She walks to school with worn shoes and a blouse
Her lunch is soaked with pity
One soggy sandwich and a rotten apple
She has nothing, but a penny
Tears form in her eyes as she watches
Boys and girls eat steamy hot pizza
Fresh carrots and apples
Her mouth waters
Her stomach growls
She asks a boy for a bite of his apple
No
His words sting
She asks a girl for a bite of her pizza
No
She is too poor for their pity

After lunch, there is a test
She forgets her pen
She asks the teacher for another one
No

After the test is a gym
She asks to play in their game
No
They laugh at her
Because she only has one penny left

After gym, school is over
Her bag rips
She begs for help
She has too many books to carry herself
She asks a older girl
No
She leaves her books on the ground to soak in the rain
Nobody helps her
Because she only has one penny
All the other kids watch as she disappears Into the alleyway
She looks over her shoulder
A boy carries the books she left
Guilt blooms in her stomach
She ran
She left him standing in the rain with her molding books

The next day the same happens
Day after day the boy tries to get closer and closer

The girl had given up
Her lunch was inedible
Before throwing the food away
She takes one more look inside
This time there was;
No soggy sandwich
No rotten apple
Instead, there was; the
A juicy thick ham sandwich
An apple as red as blood
And a note
A feeling the girl had never felt invaded her heart
At first, it hurt
Then it became comforting
Was she sick?
Something happened
Something she could not name
Something she lacked
Love
Day after day the boy would go near the girl
She ran away then
Slowly she returned
He never hurt her
He never yelled at her
He never made fun of her
He made her feel special
Important
Day after day she left school with a smile
She didn't care whether she only had a penny
She felt worth more than a penny
He made her feel worth more than a penny
She was worth more than a penny
Because she was loved