Young Shellington Sea Otter (OtterMAN Of Autism) (COMPLETED)

Chapter 14: First Day Of School?

August 19, 1995...

"Come on Pups we're going to be late for the meeting at your new school," Sanda said as she put her hair up in a low ponytail

The pups came downstairs. Pearl wore baggy jeans with an orange belt, a Colorblock Sleeve Tee crop top, and Mary Jane's shoes. Shellington wore a long-sleeved green turtleneck sweater, Levis jeans, green Converse, and a bright yellow hat.

As they buckled their seatbelts in the wood-panel Ford Station Wagon, Pearl's face lit up with excitement. She couldn't wait to finally go to a real school and see all her old friends from preschool. Shellington, on the other hand, was feeling anything but fine. The teen sea otter boy had been homeschooled for eleven years and the thought of leaving his safety net behind was making his stomach churn with fear. As they drove through their small city and neighborhood, they finally arrived at the school building. Pearl practically bounced out of the car with joy, but Shellington's face went white with fear. He couldn't believe he was going to a real school. The sign in front of the building only made it all the more real. It was like a scene straight out of a teen movie - the excitement of one sibling and the fear of the other. But they both knew that this was a turning point in their lives, and they were ready to face whatever challenges came their way.

"Oh my gosh!" Pearl said in excitement "I can't wait! To go here!"

"I'm NOT!" Shellington gulped

The mother sea otter walked over to the pups wrapped her arms around them and looked at them with a smile,

"I can see that you two are going to enjoy this school year in your new school," Sanda said

When they entered the building, the principal and the other teachers were already waiting for them. They shook their paws and they went into the school's counselor's office, they all sat down and got the files out.

"Mrs. Sea Otter," The principal begins with a smile "We are so excited to accept your children into our wonderful school. Now, We are aware that your son is under the spectrum we have a special program for children like him and we will make sure that he feels comfortable,"

Sanda smiled and nodded,

"Oh, that's wonderful Principal Samual Bulldog!"

"Now just last week, we got the results from the knowledge test, and they both got different I.Q. scores," Principal Bulldog said,

The teen pups looked at each other and looked at their new principal, Sanda's jaw almost dropped after hearing that news.

"Did you say Different I.Q. scores?" Sanda said

"Yes, and they came out incredibly well," Principal Bulldog declared "Pearl got the average I.Q. score of 110."

Pearl almost burst into joy but she calmed herself down and looked at her new teachers with a big smile that showed her braces

"Really!?! Oh my gosh..." Pearl said in joy "I mean, Mum, Dad, and the rest of my siblings know that we sea otters are smart, but I didn't know that I'm that smart. And that's only an average? That's incredible! Thank you."

The faculty and the principal smiled at the teen otter girl seeing her very happy,

"So what about Shellington, what score did he get?" Sanda asked

The principal looked at the result with a very surprised look on his face, Sanda, Shellington, and Pearl noticed and they got curious in a sea otter-like way,

"What is it?" Sanda asked, "Principal Bulldog, what score did my son get?"

Principal Bulldog adjusted his glasses and looked at the mother sea otter with a very fascinated look on his face

"Mrs. Sea Otter," Principal Bulldog begins "Your son Shellington got the...HIGHER average I.Q. the score of...121."

The three sea otters' jaws dropped as the rest of the faculty were impressed too, They'd never got the chance to look at the results either so they were just as surprised as the three sea otters,

"I scored a what?" Shellington said with a stutter

"A 121..." The principal said with a simple smile as he looked at the mother "Mrs. Sea Otter, not only do both of your children have the highest math and science skills in our school, but they seem to reach a 12th-grade level on reading, Pearl can read 15,000 words per minutes, while Shellington can read 29,000 words per minute. Your children are the brightest pupils that we've ever seen, and they've been homeschooled for eleven years, it's unbelievable!"

After a couple of hours, the meeting finally came to an end. The principal handed Sanda a list of school supplies for her pups. Three of the otters went back to the car and drove to the store to gather all the necessary supplies. Meanwhile, Pearl and Shellington couldn't contain their excitement about their impressive IQ scores. However, they had one important question on their minds - Does their new school have a dress code? Having worn their casual clothes for so long, they were eager to know what to wear on their first day. As they were busy shopping for school supplies, they couldn't help but wonder about their new school's dress policy.

"Mum," Shellington asked

"Yes, sweetie," Sanda said

Shellington looked at his clothes and then looked at his mother, 

"Do Pearl and I have to wear you know...uniforms?" Shellington asked

"Yes, you do" The mother otter answered as she put two packs of pencils into the trolly

"What are they going to look like?" Shellington asked again

Sanda pulled out a crumpled photo from her purse and handed it to her pups. Shellington and Pearl squinted at it, their eyes widening in disbelief. They were going to have to wear uniforms at their new school! The boys' uniforms consisted of black pants, black shoes, and a pale blue button-up shirt. They even had to wear a jacket with the school's logo emblazoned on it, complete with two yellow stripes at the end of each sleeve. The ties were navy with yellow stripes, like a candy cane. And the girls' uniforms were no better - they had to wear a black skirt that went below the knee and black leggings. Shellington grumbled about the whole thing, but Pearl loved the idea of matching outfits.

Nine days later, the two siblings were ready to head to their new school. They looked like they were dressed for a funeral in their drab uniforms. Shellington felt like a fish out of water, while Pearl couldn't stop grinning. When the bus pulled up, Shellington's nerves kicked into overdrive. He remembered his mother's advice about raising his paw when he needed to use the toilet, not skipping class, and reporting bullies. He promised himself he wouldn't be afraid to speak up for himself and to always mind his manners. As they stepped off the bus, they gazed up at the towering school building. Pearl was practically hopping with excitement, but Shellington couldn't shake the feeling that he was in way over his head.

Just then, Kevin strolled by, flashing Shellington a friendly grin. Suddenly, everything didn't seem so bad after all.

"Come on Shellington," Kevin said with encouragement "It's not so bad,"

Shellington felt a little better as Pearl held his paw and looked at him with a smile. Shellington took a deep breath and walked into the school building with his older sister and his friend.