The First Friend

~Chapter Two~

Ms. Martin watched her daughter prance away. She knew that this day was coming, and while Sofi had been so excited, Ms. Martin was dreading it.

Ever since that day four and a half years ago, it had been harder and harder for Ms. Martin to keep a job and take care of her little girl. But she had to be strong, because she loved Sofi more than anything in the world. 

Ms. Martin sighed, and started the car. She drove back home, all the while wondering what was going on for Sofi. Had she gotten to her line alright? Did she like her teacher? Would anyone befriend her? Ms. Martin knew how much Sofia's friends back in New York had meant to her. Sofia was the kind of girl who relied upon social interactions to stay happy. If Sofi couldn't find a friend, school would change from being a mystical fairy tale to torture in no time flat. 

When she got home, Ms. Martin started her daily cleaning regime. She swept the floors, dusted the cabinets, and scrubbed the syrup off the counters. She did laundry and cleaned out her closet. Once the house was spotless, Ms. Martin made herself a cup of tea. She curled up on the couch, thinking. She looked up at the mantle piece, and at the pictures who lived there. 

A one year old Sofi was eating a cupcake, smiling, her face covered in frosting. 

A two year old Sofi stood proudly next to a puny snowman, her cheeks and nose like cherries. 

There was a selfie of Sofi and Ms. Martin, smiling at each other. Happy. 

And then there was a picture of a beautiful man, in uniform, giving the camera a sly smile. 

Ms. Maritn stared at the last picture, memorizing it yet again. She loved looking at that face. Those gorgeous blue eyes always made her smile. It had been the worst day of her life when those soldiers came to her house four years ago, giving her a letter that told her that her husband, her best friend, was dead. He was gone, lost, never to be found again. 

Sofi was just a few months old at the time, and had never even met her father. She asked about him sometimes, and Ms. Martin could never answer. It was too heartbreaking for her to admit it. She had never said it aloud, that her husband was dead, and maybe that was the reason she still hadn't recovered from the shock.

Ms. Martin leaned back on the couch, sighed, and went to go see if there was anything else to clean.

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Sofia didn't know what to think. 

When she had walked into her classroom for the first time, she was disappointed. It wasn't like she imagined at all. It wasn't neat and tidy, there were no apples, and there was no art projects on the wall.

Then she felt scared. Her teacher wasn't the nice lady who taught her the number fourteen, but in fact, he was a man. A big and tall scary dude. 

Then she felt nervous. The desks were set up in clumps. What if she couldn't find her table? 

Sofia realized that school wasn't all she ever dreamed of. It was just the opposite. 

To her relief, Sofia found where she was supposed to sit because she could read her name. She got a smug feeling when she saw that other kids couldn't read their names and had to ask the scary teacher for help. Once everyone had gotten to their places, the man said,  

"Alright class, settle down please. My name is Mr. Williams. I will be your teacher for this year. I am going to start off by taking attendance."

"Mr. Williams?" Sofia asked, confused.

"Yes?" He sounded kind of annoyed.

"What is attendance?"

"It is when I see who is here and who isn't."

"Thank you."

Mr. Williams then started calling out names. The kids were supposed to say "here" when their name was called. After attendance, Mr. Williams told them about "Carpet Time." Sofia had originally thought that "Carpet Time" was when Mr. Williams taught them about carpets, but it was actually when the kids all sat down on a colored square of carpet. Mr. Williams then taught them rules. 

1. No eating in the class.

2. Follow directions

3. Listen to the teacher

4. Raise your hand when you want to speak

5. Be kind to your fellow students

There were other small rules like "Keep the gluesticks in the basket" and "don't run around with scissors" but most of them Sofia's mother had already taught her. 

Then, Mr. Williams read the class a story. Sofia thought it was the funniest story ever. It was about pigs that went into the house and people that went into the mud. It was like they switched places!

Then, the horrible screaming noise-that-wasn't-actually-a-person sounded in the room. 

"Alright class! Snack time!" Mr. Williams said. The class lined up behind him, and he led them outside to a lot of benches. The class had to eat snack snack at the benches, and when they were done, according to Mr. Williams, they could go play on the playground. Sofia couldn't wait to talk to someone new and become best friends. 

She walked around the benches, wondering which person to sit by. She found a girl with hair that looked like the sun, and thought that she would make a good friend. 

"um," Sofia said, getting Sun-haired girl's attention, "Can I sit next to you?"

"Sure..." She said. Sofia noticed that she was talking to a girl with fire-hair. Sofia wondered what their names were.

"What is your name?" She asked, nervously. They girl didn't answer. "What is your name?" She tried again. Still nothing. Sun-haired girl had her back turned to Sofia and was completely ignoring her. Sofia was confused. It wasn't kind to ignore people, and being kind was a major rule. She tried again, and the girl looked at her. 

"Would you be quiet, I don't want to talk to you." Sofia was taken aback. Did that girl really just say what she thought she said? Wasn't it the rule to be nice? Sofia didn't know what to do, or say. This sun girl clearly didn't want to be with her, and neither did her friend. Couldn't she be friends with Sofia too? 

Sofia was really confused, and was about to ask Sun-haired girl to clarify, when the screaming noise-that-wasn't-a-person rang through the air. That seemed to be a sort of signal, to tell the kids when to line up, because all of the students rushed to their lines. Sofia ended up at the end again, right behind Sun-haired girl and Fire-haired girl. They were giggling together, acting as if they didn't even know Sofia existed. 

School was definitely different that what Sofia had thought.