Sofia dreaded going to school that morning. She didn't want to get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, or brush her hair and teeth. She just wanted to hide in her room all day with her imaginary fairy friends. But she still had to. She had to go to school without any friends. She would have to eat alone again. And she really didn't want to.
Momma dropped Sofia off at school that morning, waving goodbye and good luck. Sofia did her best to smile back, but really she was holding back tears. She didn't want to cry again. She didn't want people to like her even less. So she pretended to be happy.
Sofia trudged over to line fourteen. She had remembered it yesterday so she wouldn't be lost again today. She stood calmly in place, looking down. She feared that if she looked at anyone's face she would start crying. She really didn't want to. The strange, loud screaming sound rang through the air again, and a wave of kids ran to their lines. A couple minutes later, Mr. Williams came out of the classroom, and led his class inside. Sofia followed, only because she didn't want to break the rules. Honestly, she just wanted to go home. And by home, she meant New York. Where her friends lived. She decided to ask Momma if they could go back to New York tomorrow after school.
When everyone successfully found their seats, Mr. Williams took attendance again. Afterwards, they had carpet time again, and this time, Mr. Williams told the class how they could predict what would happen next in the story by looking at the pictures. It was really fun, but the whole time, Sofia was wishing that she could have a friend to laugh with. After that, the class went back to their seats, and Mr. Williams taught them the letter "a." The first letter in the alphabet. Finally, it was snack time, and Sofia would eat alone.
She found a nice spot at an empty bench, and took out her snack. Her mom had given her pretzels for snack today. Sofia loved pretzels.
Sofia looked around. Everyone seemed to have someone to talk to, but her. She saw Tracy and Fire-Haired girl (Sofia still hadn't figured out her name yet), she saw a group of girls sitting near Tracy and her friend, and she saw a group of boys looking at a bug. But she saw no one who was lonely like her. Nobody to talk to.
Once Sofia had finished her snack, she got up and threw her trash away. Then she walked over to the playground and played by herself. This time, she imagined that she was a doctor. She was the best doctor in the world, and she had a lot of patients. And every time she fixed someone up, they became her friend. She was a doctor with a lot of friends.
But then that noise sounded again, and she was lonely once more.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ms. Martin brushed off her shirt and breathed in. Today was an important day. Today she had a job interview.
She had tried to get a job since she and Sofi first moved here, but to no avail. Today was her last chance. Earlier that week, Ms. Martin had seen a sign on a small bookshop that they were hiring, and Ms. Martin really needed a job, so she had decided to call and schedule an interview. Ms. Martin had always loved books, so she thought she would enjoy this job.
Ms. Martin got out of the car, and walked into the shop. It was filled with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that were packed with all kinds of books. History books. Science books. Teen Fiction. Romance. Mystery. Kids. And a lot more. Ms. Martin breathed in the smell - her favorite smell in the world - of books. She smiled, and walked to the back of the shop. A woman there grinned, an directed her to a row of rooms. She stopped in front of the manager's door, and Ms. Martin knew this was where she needed to be. Here goes nothing, she thought, and knocked on the door
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sofia decided that she actually liked school. She just didn't like any of the kids. Mr. Williams was really funny, ans Sofia loved learning about math. She especially loved that they were starting an art project after lunch (which Sofia spent alone again). Mr. Williams called it "Directed Drawing," but Sofia liked calling it, "The Most Funnest Part of School Ever."
Mr. Williams gave each kid a piece of paper, and after everyone had mastered the art of holding pencils (or at least tried to. Some kids couldn't figure it out, but Sofia was a natural), Mr. Williams would draw something, shape by shape, and the kids would copy it. It was so fun, Sofia smiled the whole time. After they all finished, Mr. Williams collected their papers and told them that it was time to clean up. After everything was cleaned, Mr. Williams called up one table at a time to get their backpacks and sit at the carpet. Mr. Williams told them that at the end of the day, each day, they would go over what they learned that day, so it would be harder to forget.
"Can anyone tell me what letter we learned?" he asked
"The letter a." Somebody called out.
"Correct. Can anyone tell me what Andrew did wrong?" Tracy raised her hand. "Yes Tracy?"
"He did not raise his hand."
"Yes, Andrew, remember to raise your hand next time." Andrew raised his hand. "Do you have a question?"
"No, I just wanted to say 'yes sir' and you said I had to raise my hand if I wanted to say somthin" Andrew said, as if it was obvious
"Well, thank you for raising your hand."
At that moment, the loud screaming sound that Mr. Williams called "the bell" sounded, signaling the end of the day. Mr. Williams dismissed the kids row by row to line up at the door. Sofia was at the end, her sadness coming upon her again when she saw all of the kids laughing with each other, and not with her. She walked out of the door to see her mom beaming at her. Sofia scrunched her eyebrows. She seemed really happy. Sofia smiled. If her mom was so happy, than she could be happy as well.
YOU ARE READING
The First Friend
Short StoryFive year old Sofia Martin is getting excited for the first day of kindergarten. She simply can't wait to meet her new teacher, learn new things, and most of all, make new friends. Sofia and her single mother have just moved across the country from...
