The Girl With The Poppy(Rayray) At first, nobody knew who she was. She showed up at school on a snowy day, her bright blue eyes looking around curiously. She was a new student in Grade 11, short and chubby, with pimples littering her round face and long brown hair that contrasted with her big blue eyes. She stood in orange overalls with a yellow turtle neck underneath. But what drew most people's eyes was the fact that she was wearing a big red poppy on her chest.

"Hey, dork." A sneering voice called, "Remembrance Day was in November. It's January, idiot." The girl flinched but walked bravely through the halls, resulting in snickers from the group of kids who had a 'higher social status' than the rest. Girls laughed and pointed, and guys called out insults to her as she shuffled by. But there was one boy in their group who just watched with a grin on his voice, which hid his sadness for the girl.

His name was Jake Sanders. He had been blessed with good looks, a wealthy family, and automatic acceptance into the popular crowd. Each day he would watch his 'friends' bring down kids who didn't fit in. And each day he would let them. He turned from the scene, his green eyes staring at the ground, the smile disappearing from his face. And that was when he looked up, just for a second. And in that second he made eye contact with those blue eyes. He saw to his dismay that they were filled with tears. The girl wiped them away with a chubby hand and scurried down the hall.

"Hey guys." Jake called out. They turned and looked at him.

"Wassup, Jake?" They laughed.

"I-I don't think that you should, um,"

"What, Jake?" A boy sneered. "You feel bad for the fat chick? Dude, no."

Jake looked up. "No, no. I was just gonna, um, say that we should hang out later." He said it with a short laugh, but inside he felt cowardly.

Jake learned about her. He learned that her name was Natalie Brooks, that she had moved from a town 300 miles away, and that she was smart, judging by her smiles every time she got an assignment back. He learned that she was nice, by noticing how she stood up for others. And he noticed that she never, ever took that Poppy off. One day she walked by his group again.

"Hey, fat chick!" One of the guys called out. "You're still wearing that stupid Poppy, dummy." Jake's jaw dropped. "And," the boy continued, "I think you should-"

"DUDE." Jake yelled. "Stop." Everyone turned and stared at him. Murmurs rippled through the hall. Natalie stared at him, her mouth opening slightly. Jake ducked his head, his face going red.

"I-I just don't think you should treat girls that way." He said quietly. The boy, whose name was Peter Jackson, sauntered up to him.

"Yeah? That's what you think?" He sneered. "Jake, who the hell do you think you are? I mean, seriously, you can't just keep standing up for ugly fat chicks like her."

Jake looked up, his green eyes afire. "You don't EVER call a girl that." He yelled. AND before he could stop himself, he reared back his hand and punched the bully in the nose. Everyone gasped, silent and waiting for Peter's reaction. He looked up, but he knew that Jake was taller, stronger. So he walked away, spitting at the ground angrily. Jake went red and looked at the ground. Natalie scurried up to him.

"Uh, Jake?" He looked over at her.

"Yeah?"

"Than-"

"Don't thank me." Jake growled. "You have to learn to take care of yourself, for goodness' sake." He sauntered away, his eyes filling with tears of shame. He had just punched someone for a girl, and now he wouldn't even talk to her. What was wrong with him?

The year flew by, and each and every day, Natalie wore the poppy. Peter returned to the group, causing a friction between him and Jake, but nothing else ever came of it. Grade 11 ended, Grade 12 started. Natalie worked extremely hard, earning her the highest GPA possible. At the graduation ceremony, she was given a full scholarship to an elite college. Jake was also given a scholarship. He was the only one in the 'popular group' to get any sort of academic help, as he was the only one who really tried.

5 years later, Jake got a call. He learned that there would be a high school reunion. He decided to go. Jake was doing well, working hard in college, majoring in medical science and at that point had almost acquired an internship. He was living in his own apartment. He had never tried to get in touch with any of his old friends from school, as he was disgusted with all of them.

Jake arrived at the gym, looking around curiously. He immediately saw his old friends. There was Peter, skinny and short as always. Jake heard him talking about his job. "You know ladies," he was saying, "people say Mcdonalds is a terrible job, but really..." His voice trailed off as Jake walked away, snickering. It was karma. The meanest kid in school working at Mcdonalds 5 years later. Jake sat down, watching. Suddenly a young woman with bright blue eyes and long brown hair appeared in front of him. She was tall and slender and very beautiful. And pinned to her blue dress was a red poppy. She looked at him.

"You're the guy who punched Peter Jackson for me, right?" She asked. Jake nodded sheepishly. She grinned, bent down, and gave him a hug. "You are my hero." She whispered.

Suddenly someone appeared at the microphone. "Hey, everybody! We'd like to invite," the man looked at the paper, "Natalie Brooks up to the stand." A few snickers rang out, and then cut short when they saw the beautiful woman walking up to the stage.

"Hi, everyone." She said. "I don't know if you recognize me, but I need to set something straight." She took a deep breath. "I know that many of you bullied me about this poppy I'm wearing when we were younger." She glanced at Peter, who blushed. "But I need to tell you the reason I wore it without fail all those years." She took a deep breath. "When I was 14 years old, my mum and dad were deployed to Afghanistan. Neither of them returned." She paused, and the room was shocked into silence. "When I got the news, one of the soldiers handed me this poppy. I vowed that I would wear it through thick and thin, through jeers and cheers." She laughed a little. "And I have, which I'm happy about. Anyways, there was one day that a particularily mean insult left me in tears. Not one person stood up for me." She said, looking into the crowd, and then swivelling her eyes to Jake. "Except for one. I would like to thank you, Jake Sanders."

She stepped down off the stage. The silence remained in the gym until someone started clapping. Everyone turned to see Peter Jackson clapping, his face red. He nodded humbly at Natalie.

She walked towards Jake, and he looked up at her. "Jake?" She asked hesitantly. "I just wanted to let you know... I fell in love with you." Her face went red, but she kept her eyes on him.

Jake could feel his face break into a grin. "I'm glad." He grinned, and pulled her into a hug.


5 years later Natalie and Jake Sanders lived in a nice house, with 2 children, a dog, and a poppy which sat on a very nice mantle.

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