When I got a little older, the mean nicknames started to fly. In the third grade, I got called chicken legs a lot. I don't know why. Chickens don't have long legs like mine, the last time I checked. Every time I'd walk through the hallways, someone would shout, "There goes chicken legs." I would remind them, "My name is not chicken legs. It's Winter." kwa the time spring came, I was so tired of being called chicken legs. One day, one of my classmates said, "Hey, chicken legs!" I said, "That's better than what wewe are." He said, "Oh, really? What am I?" I said, "You're a horse's ass." He didn't know how to respond to that, so he didn't say anything else. I never got called chicken legs again. I thought, "Man, I should have opened with that!" Thankfully, I didn't get in trouble. People swear all the time in Illinois. I later told my aunt about it. She said, "You remind me of your dad." I said, "Really?" She said, "Oh, yes. He was so witty. wewe get your looks from your mom and your sense of humor from your dad." I thought, "Those are good traits to get from both parents." About a mwaka later, I began to notice that I was having trouble seeing. I could see up close okay, but distant objects looked blurry to me. As a result, I got glasses. Having glasses at my age wasn't all that common. One girl called me four eyes. I alisema in a creepy voice, "The better to see wewe with, my dear." She got scared and never bothered me again. Being able to outwit the bullies helped, but I still didn't gain friends, even when I was in the school band. At least I had a dog, Scribbles. I would often smile when I looked at him, remembering the siku I got him. I was always getting bullied, and I was really lonely. My aunt decided to get me a puppy to lift my spirits. She found a breeder who was selling Siberian Husky pups. I tried to pick one out, but I never got to choose one, because one chose me. His fur, manyoya was a rust red with white markings. He had piercing ice blue eyes. He was a beautiful boy. Even when he grew into adulthood, he was still my puppy. Many days, he was one of the few things that kept me going. Still, I wished that I had a human friend.