Once upon a time, there was a small town with an elementary school that was known for its tight-knit community and caring teachers.

As the summer drew to a close and the leaves began to hint at changing colors,

there was a crisp feeling of excitement in the air as parents rushed to buy new backpacks

and lunch boxes and kids were eagerly awaiting to reunite with their friends and meet their new

classmates.

But little did anyone know that this school year would bring more... awaiting to reunite with their friends and meet their new classmates.

But little did anyone know that this school year would bring more than just a few new names and faces. There was a quiet new student who was on his way to school for the first time, and he carried

with him a secret that would change this small town forever.

As the school year was off to a fresh start at Creekside Elementary, and as the kids filed

into Mrs. Olson's classroom for the first time, a shy new boy with shaggy brown hair and

bright eyes shuffled in and took a seat in the back. His name

was Max. Kennedy couldn't help but notice how Max always kept to himself. He almost never spoke

to anyone. He would just sit hunched over his desk, scribbling in a tattered sketchbook with intense focus.

Kennedy's kind heart went out to the lonely new kid.

She wondered if he felt lonely, because she never saw him talking to anyone else in the class.

One day at recess, as Max sat alone sketching under the old oak tree,

Kennedy walked up to him with a friendly smile.

Hi, Max. I'm Kennedy. What are you drawing? Max quickly shut his sketchbook looking startled.

No, nothing, he said. Oh, come on, I bet you're really good. Can I see? Kennedy pleaded.

Max looked around with a cautious expression on his face as if he didn't

want anyone else to see. So he opened to a page showing a pencil sketch of the playground,

and Kennedy gasped. There on the page was a picture of Buzz Wilson, the class bully, and he was

...