The Chronicles of Tasha and Tyrone

Chapter 2: Tyrone the Troublemaker (Tasha)

That morning, Tasha could've said she had it all; the looks, the grades, everything! But when she saw the orange moose walk into the kindergarten classroom, she felt complete. She didn't care that she was only in kindergarten. She already loves him.

"My name's Tyrone," he said to her, then shoving pickles up his nose.

Looking back, she couldn't help but laugh. She held her lunchbox in her right hand and her journal in her left. Tasha liked writing down her feelings on paper. It made her feel better.

Tasha sat down at an empty table in the outside cafeteria. She took a red crayon out of her backpack as the wind blew against her face. She wrote:

"Kindergarten is amazing so far! Miss Cary loves me! We learned about numbers and letters and drew our favorite animals! I usually would've chosen the hippopotamus, since, obviously, that is what I am, but today I drew my new favorite animal, a moose, ever since I saw a handsome one walk into the class and sit next to me. His name is Tyrone, and he likes pickles. He made me laugh when he shoved them up his nose. I am in love."

Tasha was stopped when a pink animal asked her, "Can I sit here?"

Tasha closed her journal. No one could ever read her journal but herself. Maybe Tyrone one day, but no one else.

"Sure," she said.

The pink animal sat across from her, putting her lunch tray on the table. She began eating a cheeseburger, "I'm Uniqua."

"I'm Tasha."

"Nice to meet you," Uniqua said, "I saw you in class today. You looked very happy."

"I was," Tasha said.

Uniqua took a sip of her drink, "I sit at the table next to you. You didn't try to make any friends. Are you shy?"

"No," Tasha answered.

"Then why not?" Uniqua asked.

"Tyrone," Tasha said dreamily.

"Oh. Is that the guy who shoved pickles up his nose?"

"That's him."

"Well, he seems funny, but I like someone else," Uniqua said.

Good, Tasha thought.

"Who?" Tasha asked instead.

"Pablo."

"Who's Pablo?"

"Hi, I'm Pablo."

A blue penguin sat next to Tasha. He had a sandwich, a cookie, and a soda on his lunch tray. He smiled at Tasha, "You're Tasha, right?"

"Yeah," Tasha answered, "I'm new to town."

"Nice," Pablo said. He took a bite of his cookie, "how do you like it so far?"

"Amazing," Tasha imagined her and Tyrone running through a meadow, holding hands and staring into each other's eyes.

"Um, earth to Tasha?" Uniqua snapped Tasha out of her fantasies.

"Oh, right. What was that again?" Tasha asked.

"I was asking where you lived before you came here," Pablo told Tasha.

"That doesn't matter," Tasha dismissed the question. She wanted to talk about Tyrone and get to know everything about him, "so, do you know Tyrone? Tell me about him."