Karli

Children in primary school are evil. There is always an outcast. In my class the outcast was Karli.

He was from a very poor family, both parents were unemployed and his father was an alcoholic. Karli always wore stained old clothes with holes in them. I never saw him in anything fashionable. I remember he had a red winter jacket which was too small for him and it was more like a windstopper, not warm at all. I was always sorry for him and I never mocked him. The other kids probably bullied him because he was from a poor family.

I think he was hyperactive. He was always full of energy, always jumping around making a mess in the classroom. But he was not evil, he never meant to destroy anything intentionally or hurt anyone on purpose. He was just trying to fit in and be cool.

Karli had bad grades, he hardly passed classes but I think he wasn’t stupid. In 7^th grade the history teacher made a new seating arrangement and he had to sit next to me. I had straight A’s and she thought I would be a good influence. She was right. I told him that I’m interested in history and politely asked him if he could be quiet and listen. He actually took my request seriously and never made any noises or talk to other schoolmates which he usually did. And this was also good for him because his grades improved a bit.

He was a very nice and kind kid, always there to help out if anyone needed anything. I remember one particular time when had some kind of an outdoor orientation in nature day . We were out in the woods in groups of five. One member of my group was Karli; I don’t remember who else was with us. Suddenly my stomach started to hurt really badly and I could hardly move. Other members of our group wanted to leave me there and go to the next check point where they would tell the teacher where I am and the teachers would take care of me. I think they just wanted to win the competition. Karli decided that he won’t go further with them, instead he helped me and with his help I somehow managed to reach the next check point. I can’t express how grateful I was in that moment when he said that he’ll stay with me… I really didn’t want to be alone in the woods in the middle of nowhere.

I’m wondering what he’s doing now. I heard he went to an auto mechanic school or something like that but he soon dropped out. Studying wasn’t his cup of tea. I haven’t heard anything about him for years; I hope he’s doing well.