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Bullies mocked his shoes. His friend, 12, got him a new pair with his own allowance.
WaPo via Yahoo NewsRomello "Mello" Early couldn't stand watching his friend and fellow seventh-grader, Melvin Anderson, get taunted for wearing worn-out sneakers.
"I really didn't appreciate other people talking about him that way," said Mello, 12, a student at Buffalo Creek Academy Charter School in Buffalo.
On Oct. 24, he called his mother on FaceTime, which he does every day after school. That afternoon, though, Mello broke down in tears the moment his mother, Anita James, answered the phone.
"Romello, what happened?" James recalled asking her son.
"I'm getting tired of them bullying my friend about his shoes. It's making me so upset," he responded, explaining that his classmates mocked Melvin for having muddy sneakers.
Then, Mello earnestly asked, "Can we go buy him some shoes?"
James told her son they would talk about it when she got home from work. During their in-person conversation a few hours later, she said, he was still distraught.
Mello was adamant about buying his friend a fresh pair of sneakers to stave off bullies - and remind him that he has people who care about him.
"Can I use my allowance, or you can take something away that I would get for Christmas?" Mello asked his mother.
James admired her son's sincere plea.
"I was floored, because most kids are not willing to give up something to another child; most kids are about themselves," she said. "Just to see at that age he was acting as an adult, it touched me in a way that I almost can't even describe."
For Mello, the decision was intuitive.
"I really didn't appreciate other people talking about him that way," said Mello, 12, a student at Buffalo Creek Academy Charter School in Buffalo.
On Oct. 24, he called his mother on FaceTime, which he does every day after school. That afternoon, though, Mello broke down in tears the moment his mother, Anita James, answered the phone.
"Romello, what happened?" James recalled asking her son.
"I'm getting tired of them bullying my friend about his shoes. It's making me so upset," he responded, explaining that his classmates mocked Melvin for having muddy sneakers.
Then, Mello earnestly asked, "Can we go buy him some shoes?"
James told her son they would talk about it when she got home from work. During their in-person conversation a few hours later, she said, he was still distraught.
Mello was adamant about buying his friend a fresh pair of sneakers to stave off bullies - and remind him that he has people who care about him.
"Can I use my allowance, or you can take something away that I would get for Christmas?" Mello asked his mother.
James admired her son's sincere plea.
"I was floored, because most kids are not willing to give up something to another child; most kids are about themselves," she said. "Just to see at that age he was acting as an adult, it touched me in a way that I almost can't even describe."
For Mello, the decision was intuitive.
24 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Well done, Mello! 
I told her mum, I didn't lose them, I gave them to the poor kids
What a great idea! 
and that comes from having a great mother. You taught your son well, Ms. Early. 
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