're the ones who's gotta be afraid of you,"
"Why does anyone have to be afraid? Why can't we all just be friends?"
Ryder gave her a look as if he pitied her. She was far too kind and too naïve. Those kids had been stealing her lunch for the past month and all she could think about was how to be their friend.
She used to come home and cry everyday because of these bullies. They made fun of her eyes, made racist jokes, and took her lunch. Kids around her weren't so nice either. No one helped her. Instead, they made fun of her for being a crybaby. That made things even worse for poor little Taya. And that was when Ryder knew that he had to step in.
Shaking his head and letting out a sigh, Ryder pointed to an area just a few feet away and said, "I'm gonna be over there. I'll keep an eye on you,"
"You don't have to..." Taya started, but Ryder had already left.
Taya was grateful for her cousin's protection and care, but she was starting to feel uneasy about it all. One day she was just a normal first grader. She was part of the crowd. But suddenly, with the arrival of second-grader Ryder at the playground, she was feared by everyone.
Being inside Ryder's protection bubble felt safe, sure. But also it got very lonely.
Her one and only friend, Viviane had stopped being friends with her too, and she had no idea why. They used to play with their Barbie dolls everyday, until suddenly Viv got angry at her for something and she bit her doll's head off.
Today, like any other day, Taya was deadly bored, playing on her own. She let her eyes wander along the playground, trying to see if anyone would be interested in playing with her in this lonesome afternoon. But it was apparent that everyone's already got someone to play with.
She was about to give up on her search, when something suddenly caught her eye. Those three bullies were standing in a circle, and a small little boy was in the middle of it all. The bullies were laughing at him, calling him names.
