Fighter

Present day

All her life, Joanna has been called many names, short stuff, small, tiny, little one, shorty and even midget. People always made fun of her, didn’t let her do things because she was small and even ridiculed her when she needed help getting something she couldn’t get herself, being vertically challenged. Oh and if you couldn’t already tell, she never had many friends. Eventually she built an invisible wall around her heart. She always wore the brightest smile and laughed it off when people stared at her or pointed out the fact that she was short. She never let it get to her. Or so it would have seemed.

Cheerleading tryouts, the board said. “Hmm, maybe I should try out. No harm trying right? And besides, it’s considered an ECA so it might help me get a scholarship for university.” Joanna thought. So off she went for the tryouts and saw a fellow classmate.

“Hi Michelle, here for the tryouts?”

“No. I’m holding the tryouts. I’m captain of the squad.” Michelle snidely replied.

As Joanna waits for her turn, she gets her mp3 out and resolves to the fact that music calms her down. As she hears her name being called, she takes a deep breath and walks forward.

“I’m sorry. You can’t try out. You’re too short. Michelle says without even looking up.

“Excuse me. I’m too… short?”

“Yes. You’re too short. NEXT”

“Hey. Hold on a second. Don’t you think I deserve a valid reason?”

“The valid reason is you’re – too – SHORT. Now, can you get out of here so I can continue my auditions?”

Joanna walked away, barely making it to the bus stop before breaking down. The sentence playing over and over again in her head, she doesn’t notice her best friend standing next to her till she tapped her on the shoulder. Joanna quickly wipes away the tears and any evidence of her breakdown. Sheril doesn’t say anything, just puts her arm around her. After a minute of comforting silence, Joanna tells her what happened. “People, who needs them, really?” Sheril says and Joanna just nods and half smiles but inside it was killing her. She’s been told that before, maybe a million times. Why was it different this time? Deep down she knew why, but she would not and could not admit it.

The following week had been one of the worst weeks she’s had. When she was home, the snide comments became somewhat more hurtful, that it got her in tears most of the time.

School was not any easier either. There were all these questions in her head that were slowly breaking her.

Do they think the same? That I’m too short to do anything?

Whenever she heard a height joke, she would hold back tears. No doubt she was in a very frangible state. She barely ate, hardly talked to anyone became very shy and just kept to herself. Sheril noticed her capricious behavior and put two and two together that Joanna was still upset by what Michelle said and did. In order to cheer Joanna up, Sheril convinced Joanna to try out for the English Literary & Debating Society. She didn’t want to, but something her grandfather said to her once, came to her mind.

"When life gets you down, stand back up and prove to it that you’re indestructible love."

And that’s all it took to boost her confidence because to her, he was the one person who believed in her, even when nobody else did. So when she went for the audition she took a deep breath and went on stage and did her best. As she waited for the results to be announced, she spotted Sheril and went to stand with her.

"I think my cuteness might have interfered with my message." She half joked.

Sheril laughed.

“Any minute now” she stated off-handedly.

And as they called out her name and she walked up the stage her heart was beating out of her chest. She was literally shaking with anxiety.

“Congratulations Joanna, you got the part!”

When she got home, she told her parents and her siblings the news.

"You got in? But, you’re so small."

"They picked you?"

She felt the tears forming, but she held on to that sentence. That one sentence had got her through so many things. So she kept her chin up, looked each one of them in the eye and said, "oh ye of little faith" then plugged in her earphones and walked up the stairs to her room.

6 months later

After Joanna’s first play; she looked at the tombstone and said:

"I’m indestructible grandpa."

She can’t hold it on anymore. She wishes he was there to see her. To tell her he’s proud of her. She feels a tap on her shoulder. She turns around and looks up into a pair of piercing blue eyes.

"I'm sure he's very proud of you."

She’s momentarily paralyzed, and stares at the blue eyes.

"I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have just come here like that and tell you something like that in a place like this. You’re freaked out huh? I’m sorry!"

He started to walk away, but then he turned back.

"You want to know something? I think you’re beautifully petite. Your eyes are hauntingly beautiful and I want to know everything about you and more."

She extended her hand out, and he pulled her up to her full 4 feet height.

"Hi, I'm Joanna."

2 years later

They were going steady now. She was really happy. Sheril loved Kevin, almost as much as she did. That's all she needed. That, and the knowledge that she had proven all of them wrong.

"Yea, she looks like a child. Who’d want to date her?"

"She has a boyfriend? Oh wow, he must be imaginary. I mean come on, who’d date her!"

"He’s only dating her out of pity."

"What Up! Definitely not her!"

But that’s not the reason she’s happy. She’s happy because he makes her feel like she’s perfect when she knows she’s not. He looks her in the eye and calls her beautiful when everybody can’t stand to look at her for more than a minute and calls her midget.

"I know she’s short. But she’s MY shorty and she’s going to be MY Shorty till forever."

"..well, mine and The JingBang's anyway."

"I don't discriminate" - N.M, the first minutes of 2010