"Nice story," I complimented.

"Hold on. I am not through yet," my best friend Dejah informed me, pointing to the last section of the page that she was reading from. "There is a paragraph to go."

It was the second day of getting to know each other, and Dejah and I were already getting along so well. We were in the cafeteria and chatting while eating our lunches that our parents had packed for us. We were sitting next to each and by ourselves at a table. Other kids desired to sit with me because I was the most popular girl in all of my classes. Heck, the most popular student in the school.

So why were Dejah and I sitting alone and not with our fellow classmates or other students? The answer is simple, but also heartbreaking.

They have a hatred for Dejah.

You see, Dejah was the new girl who began attending my school yesterday. On the outside, she did not look like me or the others. She wore a long gown that reached to her feet and covered almost every part of her body except her face and hands. It was white with colorful flowers and traditional for her to wear at all times, which did not bother me in the very least.

She also always wore her hijab - a covering that some women wear because of their religion or if they just want to - that matched her gown, so I never got to see what her hair looked like.

But I did not mind at all that she was wearing a hijab. As long as she wanted to wear it and was not being forced to, then it was fine with me.

I am sorry to say that everybody else felt the opposite way. I am also sorry that I have to use this word to describe how the other students were treating her, however, that is the sad reality of our world.

The word that I will be using is the word 'racist.'

Dejah is from another country, and she and her parents moved here to the United States to get away from all the bad things that were happening in their country. And yes, they came in here legally. They are normal folks like the rest of us.

Sadly, my classmates and their friends, practically everyone in the school, had bullied her and treated her like a trash bag. The white people hate her because she is black. The black people hate her because she believes in a certain religion. And the religious people hate her because she is 'a black person who wears the most ridiculous outfit and does not believe in their religions.' Basically, she was pretty much an outcast.

Let me all reassure you that this part of the story does have a satisfying ending.

I am a caring and kind girl. I am also a child of the Lord and do not like when people who think that they are better than others - which they are not even close to being better - believe that they have the right to bully innocent people whom the Lord created perfectly.

So what? People cannot be who they want to be?

During lunch yesterday, every kid was surrounding Dejah and telling her mean things, like "Why do you exist?"

"You should die!"

"Everybody would be better off without you!"

I entered the cafeteria just in the nick of time and saw what was happening. Even though the yells and complaints coming from the students, I could hear Dejah sobbing loudly.

I needed to put a stop to this.

There were no teachers or adults around, so I pushed through the crowd and put a hand on Dejah's shoulder. She noticed and glanced up at me, tears running down her cheeks. I gave her a wink and whispered to her that everything would be alright.

"Eleanor!" one of my classmates who was a girl snapped at me. "Get your hands off the rodent! You will catch some disease!"

I shook my head and frowned at her. "No," I refused.

Another one of my classmates who was a boy stepped up to me. "Are you...defending this..." He motioned to Dejah. "...this trash bag?"

I slapped his arm, but not too hard. "She is no trash bag or rodent! She is a human just like all of us! And if not one of you will truly be her friend, then leave her alone!"

The same girl who spoke earlier gave me a look that could kill. "Why are you defending her?"

"Dejah is a wonderful person. I can see it in her eyes." I hugged her, and Dejah slowly hugged me back.

After I told the mean students to go away, they finally did and scattered off in different directions. I pulled away from Dejah, and she stood up from her table and had a confused look on her face.

"Why...why did you...defend me?" she asked ever so nicely. She had a sweet voice. "You are a white person."

I giggled softly at that last part and smiled. "Do not judge a person by their color. It is the size of their heart that matters." I held out my hand for her to shake. "My name is Eleanor Pier. And yours?"

She looked at my hand, and then back at me. She then slowly took my hand and shook it. "My name? It is Dejah Danos."

"I like that name. Dejah."

"Thanks. I like your name as well. Eleanor."

She decided to give us a shot at being friends and was now telling me a ghost story. She loves ghost stories.

"'This murder was karma for Chad,'" she read. "He died the next day due to the flu. But it is told that both his and Jennifer's spirits wander the graveyard of the town that is Forlot.'"

Before I could ask her something, three men barged into the cafeteria.

Three men with guns.