Chapter 6: The new kid Today I walked into school and there was a new desk next to mine. A dark-skinned girl with curly black hair was sitting in it. When our teacher came into the room, she introduced the girl as Audie and she said that Audie has Down syndrome. “Down syndrome?” I thought. “Maybe I could talk to this kid. At lunch today, I saw that Audie was sitting alone. I was brave, and I sat next to her. “I’m Isabel,” I said. “I have autism and dyslexia.” Audie looked at me, and smiled. “I’ve heard of autism before.” “Cool,” I replied. “Y’know those kids over there?” I pointed at the bullies. “They’re mean. They bully me for having autism and dyslexia. You should probably stay away from them.” Audie looked at them, then looked back at me. “I know,” she said. “They bullied me today, before you came in. I feel you.” She looked at the bullies again. “Hey Isabel, do you want to be friends? I could use someone to talk to.” I smiled the biggest smile ever, and I said yes. I have a real friend!
