Original Story/Script
At first glance, Derek looks like a normal 12-year old boy. He has brown hair, blue eyes and is a normal height for his age. What makes Derek so different is on the inside. You see, Derek is lonely. He has even though to himself at times that he must be the loneliest boy on Earth. Derek is home schooled by his mother, so he never got the chance to meet kids at school. Also, his mother is very protective of him and wonÕt let him play with other kids in the neighborhood. In his momÕs defense, she is a widow and Derek is all she has.
One day, Derek was sitting at the table doing his usual homework. In the middle of a math problem, he had a brilliant idea. He ran into the other room where his mom was. HE said, Ò Mother, can I go to the park and play.Ó He knew the answer before she even spoke. NO. He went back into the kitchen and continued to do his work. Sulking over his homework, Derek decided that he was not going to give up so easily. He bolted up out of his chair and ran back to his mother. He begged her to please let him go to the park. ÒNO,Ó she said. But, he continued. Finally, after a few minutes of nagging, she caved and said yes. Derek could not believe it. He was actually going to get to meet other kids and make friends.
He looked through his drawers and found the one set of play clothes that he had and got ready to go. He and his mom hopped into the car and drove to the park. Derek was so excited, and nervous at the same time, that he could hardly breathe. As they got within view of the park, Derek peered out the window and tried to decide whom he would pick as his best friend.
As soon as his mom parked the car, he burst out of the car door towards the playground, and froze. He though to himself, for one second, ÒWhat if they donÕt like me?Ó He dismissed the idea and continued towards the playground.
He saw a group of boys in the middle of the playground and though that they should be his first group of friends. He approached them cautiously, cleared the lump in his throat and spoke, ÒHello. My name is Derek. What are your names?Ó None of them answered. So, he repeated himself, ÒHello. My name is Derek. What are your names?Ó Still no answer, and the boys ran off to another part of the playground giggling.
This is not the way Derek imagined this would happen. He wished that he never had come to the park in the first place now. He felt lonelier now than he could ever remember. So, he sat on a nearby swing set and hung his head. He almost came to tears, but stopped himself before the first drop could fall. He did not want the other children in the park to see.
When he finally looked up, he saw his mother signaling that it was about time to leave. He had finally gotten to go to the park like he wanted and it had been a disaster. He could not let this be the way his dream ended. At that moment, somewhere inside himself, he found the power to give another shot at trying to make a friend. He noticed a girl sitting on the grass to the left of him by herself. This would be his opportunity he thought. He wiped his eyes, to make sure there were no tears, and walked towards the girl. He stopped in front of her and said, ÒMy name is Derek, can I play with you?Ó She looked up and said ÒSure.Ó And Derek smiled.