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them& of course.
 How re those ribs? he asked.
 Much better, sir, I replied.  Still a little tender but
mostly healed.
 You about ready to get started? he asked.
 Is it that time already?
 Mr. McGeorge is about to introduce you.
I looked at Brad and gulped nervously. His confident
nod was the only reassurance I needed. Chrissy squealed
delightedly as she grabbed hold of Tristan s arm.  Let s go!
she said. The four of us followed Mr. Goodwin down the
hallway, where we waited just outside the locker rooms.
We could hear Mr. McGeorge at the podium, calling the
assembly to order. He began by thanking everyone for
attending, and then he gave a short speech about the school s
zero-tolerance anti-bullying policy. At last he was finished,
and my heart pounded in my chest as the lights dimmed. A
hush passed over the crowd as anticipation built. The start of
the music was our cue.
Chrissy led the way, dashing out toward the stage in her
neon green  BORN THIS WAY T-shirt. She was followed
by Tristan, then me, and finally Brad. My heart swelled
when the crowd cheered for me. I guessed I too had gained
some celebrity status. I stood there proudly, next to Brad, as
he reached down and took hold of my hand.
 Fellow students of Jefferson High, Chrissy shouted.
 We re on the right track, baby! We were born this way!
The four of us danced a choreographed routine, one that
had been modified numerous times to accommodate for my
limitations. With my broken ribs, I couldn t quite move the
way I was used to. The audience didn t seem to notice,
though, and the response was overwhelmingly positive.
 Please welcome our special guest& Lady Gaga!
The four of us turned and focused our undivided
attention to a huge screen at the back of the stage. When Lady
Gaga appeared, waving to the camera, and greeted the
Jefferson High student body, the crowd went wild.
I still wasn t exactly sure how Chrissy had managed to
pull it off, but somehow she d contacted Lady Gaga and
convinced her to make a video for our presentation. Although
it was prerecorded, the presentation left the impression that
Lady Gaga was being broadcast via a live feed.
When she mentioned each of the four of us by name and
praised Brad for his heroic intervention, the crowd went
nuts. What was even more thrilling, at least to me, was the
surprise Chrissy had arranged for Brad. Without his
knowledge, she d enlisted the participation of his entire
baseball team. They stormed the stage, in uniform, and lifted
Brad right off his feet as they d done the day he hit his now-
famous three-run homer.
On the other side of the stage, a group of cheerleaders
joined the party. I couldn t believe the level of enthusiasm
and the overwhelming support Chrissy had managed to gin
up. After our grand entrance, when the music finally stopped
and the crowd began to settle down, all of us but Chrissy
took our seats. Brad and I sat together in the front row next to
Tristan.
 Thank you, Blue Jackets! Chrissy shouted.  Thank
you, cheerleaders of Jefferson High! And thank you, Lady
Gaga! After the cheers died down, she continued.  We hear
a lot about bullying. It s all over the TV and Internet. Even
the president of the United States has addressed the issue.
Time and again, we are blown away when we hear tragic
stories of hate crimes and suicides. It s all so sad.
 But the good news is that the students at Jefferson have
proven that kids don t have to die before we do something!
About a month ago, as I m sure all of you are now very much
aware, one of our fellow students was attacked. Not because
he d done anything wrong. Not because he happened to be at
the wrong place at the wrong time. Not because he d said
something offensive. He was brutally attacked simply
because of who he was.
 The response to this tragedy the overwhelmingly
supportive response was a powerful reminder that when
teens stand together, we have power! We have power over
hate. We have power over prejudice. We have power over
bullying!
I smiled at Brad as the crowd behind us cheered
enthusiastically.
 We can make a difference. I know we can, she went
on.  I ve seen it with my own eyes. But the sad thing is that it
took us so long to get to this point. How many other Wesley
Harrises have there been? How many times have we known
about kids who are being picked on, ridiculed, and
tormented, and have done nothing?
 Please join me in welcoming another special guest.
Darren Seavers is a national expert in teen bullying
prevention, and he s here today to speak to us about some
practical ways we all can make a difference. Mr. Seavers,
welcome to Jefferson High!
The speech that our special guest delivered was [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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