Prompt- Could you please write about Micah's first day of school and Jonas having to comfort Alexis's anxiety about it?
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I helped Micah into his clothes, fixing his hair for him. He slipped his backpack on over his shoulders and nervously fidgeted with his hands.
"What if no one likes me?" he whispered.
"You're going to make tons of friends. How could people not like you?" I said, placing a hand on his head.
Today was Micah's first day of school. Mr. Holden had given me the morning off so that I could bring Micah.
"You really can't stay with me?" he asked nervously.
I shook my head. "No. I'm sorry Micah. I would if I could," I said.
I reached down, taking his hand. I led him downstairs, where Jonas was waiting for us. He smiled at Micah.
"Ready to go?" he asked. He'd made Micah breakfast earlier.
Micah gripped my hand tighter. We left the apartment and got into the car. I turned on music that I knew Micah liked to help him calm down a little.
I kept peeking back at him as we drove. He was looking out of the window, gripping his bag in his arms tightly. He looked like the picture of anxiety.
We pulled into the parking lot of the school and all got out of the car. Jonas and I each held one of his hands, leading him into the school.
We took him to his classroom, and he gripped our hands hard. He released Jonas's hand and grabbed at my jeans, hugging my leg.
"It'll be okay," I promised him, kneeling down and placing a hand on his head. "I promise it'll be okay, Micah. I know it's scary. But you'll make tons of friends and you'll learn a lot!"
"Don't leave," he whimpered.
"I have to," I said, wishing I could stay and help him adjust. I had already met his teacher and explained his situation.
"You must be Micah!"
Micah timidly looked up. His teacher, a nice looking young woman, smiled at Micah.
"This is Micah," I said, standing up. Micah grabbed at my leg again, hiding behind it.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Mrs. Fort!" she said to Micah. "Alexis told me all about you."
I gently urged Micah out from behind my leg. "Go on," I said with a smile.
"You'll pick me up?" Micah asked, looking terrified.
"I'll be here when school ends," I promised him.
He hugged me, and I hugged him back. He released me and hugged Jonas as well. He kept peeking over his shoulder as Mrs. Fort led him over to a table with other kids. She said something to him and then smiled as two kids came over to him, talking to him.
He looked like a nervous wreck, but he shyly began to talk to the kids. Jonas took my hand, tugging me out of the room.
We got back in the car together. I chewed at my lip, unable to stop worrying about Micah.
"Alexis," Jonas said, reaching out and shaking my shoulder a little.
"What? Sorry," I said politely.
"Hey, he'll be fine. A lot of kids are scared to go to school. I know I was. I used to cry when my mom dropped me off," he said. He offered me a smile. "Micah's a sweet boy. He'll make plenty of friends. And you met with the teacher the other day, right? You said she was really nice. I'm sure she'll take care of him."
"He cries easily sometimes. What if they pick on him?" I said, unable to help myself as my fears spilled out. "He's so small. What if he's not ready for what they learn? I tried to teach him things at home, but I don't know what he's going to need to know for school. I don't know if he's ready for school."
"Alexis." Jonas placed a hand over my mouth. "Calm down. You did the best you could to get him ready. You saw him in there. He was nervous, but he's trying. Micah is going to be just fine. He'll adjust to being away from you as time goes on. He's growing up."
"I hope he'll be okay," I said at last.
Jonas leaned over and kissed me. "He's going to fine. When he comes home, he'll tell us all about his day. He'll tell us what he learned and all the people he met. Micah is going to be fine. I bet he'll love school," he said, smiling.
"Yea," I mumbled. Jonas was right. Micah would love school. Everything would be fine. I had to stop worrying so much.
Jonas reached over and took my hand in his. I gave him a slight smile to let him know I was calming down. It was normal for Micah to be nervous, and normal for me to be worried. But Jonas was right; everything would be just fine.
