Hey Arnold: I Promise You That

PS18

It was 8am by the time Sarah arrived at her new school. She had to hurry since she had to walk with three sisters to the bus stop outside a tall red brick house with a small green outside outside. Sarah saw them off after they waited for five minutes but the girls were impatient to get moving. Bonnie and Annabelle snickered as they hoped on but Mary-Belle on the other hand smiled at her stepsister.

"Good luck on your first day", she said kindly, "you got this". Mary-Belle was kinder than her sisters but she had to hide her personality to please Cassandra. Sarah didn't mind though; she thought it was kind of Mary-Belle to say.

When she said goodbye, Sarah power walked to PS18, not taking a moment to take a break or to eat breakfast, despite being very tired. For someone who had been standing up all morning and walking on foot, she was desperate to sit down but that wasn't her concern right now. Her mind was buzzing with nerves and she sticker out like a sore thumb. Sarah never been into or expected an American school; she was normally familiar inside a British classroom (even though she never went to school much) and she was comfortable with all the lessons and their routine. Changing everything since the move didn't help at all but she had no choice; after all, she was just a kid.

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief when she arrived a few seconds before the school rang to start the day but she became uncomfortable when she heard loud noises and seeing strange children walking into the building, hearing all the excitement and moaning while squeezing into tight groups walking up a flight of stairs into the building. Seeing them made Sarah feel wary but she had to face her fears. Luckily, she had plenty of space by the time she walked past a teacher but as she made her way in, Sarah could hear a few words from two parents and their son standing in front of the stairs.

"You'll have to stay outside, okay?" said the boy with a strange football shaped head.

"Okay", replied a woman.

"When will you be done?" asked a tall man with spiky blonde hair.

"Err, 3:30?" was the boy's reply.

"We'll be waiting right here!" the woman shouted.

Sarah was walking behind the couple as she saw the boy looking back them, smiling. After a few seconds, he went in as the automatic doors were closing. She looked sad when she saw the smiling face; Sarah wasn't jealous but she never had that kind of love for a long time and thinking about that love bought her back memories.

~

Stella and Miles sat on the steps outside the school as they watched Arnold walking into the hallway. When the doors closed, they couldn't stop smiling. Sure they did miss Arnold growing up from a baby, taking him to pre-school and watching him grow up to the Fifth Grade before they woken up from the sleeping sickness back in San Lorenzo but that didn't stop them walking their son to school.

As the doors closed, who was walking behind them; they could see that she was nervous and wanted to get into the hallway safely and they decided that they wanted to help her.

"First day?"

Sarah turned to see Miles and Stella, whom were smiling at her and she smiled in return. "Yes", she replied in a strong British accent, "just moved from across the pond".

"I'm sure you'll be fine", said Miles.

"Thank you", the girl replied kindly. She never received kindness from strangers before, but it was better than the bitterness she receives from her stepfamily.

"Good luck", Miles and Stella waved.

Sarah waved in a return before waiting for the automatic doors to open. First day, we here come.