It was my first day to Miss Hargrove’s seventh grade．Past “newcomer” experiences had been difficult, so I was very 1 to fit in．After being introduced to the class, I bravely put on a smile and took my seat．
Lunchtime was a pleasant surprise when the girls all crowded around my table．They were friendly, so I began to 2 ．My new classmates told me about the school, the teachers and the other kids．They 3 out the class nerd(书呆子)to me：Mary Lou．She was a pretty girl with dark eyes and olive-skin, 4 she wore a long woolen skirt and an old-fashioned blouse．She looked stupid．The girls whispered and giggled 5 Mary Lou walked by．She ate alone．
After school, the girls invited me to 6 them in front of the school．I was thrilled to be a(n) 7 of the club．We waited．For what, I didn’t know．Then Mary Lou came down the school steps．The girls started making fun of her, shouting rudely, biting comments．I 8 , then joined right in．Mean remarks fell from my 9 ．No one could 10 I’d never done this before．The other girls stepped back and started cheering for me．Feeling 11 , I pulled on her backpack and then pushed her．Her backpack broke, Mary Lou fell and I backed off．Everyone was laughing．I 12 in．I was a leader．
I was not proud．Something inside me 13 ．If you’ve ever picked a wing off a butterfly, you know how I felt．
Mary Lou got up, 14 her books and left without a tear or saying anything．She held her head 15 as blood ran down from her knee．I 16 her limp away down the street．
I turned to leave with my 17 friends and noticed a man standing beside his car．He must have been Mary Lou’s father－he had the same olive skin, dark hair and handsome look．He remained still and watched the 18 girl walk toward him．Only his eyes－shining with both sadness and pride－followed．As I passed, he looked at me in silence with burning tears that reminded me of my 19 ．
Mary Lou’s father’s eyes taught me a good lesson that day．I never again hurt someone for my own 20 ．
