Peace by Piece: Give Peace a Chance

By Myriam C. Barthole

When fourteen-year-old Hannah arrives in the ninth grade in the middle of the school year, the students quickly realize that she is not like everyone else. One of her classmates, Cyndy, becomes curious about Hannah's strange behavior, her short memory, and her even shorter temper. Little by little, the two girls become friends. Cyndy helps Hannah with a Social Studies project. When Hannah delivers her presentation, the story she tells shocks everyone.
How did Hannah's story affect her classmates?
What did they do to help her?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jul 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781645365341

Myriam C. Barthole

Myriam C. Barthole retired from the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) after twenty years of working for the cause of children around the world. After her International Civil Service, she taught French and Spanish in her home state of New Jersey. She is now retired and lives in Tucson, Arizona where she continues to write. She is also the author of the picture book, A Home for Chicky.

Book preview

Peace.

About the Author

Myriam C. Barthole retired from the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) after twenty years of working for the cause of children around the world. After her International Civil Service, she taught French and Spanish in her home state of New Jersey. She is now retired and lives in Tucson, Arizona where she continues to write. She is also the author of the picture book, A Home for Chicky.

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this book to my children and my family who have supported and encouraged me to pursue my dream. This book is also dedicated to all children victims of armed conflict around the world.

Copyright Information ©

Myriam C. Barthole (2020)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Austin Macauley is committed to publishing works of quality and integrity. In this spirit, we are proud to offer this book to our readers; however, the story, the experiences, and the words are the author’s alone.

Ordering Information:

Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloguing-in-Publication data

Barthole, Myriam C.

Peace by Piece

ISBN 9781643788388 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781643788395 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781645365341 (ePub e-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020905635

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published (2020)

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 28th Floor

New York, NY 10005

USA

[e-mail]

[phone]

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank my daughter, Cynthia, for her meticulous copy-editing of the manuscript. I would also like to acknowledge UNICEF for its work on behalf of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children around the world.

Chapter 1

We were in homeroom when Mr. Frank, our school’s vice-principal, walked in with a strange looking girl. Mrs. Oliver, our homeroom teacher, looked up from her computer and greeted Mr. Frank with a wide smile. The rest of the class was totally oblivious to the visitors. The usual Monday morning commotion reigned. One group was discussing the weekend’s baseball game, and another the latest movie. As for myself, I was sitting stiff as a mummy, aching from head to toe. My dance team competed during the weekend, so today I had no energy to lift a finger. Practically paralyzed, I was forced to face forward and to watch the girl in front of the classroom. She had a pretty enough face, but her ‘getup’ reminded me of a World War II picture I saw on Facebook last summer.

"Where on earth did she find this odd looking, stretched-out cardigan? I asked myself, half staring, half dozing off. The lace-collar blouse must have been her grandma’s. The long, narrow skirt, okay, could pass for vintage. Not! Don’t think so!" I concluded between two yawns.

I was immersed in my inspection of the girl, when Mrs. Oliver announced, Class, this is Hannah, Hannah is…

My friend, Janet poked me on the shoulder, and whispered, She sure can use some fashion tips. My thoughts exactly, I replied under my breath.

Janet was the self-appointed fashion consultant of the 9th grade at Windsor High. She was at times merciless and patronizing. Fortunately, nobody took her very seriously. However, she made it her duty to criticize and advise people about their fashion faux-pas. Janet and I were called the twins since third grade, not because we looked alike but because we were inseparable. We came to school together, we had lunch together, and we spent weekends at each other’s house. We even vacationed together last summer. We were also notorious for our abundant energy. Mrs. Brandon, our fifth grade Language Arts teacher, used to say, Cyndy and Janet, you have enough energy to light up Windsor Elementary on a blackout night.

Otherwise, Janet and I were total opposites. Janet was tall with blonde, bone-straight hair. I was medium-height, with dark-curly hair. Janet had long, skinny legs and beautiful, wide, gray eyes. I was fighting a steady war with the fat cells, I inherited from my Mom. I’m sorry to say, the fat cells have been winning every battle. Janet, everyone knew, would end up on the cover of Teen Vogue someday. I was destined to diet for the rest of my days.

There was one other major difference between us. Jane did not care about other people’s opinion. She did and said whatever she wanted. Her philosophy was that it never hurts to be honest about what you think or feel. I, on the contrary, cared a lot about what other people thought. I wanted too often to please everyone. Mom says it’s good to care about others.

What’s the big deal? asked Jay, between his teeth, since when are new students introduced so officially. What’s so special about her?

Just then the first bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom. Paying no attention to what was going on in front of the class; everyone got busy gathering books and stuff. Mrs. Oliver’s introduction was lost in the shuffle noise of paper and the screeching of metal chairs against the granite floor.

She probably doesn’t even speak English, commented Janet, swinging her backpack on one shoulder and heading for the door.

A new babe, cool! exclaimed Mark as he stretched out his arms over his head and unfolded his long legs like an octopus coming out from under a rock.

The room suddenly emptied, and