Today was Sophie's first day of kindergarten. Edaline woke her up. She wasn't happy about it, but she still got ready.
On the drive to school, they picked up some breakfast. Partly because Sophie was nodding off in her seat.
"Ok," Edaline started. "Remember, you're in a special class. There are going to be other kids who need a little extra help with things. If you're having a seizure, get down on the floor so you don't hit your head and yell out."
Sophie nodded and took another sip of chocolate milk.
Edaline let out a breath. "Alright, we're here."
She walked Sophie to her classroom. Sophie hugged her goodbye.
"I love you, sweetheart. Have fun. Be good."
"I love you, too." Sophie stepped into the classroom.
She took in the scenery. It was... overwhelming. Kids ran around the room. Parents were in corners holding their crying children. The teacher darted from one side of the classroom to the other.
There wasn't a place without chaos. Beside one little corner with a rug and bean bags. There was a little boy sitting on one of them. He almost looked like.... No, it couldn't be.
The boy turned her way. They locked eyes. It wasn't possible.
Yet Keefe ran full speed toward her yelling, "Sophie!"
Sophie's face lit up. She nearly toppled over with the impact. She didn't care. She squeezed him back hard, but careful, being mindful of his chest.
"I missed you!" she squealed.
"I missed you too!"
The teacher walked to them. She grinned. "Well, I see you two are familiar with each other."
Sophie looked up at her. She nodded her head. "We were in the hospital together."
The teacher's smile faded a bit. She still tried to sound upbeat when she replied, "Oh." She looked around the room, trying to figure out how to respond to that. "Umm... how about you two find a seat on the carpet together."
Sophie and Keefe ran to the alphabet rug. They sat down together near the front. They talked and caught up with each other over everything from the past two weeks.
When class started, they kept giving each other smiles and cracking small jokes out of the teacher's earshot.
Keefe pumped his fists when him and Sophie got seated together in the seating chart. When they got to lunch, they ate and swapped food with each other.
Unfortunately, Sophie was a car rider. Keefe rode the bus. They had to go their separate ways when it was time to go. At least they knew it wasn't permanent now.
"Mama, guess who's in my class?" Sophie exclaimed once she was in the car.
"Who?" Edaline asked.
"Keefe!"
Edaline looked slightly shocked. She turned around a bit. "Really?"
"Yeah!" She started to jump in her seat. "We're desk partners."
"Well, that's amazing!" She turned into the driveway. "We'll have to get his parents' number at the Back to School Bash."
"When is it?" Sophie asked. She started to unbuckle.
"On Friday. Then we can see if he can start coming over." Edaline helped her out of the car.
Over supper, Grady and Edaline discussed the topic. Considering how little Keefe's parents stuck around, they'd have to get there early to catch them.
Through the week, Grady and Edaline were able to see the definite boost in her mood. They were thankful for it.
On Friday, after school, they arrived to drop Sophie off at the party. Sophie waited at the coloring table.
She caught sight of Keefe in the corner of her eye, shuffling into the backyard of with who must've been his parents. He was tucked into himself. His parents' noses were turned up. They were eyeing all of the kids like they were sticky little gremlins.
He found her eyes. His face lit up, but before he went running, he stopped and looked at his parents. They gave him a look of distaste. He stayed where he was and stared at his flip-flops.
Sophie decided to go to him instead. Her parents followed.
When she got to him, she was jumping up and down with excitement. He finally let himself smile, too. They ran off to the blow-up kiddie pool while their parents talked to one another.
For the rest of the afternoon, Sophie and Keefe splashed and played together. They even went with the other kids to play in the sprinklers and throw a ball around.
Everyone sat down with hotdogs and hamburgers. It was starting to get dark, and parents were arriving.
When hers got there, they had said they got Keefe's parents' numbers. Sophie was ecstatic. Keefe was equally thrilled.
They decided not to leave until Keefe's parents arrived. So they waited. And waited. And waited.
All the other kids were gone. The teacher tried calling them, but they never picked up. Finally, an hour after the last kid left, an older girl came through the gate. She was swinging her keys by her finger. Her black hair was dyed purple on the ends.
"Hey, sorry about my parents. They decided to go on a date night and not come back in time," she spoke.
"Ro!" Keefe exclaimed. He ran towards her. She picked him up and put him on her shoulders.
"You're alright,"the teacher told her. "I was just worried if he was getting picked up or not."
"Yeah. I would've been sooner, but I had to leave my dorm. I'll try to be quicker next time.
"And you're his sister, is that correct?" the teacher asked.
"Yup, we're fourteen years apart." She laughed. "We get that a lot." Ro hiked Keefe up higher on her shoulders. "Alright, Squirt. I'll be watching you tonight. Ready to go?"
"I'm ready!" Keefe told her. As they were leaving the gate, he turned and yelled to Sophie, "Bye! I'll see you on Monday."
"Bye," Sophie yelled back.
Ro looked up at Keefe and smirked. "Well, look who's got a girlfriend, mister." She ruffled his hair, then gave him a high five. "Nice going."
YOU ARE READING
Broken Heart/Broken Mind
Random(Human AU) Sophie and Keefe met in the children's hospital when they were little. Because of how long they were confined to the four walls of the hospital, they became very close during their stay. As the years pass, they wind up being in the same c...
