Hello,
My name is Jacqueline.
Thank you for choosing my story to listen to.
I wrote this story for my grandchildren and I hope you enjoyed it as much as they did.
Now make yourself comfortable and I will begin.
The Team Zoe was the smallest person in the school and she hated it.
People would walk past and tap her on the head saying,
You are so cute.
Zoe didn't want to be cute and she certainly didn't want to be small.
Sometimes people would knock into her and say,
Oh sorry I didn't see you there,
You're so small.
This would make Zoe really angry.
Zoe didn't have lots of friends like the other children in her class.
She only had one friend and his name was Colin.
Colin was the tallest person in the school.
Colin didn't mind being so tall because he could reach anything and see over the top of people's heads.
But he didn't like people making fun of his height.
They would call him names like Lanky,
Giant or Beanpole.
People would laugh at him and some were even scared of him.
But Colin did like Zoe and they were the best of friends.
They had an understanding between them and knew that they would always be there for each other,
Through good times and bad.
One day during their gymnastics class the teacher,
Mr Green,
Gathered everyone together and told them about a competition he wanted some of them to enter.
He explained that it would only involve the ten best gymnasts in the class.
Zoe and Colin were sitting at the back of the group as usual.
They looked at each other as they both thought,
Well we won't get picked.
Neither of them were ever chosen for anything.
This was because they were not popular and people thought they were good for nothing.
Mr Green called out the names of the ten people who would be in the competition team.
Zoe and Colin's names were not called.
Listen everyone,
Said Mr Green as he tried to get the class to quiet down after hearing the news.
Eventually the class was silent and he was able to speak.
Today the team will practice at the far end of this sports hall.
The rest of you will stay at this end of the hall and Miss Smith will be teaching you while I focus on the team.
Now quickly and quietly go to whichever group you belong to.
The team moved to the far end of the sports hall and everyone else stayed where they were.
Zoe and Colin liked Miss Smith.
She was kind to everyone and always encouraged them to do their best.
Colin looked over at the team who were trying out different moves for their routine and seemed to be having a lot of fun.
Colin loved doing gymnastics.
Although he was tall he was very flexible and moved so gracefully but Mr Green never acknowledged his abilities.
The weeks passed by and the team trained hard for the competition.
Zoe and Colin often talked about what it would be like to be part of a team,
Hoping that one day they would get to find out.
There were only two more practice sessions until the big competition and today the team were doing their routine in front of the rest of the class.
The team done their best and made a good effort but when they had finished the rest of the class didn't seem very enthusiastic about it.
Mr Green was disappointed.
He knew the display wasn't great but he expected the children to be a bit more excited by it.
He went over to Miss Smith and said,
There's something missing with the routine.
There is no wow factor with it.
Do you have any ideas that may help?
As a matter of fact I do,
She said and told him her thoughts.
Yes,
That sounds amazing,
Said Mr Green.
I don't know why I didn't think of that.
Let's get to work.
Miss Smith called Zoe and Colin over.
Would you like to be in the gymnastics competition next week?
She asked them.
They only have two more training sessions but I think we can make this work if you both agree.
Zoe and Colin looked at each other and then,
As if they could read each other's minds,
They said together,
Yes,
Please.
Miss Smith took them to the side and explained her idea and then training with the team began.
All too quickly,
It was the day of the competition and the team,
Including Zoe and Colin,
Arrived at the stadium.
There were lots of other scores competing but the team didn't feel worried.
They were very excited,
Especially knowing that the rest of their class were in the audience,
Ready to cheer them on.
One of the judges handed out a piece of paper showing the order each school would perform in.
The team would be the last school to perform.
All the schools presented great routines and were very entertaining to watch.
Eventually it was the team's turn to do their routine.
Zoe and Colin looked on from the sidelines as the rest of the team went on stage and started the display.
Halfway through,
Colin joined the team.
He took his position in the centre of the stage,
His arms out in front of him.
The team took turns to perform a somersault twist and land on Colin's shoulders.
Then they started to build a human pyramid as Colin turned and placed them,
One by one,
In their designated position.
The pyramid grew higher and higher and the crowd gasped.
The judges couldn't believe the consistency and precision of Colin's actions.
He was focused and faultless.
No matter how his team performed the somersault twist,
He caught them and placed them on the pyramid.
The pyramid was the highest it had ever been in a competition when suddenly someone else was coming onto the edge of the stage and she looked so small.
What was she going to do?
You could hear a pin drop as the crowd quietens as they watched Zoe.
Zoe held her arms high in the air as she smiled at the crowd.
Then she turned and faced Colin and took a deep breath.
And then she performed five handstand flips in a row followed by a somersault twist.
The crowd gasped as she flew through the air and landed perfectly on Colin's shoulders.
Again the silence grew as Zoe stretched her arms up into the air and back flipped off Colin's shoulders and onto the shoulders of two of her teammates at the top of the pyramid,
Perfectly square.
Zoe held her arms up high as the biggest smile filled her face.
The crowd went crazy,
Clapping and cheering loudly.
They loved her.
As the gymnasts collapsed the pyramid they all hugged each other and everyone gave Zoe and Colin an extra big hug.
Then there was silence as everyone waited for the score.
Third place was called but it wasn't the team.
Second place was called also not them.
Then the judge announced and with a perfect score of ten from each of the five judges the winners are Zoe's team.
Once again the crowd goes crazy with joy that the noise was deafening.
The team had won the competition and everyone was chanting Zoe and Colin's names,
A moment they had only dreamt about before.
The next day at school and every day after that Zoe and Colin were the most popular children not only in their class but in the entire school.
Everyone spoke to them and they felt so happy.
It felt good to be liked.
Zoe and Colin may be different from the other children on the outside but they really are no different inside.
People are the same everywhere no matter their size,
Age or nationality.
They are all people with emotions and feelings.
Nobody called Colin names anymore and Zoe was still the smallest person in her school but now she was proud of it.
If you're still listening to this story I'd like to ask you a question.
Have you ever felt different from other people?
