12-Year-Old Romello “Mello” Early used his allowance to purchase new kicks for his friend being bullied over old shoes and said, “you don’t have to pay me back.”
According to The Washington Post, Early witnessed his fellow seventh-grade friend Melvin Anderson get bullied for his old shoes. Seeing this in action prompted the 12-year-old to FaceTime his mom, Anita James, as he typically does, about his friend being taunted.
“Romello, what happened?” James recalled asking The Buffalo Creek Academy Charter School student.
He responded, saying his classmates made fun of Anderson for having filthy sneakers.
“I’m getting tired of them bullying my friend about his shoes. It’s making me so upset,” he told her while bursting into tears.
“Can we go buy him some shoes?” Early then asked, as he was hell bent on buying his friend a fresh pair of sneakers to keep bullies at bay. “Can I use my allowance, or you can take something away that I would get for Christmas?”
James responded to her son, saying they would talk about it when she returned home from work. A few hours later, during an in-person conversation, he seemed extremely upset.
“I was floored, because most kids are not willing to give up something to another child; most kids are about themselves,” she said about his generosity. “Just to see at that age that he was acting as an adult, it touched me in a way that I almost can’t even describe.”
That evening, the two went to a sneaker store and bought a pair of Black and White Nike Dunks for Anderson. Early used the savings from his allowance of $135 to pay for the uber-trendy kicks.
“Nobody could make fun of him or say anything about him anymore,” the kind young man insisted.
His mother revealed that he was also a victim of bullying, which allowed him to understand his friend’s struggle.
“He was bullied at his old school about his height, and he would come home crying sometimes,” James said. “I started encouraging him and letting him know that it’s all right to be different.”
