Scraps ~ Ben Parish

1. First meet

Dakota bounces on the balls of her feet as the big yellow school bus pulls up in front of her. Her sister, Sophia ruffles her strawberry blonde hair softly without messing up the adorable pigtails she'd styled herself just an hour beforehand. The older girl crouches in front of her tiny sibling.

"Excited for your first day Little sis?" She asked, the loving smile never leaves her face. The little redhead nods violently making her two-sizes-too-big-backpack bounce along with her head. Dakota had always been a small kid which worries Sophia, she would be an easy target for bully's, but she also had a huge heart, and a bigger sister to keep her safe.

The bus screeches to a halt and Dakota squeals. "Do I get a hug?" Her sister asks, arms wide, ready for an embrace. The bubbly child throws her little arms around her sister and whispers "I love you." into the older girls ear. Sophia giggles. "I love you too little sis, have fun." She whispers back.

Dakota detangles herself from her sister and waits for the bus driver to let her on. Her short legs barely reach the first step and she drags herself up with her arms. She proceeds down the bus aisle, a little puffed from climbing the huge stairs with her oversized backpack, and clambers into the first empty seat she can find.

The bus pulls away and Dakota waves out the window to her sister until the bus rounds a corner and she can no longer see her.

The youngling tries her best to relax but she's so excited, it was her first day of school! Dakota had always loved people, all people. So when Sophia told her this school had over 500 people, a number she couldn't even count to yet, she was ecstatic.

The seats on the bus were tall, the only people she could see were the ones across the aisle and the two heads in front of her. She held on to the seat to stop herself from flying into the seat ahead of her as the bus hurtled to a stop.

Seconds later two older kids, a boy and a girl, brush past her and make their way to the back seat. The now slightly overwhelmed newbie braces herself for the take off but it doesn't come. Instead the pudgy little face of a young boy pops out from around the seat Dakota had been worried about face planting into moments earlier. He eyes the seat next to Dakota then glances up at her. The girls plump little lips form a smile and she nods confidently. The boy thanks her as he plops down on the seat.

"What's your name?" Dakota asks, raising her voice so he can hear her over the growl of the engine. She memorises the boys face as he smirks, could he be her first new friend?

"I'm Benjamin, but you can call me Ben." He says in a confident tone before tilting his head slightly to the side as he properly inspects this new person. "Who're you?"

"My name's Dakota, this is my first time on a school bus." The girl had found it somewhat necessary to share that last piece information.

Ben looks at her as if this is the most coincidental thing he's ever heard. His mouth drops open into an 'O' shape and he stares at her in disbelief. "I've never been on a school bus either."

Now it's Dakota turn to be shocked, "Wow! That's so cool!"

Neither child knew this yet but they would soon mark this down as their fondest memory of each other.

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