First Day

First Day

“Well!” my mom shouted with glee, as she clapped her hands, “today is your first day of Kindergarten Indiana”! She looked far too excited and sounded a little too eccentric. I sat there at the breakfast table with crossed arms and an untouched plate of peanut butter and butter on toast .  

 “Cmon!” she said “Let's get you dressed in your new outfit!”  I slid off the hard kitchen chair  and meekly  responded ,” Okay , Mama.” I was not excited . At all.  I was missing my dad and also my little sister , Isabella  who lived at his house  , Our Old house  while I lived with Mom in this new apartment.

We traipsed into Mama’s bedroom, actually  we both shared it and she laid out a yellow sundress , with matching socks and headband.

“Cmon  slowpoke  let's get ready!” She tugged my arm and started to pull  the dress over my head . After  I was dressed  I stood on the toilet in the bathroom to see the full

 picture . I was happy . I felt  a little smile tug at my lips , but  that did not take away the  nervousness.   Or my fear of being with strange children all day . Not one bit.

We went outside to wait for the bus that would bring me to school and stood close on the curb , next to each other , not speaking, watching the cars drive by.  Mama handed me my  back pack with my lunch. 

At last  the bus for school showed  up ,  very noisy with loud brakes and a swoosh noise  as the doors opened and the bus driver glanced down at me.

“Welcome to the bus for school!” she chirped !  She had short blonde hair and a wide and welcoming smile . 

 Hmmm … I was starting to feel less nervous already.    Mama turned  to me and gave me a  kiss on the check and a pat on the head . She looked in my eyes  and said , “have fun and be a good girl  Indi!”  And I was off.

Let me just  take a moment  here and explain a little bit about our family . Mama and Dad had recently been having a lot of arguments with lots of yelling and throwing things .  It was kind of scary.  And also my dad  has a girlfriend. Her name is  Zoe and she is really nice , she always gives me hugs.  But my mom doesn't like her and I’m not  supposed  to say her name or speak of her . 

Sometimes the yelling  would get really loud.  I mean very  loud and accompanied  with strange crashing noises.  Isabella  and I  would  huddle on the floor  in our room and I would tell her silly stories.  This made her smile and well it made me smile when she smiled , so that is what  we did. This scenario  used to happen  a couple times a week , until it happened every day. Then the police came and my dad had to leave . Now my dad and  Zoe live in the house with Isabella and I live with my mom.  I get to see them once a week on Saturdays and I sleep over .

 My Dad says  that he is working  on something  so that I can stay with them , but he said I am to be patient and not cause Mama trouble .  

 The bus ride to school was a little frightening and  since I did not know anyone  and Mama says I am very shy around new people , especially other kids  , I sat alone  on a seat in the front .

After the bus pulled into the school yard ,  the bus driver told us to form a line in the aisle and  we padded down the center , down the steps and out to our awaiting teachers.  Our class had two. One teacher and another one called  an assistant. Miss Vickie is the assistant , I  liked her right away. She had long hair  pulled back in a messy bun  and bright blue eyes that smiled , even when she wasn't smiling . If you know what I mean.  Our teacher  was Mrs. Carr  and she was dark with beautiful earrings and curly hair.

 They gathered us up and led us single file into the classroom. Everyone was skipping and laughing , probably because they had already been coming to school  since last Monday. It appeared I was the only one that was shy and nervous. Miss Vickie had to stop  the group twice and ask Anthony to stop talking and to keep his place in line.  

After we arrived in the classroom, and oh what a nice room it was, I glanced around. 

It was  bright  with blue  desks , a coat closet  with  double doors  and a large bulletin board , with colorful pictures of puppies and kittens , and a lot of bunnies. I  could feel my head turning around to stare at everything.  My heart was racing and I was nervous  but excited at the same time . Then  Mrs. Carr  came over  and knelt down in front of me and said , “Hi Indiana!  we are so happy  to welcome you  to our class !” I mumbled something, maybe you're welcome , and she gently took my hand and led me over  to my new desk .  

 My desk was  the first desk in the row and a girl named Lizzie with wavy brown hair and glasses  sat behind me.  Patricia was next to me and Frank, a thin boy with glasses and red head was in front of me. As soon as I sat down , Frank turned around and said , 

“Hi” with  a big smile and a missing front tooth.  He said  “We have three dogs!”I smiled back and said nothing .  

Mrs. Carr then clapped her hands and proceeded to go to  the other side of the room , where she instructed  each child to say their name and tell the class  about  something  that makes  them happy. 

I was very intrigued and interested as I had never  been around so many children at  the same time . There were so many  names  and so many things that everyone shared about  being happy !  By  the time it was my turn , I didn't feel that shy ,maybe because I was last.

” My name  is Indiana  McNally  and a lot of things make me happy .  But my favorite  thing  that makes me happy is telling silly stories to Isabella , and jumping on our trampoline at my Dad’s house.”  Everyone clapped  and smiled at me and I suddenly felt better all at once. I sat  up straighter in my chair.  And I smiled too.

 The rest of the day went by very quickly  including  snack time and lunch time  where we all sat at tables and ate sandwiches and drank  little containers of milk. I sat next to Frank  and Lizzie  and they told me about their dogs and new bikes and  then Lizzie burped really loud and the three of us laughed  together.

By the end of the day I was feeling happy and content , and not nervous  in the least . When it was time  to board the bus , Lizzie grabbed my hand  and  said “ Let’s sit together , ok ? We can be best friends .”

I was so happy , I could barely speak , and I nodded alot and smiled.   We climbed the steps onto the bus , and sat right behind the bus driver. We held hands all the way home.

I knew even   before  we were even half way home that  something had changed  and that everything was going to be alright .

When I climbed  down  the steps of the bus at my stop I looked around for Mama.  For a second  I could feel my heart starting to beat  fast.  Then I saw Mama and Dad and Isabella  in the stroller  licking an ice pop . They were all waving to me with smiles .  

I ran to them, gave them  each a hug and as we started  for home I could not  keep quiet about my first day!  There was so much to tell! 

And well , if I am being perfectly honest , I think about that day often. It was one of the best days in my life !