Two Sizes Too Big by Kathryn Hoehn (books to read for teens .TXT) 📕

Karen!” he teased. “You almost hit me with those big feet of yours!” Charlie laughed and turned back to Matt. Karen froze, then jumped off the swing and started to run back into the bathroom, feeling humiliated.
Oh, no! Oh, no! He noticed! He noticed how enormous they are, and I’m even in smaller shoes! He thinks I’m a freak! He won’t want to be friends with me! He’ll never-

“OW!” Karen tripped and landed on her stomach. She stuck out her hands to break her fall, but felt the sting of gravel immediately on her chest, knees, and hands. She pulled herself up, tears stinging her eyes, and started limping to the bathroom again.
“Karen! Are you okay!? Wait up!” Charlie ran to her side. “I saw you fall, that looked like it hurt really bad!” He reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. “Your hand is all scratched up! Come on, I’ll help you clean it off in the sink.”
Charlie took Karen’s arm in his and led her into the school. Up near the cafeteria was a sink. Charlie turned the water on and checked its temperature. Then he took Karen’s hands and held them under the water. He helped her scrub soap on to clean the dirt off, and then he went to get a band-aid from the school nurse.
While Karen put the band-aid on, Charlie bent over to brush the dirt and dust from Karen’s pant legs. “There. All better. Now, let’s go get your own shoes back- I think Dorothy’s shoes may be too small for you,” Charlie said, giving Karen a friendly smile.
“Wait, Charlie…” Charlie stopped walking, and turned back to Karen.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, it’s just… Do you really still want to be my friend? My feet are so huge… Why would you want to be friends with me?”
Charlie’s eyes widened. “Karen! I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you. Even if your feet were three feet long, I would still be your friend,” he said sincerely, giving her a smile.
Karen felt a wave of relief wash over her. “Really? I guess I was just nervous that since I looked a little different, you wouldn’t want to be my friend.”
“You know how I was new to this school this year? When I got here, one of the first things I noticed was that everyone dressed the same- almost everyone here wears jeans and similar t-shirts everyday. At first, I was worried that I wouldn’t make friends because I wear different clothes than everyone else. But I decided to just be myself, and to keep wearing my state flag shirts and cargo shorts, because I like wearing those. And then I became friends with you, Matt, and Dorothy, and I realized that it doesn’t matter what I wear, because my friends like me for who I am. You like me even though the cargo shorts I wear are different than the jeans Matt wears, right?”
“Of course I do!” Karen exclaimed, shocked to hear that Charlie had felt this way.
“Well, I like you even though your feet are a size or two bigger than Dorothy’s feet.” Charlie smiled and took Karen’s hand. “Let’s go get your shoes back, okay?”
“Sounds good,” Karen said to her friend.


Chapter 5

“So, everything worked out. I told Charlie all about how I was worried he would think I was weird because I have big feet, and he told me he likes me for who I am. Then, we ate lunch together and yesterday we played basketball together at recess. Charlie and I are really good friends now,” Karen said with a grin. She pulled her knees up to her chest and grabbed her toes. “And I decided my feet are the perfect size for me, so that’s okay now, too.”
Kendall and Allyson stared at Karen with wide eyes and big smiles. “I told you your feet looked fine!” Kendall said. She was dressed as a princess.
“I told her she could borrow my clown shoes. I didn’t bring them today, though,” Allyson said. She was dressed as a pirate.
“That’s alright, Allyson. I don’t need your shoes. I have my own pair. Anyway, you two have fun playing,” Karen said as she walked out of her sister’s bedroom and into the hall. Becca and Diana came out of their bedroom.
“What happened to sliding your feet around?” Becca asked.
“There’s this new thing that all the cool kids do,” Karen explained with a smile. “It’s called walking. You pick up your feet and try not to trip.”
“Whatever. We’re just glad you aren’t holding up traffic in the hall by moving so slow anymore. Come on, Becca, let’s go to the mall!” Diana said. She and Becca started walking down the hallway towards the stairs.
“Hey! Are you shuffling or driving to the mall?” Karen asked, smiling.
“Driving!” Becca and Diana said at the same time. But they smiled at their sister, too.
Karen walked into her bedroom and sat down on her bed. She peeked over her knees to look at her feet. While she looked at them, she thought of all the trouble she had put herself through, and how much frustration she had caused herself. Charlie doesn’t care about the size of my feet. He thinks I’m cool just because of who I am. I’m glad that I don’t care about my feet anymore!

Karen grinned, happy with herself for putting everything behind her. She lay down on her back and stretched her arms up in the air. While she was stretching, she looked at her hands. I never noticed how big my hands are,

Karen thought to herself.

Imprint

Publication Date: 06-29-2011

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
To my wonderful family, especially my Aunt Karen and Grandma Dorothy- thank you for everything!