Among The Wildflowers

𝕋𝕖𝕟: Making Friends

When the bus pulled up to Oakwood Elementary, Nic couldn't bring herself to leave her seat. No matter how many times she had told herself on the way here that everything would be okay, that all flew out the window when they actually arrived.

She wasn't ready. Going to a new school was one of the things she hated most about growing up in foster care. And even though she had been adopted and this would be her last middle school ever, she wasn't ready.

Stan saw the worry on his new friend's face. He looked to the front of the bus and saw kids filing out, soon he and Nic would be the only ones left on the bus.

"Hey," he placed his hand on Nic's shoulder,"Don't be scared. Everything's gonna be alright. It's the first day for everybody."

Nic hadn't thought of that. It was everyone's first day of fifth grade, not just hers. Still, she couldn't bring herself to stand.

She found herself looking down at her exposed arms. Stan's eyes wandered down too. He sucked in a breath at what he saw.

Nic heard him and looked up, scared and embarrassed. She quickly shoved her arms between her legs, shielding them from his view.

Realizing his reaction had been misjudged, Stan replaced the shock on his face with a warm smile.

"It's okay," his voice was soft and quiet, like he was sharing a secret. He pulled back the dark hair that covered his neck. There were several bruises on the side of his throat and Nic immediately knew they were made by an angry hand.

The bus was almost empty now, but Nic didn't care. Stan was like her. She wasn't alone. It wasn't something she was happy about, but it made her feel less scared all the same.

Stan let his hair fall back into place,"I know you're scared of somebody sayin' something to you, but don't be. I know what it's like to want to hide things like this," he gestured to her arms,"but sometimes ya can't. Sometimes ya just gotta get on with life anyway."

"What if someone makes fun of me?" Nic's eyes began to fill with tears. The last person was getting off the bus. They had to leave now.

"I'll stick with ya all day and if somebody says something stupid about ya I'll beat their ass," Stan promised.

Nic allowed herself to smile.

Stan stood and extended his hand down to his friend,"Ya ready to go kick ass, Nic? Or are ya gonna sit here feeling sorry for yourself and miss out on all the fun?"

Nic laughed, took Stan's hand, and stood to her feet,"What could possibly be fun about starting school?"

A sly grin spread across Stan's face,"Nothing. I just said that to get ya outta your seat."

Then he turned and pulled Nic off of the bus, much to the bus driver's relief. The driver shut the doors behind them and pulled away from the curb.

Towering before Nic was her new school. A few students were still outside, standing near the doors.

Stan released Nic's hand,"Race ya inside!"

He took off running towards the entrance without a backward glance. Nic smiled to herself and raced after him.

Maybe this won't be so bad.

-

Nope.

She was wrong. This was very bad.

Stan had walked Nic to her first class, promising to meet her back there after his own and he'd kept that promise. That was the only good thing that had happened so far.