An Old Friend Found

The other day I went to my old high school website. Keep in mind there was no such thing when I was in high school. Anyways, I went and looked up my graduating class and there was only one other classmate who had been there. Ruthie is her name. I went to a country school and by the time I was in Jr. High we had consolidated with another country school. I remember being in the gym at assembly and seeing all the new classmates. There was a girl my age with blondish hair pulled up in a yarn ribbon. She had on a pink dress and was quiet, sitting all alone. I went over and introduced myself to her. She was not like the other kids and they were not kind to her. Not mean but really just ignored her ,which we all know is tantamount to death as a teeenager! I remember one time going home to spend the night with another girl and the bus stopping the next morning at her house. It was still dark out and you could see the light from the kitchen coming through the cracks of her house. The kids on the bus made fun of her for being poor.I remember thinking how stupid it was to think she was any different because she was poor. She didn't fit into the crowd. She was quiet but not meek as I recall. I remember someone trying to bully her and she stood her ground. I know that while I never was cruel to her I was not as nice as I should have been either. I was scared too though. I was a fat kid and fit in because I was funny. I never had the dates or was popular like that. I always wondered what happened to Ruthie. For some reason, I always pictured her home life as bad. I have no idea if it was or not. Anyways, I reached out to her and lo and behold she emailed me back! She was rail thin in school but has blossomed into a beautiful woman.(she sent pictures) She says she has been married a few times and has children and grandchildren to boot and she lives about 3 hours away from me and works in the healthcare field as well. I hope to keep in contact with her not only because we are from the same place but because she is someone I always wanted to know better. I wonder what she thinks of me. Was I as cruel as the other kids?