From an early age, Marshall knew he was different. It was simple, really. He was bigger than all the other kids. He was slower, and he ate a lot more. He knew that, but he did not like it.

Kids made fun of him, so he learned to agree with them. He started to criticize himself, and his body. He figured that by making other kids laugh, they would forget to laugh at him.

This worked for a while, and Marshall started to work on himself. He ate healthy food and played soccer a lot. He actually became really good at it.

The other kids didn't like that. They were jealous of Marshall. One day, they cornered him and asked him to stop playing soccer. They threatened him.

"If you don't stop, we will not sit next to you at lunch. Everyone will laugh at you again," said Tim.

So, Marshall gave up on his dreams. The kids started calling him 'loser',even Anna, whom Marshall had a crush on.

Marshall felt really sad. All the other kids played soccer and they became even more skilled than he was.

In the 2nd grade, Tim left school so he could live with his dad in New Zealand. Marshall felt happy that day.

He even gathered up the courage to send a note to Anna! He wrote it in his neatest handwriting, and then covered it in blue glitter, Anna's favorite.

It said:

He left it in her cubby.

Later that day, Marshall saw Anna beaming at the note he wrote her. He even saw her scribble a reply at the back of the paper.

Marshall was overjoyed, at first. Then he started to panic. Should he lie about his identity? Is this the right thing to do? Then, Marshall made his choice.

He would do whatever it takes to make Anna like him.

He wrote back:

Marshall started becoming more confident. He even made a few friends, Josh and Terry.

They even asked him to play soccer with them. They said he was really good.