My first memory that is significant from the start of my school years is the first day of preschool...
I hid beside and slightly behind my mom's right leg. My mom was speaking to my first teacher. I was four years old and a year younger that everyone else. They led me into the loud and large room of kids. The carpet was red and there were hooks on the left side of the room for us to hang our bags and coats. I went to the hook closest to a table. I didn't want to be very far from my things. There were so many kids compared to my little spot behind the couch in our little old house. I pulled out a children's book about something I don't remember. I do remember that before I opened it and sat down my mom called out to me and took a picture. The cover of the book was a drawing of these two happy tigers jumping around at night. I'm sure we have the picture some where around here. I was so scared. I sat at a table with about five other girls at it and I had just sat down and opened the book. A girl with caramel colored blonde hair came up and put her knees on the chair, elbows on the circle table and chin in her hands.
"What are you doing?" She asked in a cheery voice. I had no idea what the hell to do.
"Reading." I said quietly. I looked at this girl I'd never met before. Her face was about 6 inches from mine and I was kinda scared of this whole making friends deal.
"Do you want to come play house with me?" She asked.
"Sure." I said timidly. To this day I still agree with pretty much everything people want me to do because I still have no idea how to just say no.
I closed my picture book and left it there. I followed her to this small spot next to the wall where I ended up spending most of my preschool year with this young girl named Erin Englert. Then at the ending of that summer she told me it.
We had those really long necklaces that had the plastic beads on them, mine was dark green and hers was park purple. My mom had just taken a picture of us at the top of the yellow double slide at the school play ground. I turned to her and she told me that she was moving to another town that was kinda far away. My heart broke for the first time of my life.
"Who will I play with next year? You can't move!" I didn't actually cry but I wanted to.
"Well, you will still have Chase. And I have to move. I don't want to though."
After this my summer ended and so did my pure happiness.
