Patton balanced along the short wooden fence around the swings, arms out to keep steady, careful not to let the yells and laughter from the other kids at the school yard bother him. There were a lot of them, other kids, that was.
It was lunch break, which meant that all the kids were out playing, running around together with their friends, playing soccer and tag and climbing on the monkey bars and jumping from the swings.
Patton liked swinging, but all of the swings were occupied, and Patton didn't have friends to play the other games with. His dads had told him moving would be fine, that their new house was better, that he could just ask the other kids if he was allowed to play with them and then he would make new friends.
It sounded so easy when his dads told him to just talk to the others, but there were so many of them and they were all already busy having fun and Patton really didn't want to intrude. And at the school Patton had gone to before this one there had been some kids that just weren't very nice. Patton didn't know if there were kids like that here, yet, and he did not accidentally want to make friends with them.
A football hit the fence, which did not make the fence do more than shudder slightly, but the ball had hit pretty close to where Patton had been balancing and he had been startled by it. He fell over, hearing the boy that was running after the ball yelling a quick apology.
Patton sighed where he was sitting in the gravel, wiping it off his hands. Maybe he should find somewhere else to play, somewhere where he would not be accidentally hit in the head by some sort of ball. Sports were not Patton's favorite.
He dusted off his pants and climbed over the fence, walking away from the swing sets, setting course for the big field that had some really, really big trees. There were less people playing there, which was what Patton wanted right now, even if his dads had told him to make friends as quick as he could.
It was his first day at this place and everything was already overwhelming enough. He didn't know the rules, he didn't know the schedules, he didn't know which of his classmates were nice, he didn't know which of the teachers were nice.
His dads hadn't told him that a new school would be so stressful! They had only told him the good bits, about how he would make so many new friends.
Patton flopped down onto the grass, staring up at the sky, but the sun shone right in his eyes and made him squint, so eventually he rolled over onto his stomach. Right in front of his nose grew a flower, one of the wild yellow ones that was allowed to be picked. Patton smiled and carefully pulled it, then spotting more of the flowers everywhere around him.
He spent several minutes picking a little bouquet, the sight of the flowers cheering him up. His dads would always bring each other flowers when they wanted to make the other happy, and they would bring him flowers too. Flowers were good. They were pretty and colorful and they made people smile, what could be better!
A few meters away behind one of the biggest trees he spotted more flowers, these ones pink. Of course he had to get those too, maybe he could keep the flowers with him all day and give them to his dads when they came to pick him up. Patton skipped towards the other flowers, for the moment not having to think about how scary being in a new school was.
He bent down to pick up one of the flowers, then the next one, and the next one, until-
"Um, hi?"
Patton straightened himself up quickly, mouth forming an 'o' shape at the sight of another boy who was sitting under the tree. He had been hidden behind the big tree trunk, otherwise Patton would probably have stayed away, but now it was too late as they were staring at each other.
"Oh, hi there! I didn't see that you were sitting here, sorry if I'm bothering you, I can go away if you want me to." Patton said, shifting his feet and picking at his flowers, pulling small green leaves from the stems.
"You don't have to- I'm just, uh, hiding from some of the fifth graders." The boy said sheepishly. His fringe fell down over his eyes and he ducked his head. He was wearing a black hoodie that was too big for him, but it looked cozy, though maybe too hot for such a nice spring day.
"Bullies?" Patton asked.
"Kind of, yeah." The boy said and Patton nodded. The bigger or stronger were always the bullies. At his last school there was one boy that had pushed Patton around every time he saw him picking flowers. His dad had said it was because some people didn't think flowers were something boys should like, which was just the silliest thing Patton had ever heard.
"I hope they'll leave me alone." Patton said, leaning to the side to peek from behind the tree, trying to see if any fifth grader looking people were nearby. Luckily they seemed pretty alone. There seemed to be a big tag game going on, on the other side of the school yard.
"You're new, right?" The other boy asked and Patton's attention was brought back to him.
"Yeah, it's my first day. I don't know anyone here." Patton pouted and sat down on the grass, on a spot he made sure had no flowers.
"Hm, I don't think that matters much, I've been here a long time and I don't know anyone anyways." The boy said and curled in on himself slightly. It hit Patton then that maybe the boy in front of him didn't have many friends either. Why else would he sit alone instead of playing?
Patton got a sudden idea and smiled brightly at the other boy.
"Oh! We could know each other!" He said. The other looked hesitant.
"You would want that?" He asked and Patton nodded, determined.
"Of course, you seem nice and being friends would be fun, wouldn't it?" Patton said, already sure this was the best idea he had ever had. He would much rather sit in the grass and talk to this classmate rather than play soccer with the others.
"I can share my flowers with you, too. I'm Patton." He said, extending the entire bouquet towards the other and remembering that his dad had once mentioned that it was polite to introduce oneself.
The other boy took the flowers gingerly, looking up at Patton and slowly smiling.
"I'm Virgil."
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Written: 18th May 2021 Published: 23rd May 2021 Words: 1137
