From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankar Vedantam.

This is My Unsung Hero, stories where one person reached out to help another in a time of need.

Hello, I would like to thank my unsung hero.

He invited me to come over for Christmas because we're both.

You were my unsung heroes.

I just want to say thank you.

Today's story comes from Daryl Barber.

Growing up, Daryl's father was in the army, so his family moved every few years.

Being the new kid left him lonely, and often a target for bullies.

In the sixth grade, on his way to the cafeteria, he was stopped by a group of boys.

They were led by an eighth grader named Ruben.

He grabbed me by the collar and threw me up against a wall.

He was holding me with his left hand, and I could see that his right hand was already balled up in a wall. He was holding me with his left hand, and I could see that his right hand was already

balled up in a fist. And I remember thinking, my head is pressed up against a concrete wall,

and when he hits me, it's going to hurt. So I just kind of braced myself for that. And then I heard a voice. It wasn't loud. It was calm, but firm. And the voice said, leave him alone. Well, we all turned to look, and there was this guy, an eighth grader, who looked like a football

player. He was big and muscular and Ruben immediately let go of me. The kid's name was Marcus, and after

Ruben and his friends left, Marcus looked at me and said, come on. And we walked to the

cafeteria together. He had lunch with me. And after that, Ruben never bothered me again.

Now, I was still pretty socially awkward. So Marcus and I, we really didn't talk a lot. We just kind of hung out.

I never knew that much about him. Back then, there was no internet. So when your family got new orders,

you most likely lost contact with your friends. At the end of the school year, my dad got orders for the Presidio in San Francisco,

and I never saw Marcus again.

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