I got in big trouble for making Noah my friend.

Momma was shaking with anger when she took her belt off around her waist. Momma hit me hard with the studded belt on my bottom. "I told you not to have friends and you get buddy-buddy with someone on the first day!" She hit me again on my legs. She put her belt back on over her dress and dragged me to my bed. "Go to sleep. You don't need dinner tonight."

Mrs. Mckay liked to feed me. I got lunch and two snack times! I wasn't too upset I wouldn't be getting dinner. Despite Momma's warning, I had never had someone like Noah and I wanted to be his friend. He shared his cookies with me and always stood up for me.

I don't think my other classmates liked me. They liked to pick on me. One girl named Katie was really mean. She liked to taunt me and tell me I was ugly every time I walked by her. Noah was really eager to tell her to be nice and not be mean and that I was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

A boy named Bryce didn't like me at all and forced me to give up all of my toys when I sat down to play. Noah got in trouble for pushing Bryce when he shoved me. "Don't listen to them, Edith! They just pick on you because they're jealous! That's what my mommy always says." He said this from the time-out chair across the room, earning a shush from Mrs. Mckay.

I really liked the way Noah took care of me. He was always eager to help me, whichever way he could. Whenever my classmates were mean or I looked like I didn't feel good, Noah would tell Mrs. Mckay or help me himself. He quickly became the best friend I'd ever had.

I loved to learn. Mrs. Mckay was a great teacher and by the end of the year, I knew all of my letters, how to count to fifty and how to read a five-page book! Mrs. Mckay told me I was one of her best students and learned really quickly.

I hated being at home. Momma and the twins were really mean to me and I began to be hit for any reason they could find. When Noah would talk about his family, I'd listen intently and imagine my life being that way.

Noah didn't know about my home life because there was no way for me to tell him. I wish he could stick up to my mommy the way he did with Katie and Bryce.