Six-year-old Michael Clifford wasn't very good at making friends. In fact, he didn't think he could really say that he had any.
That's why he was sat on the swings alone while his mum, Karen, talking to the other mums in the park. Karen would be lying if she said that she wasn't worried about Michael. The boy had never had a friend, and he really only ever spoke to family members. She kept glancing over at him but Michael would smile back, reassuring her that he was okay. Like he had said when they arrive; he was a big kid and would be fine playing by himself.
There were plenty of kids in the park, and to any other kid, it would seem like heaven. But it overwhelmed Michael, and he would rather stay in the corner away from the hyperactive five-year-olds who were running circles around one another.
He sighed as he used his feet to gently rock the swing, his eyes trained on the floor so that none of the rowdy kids saw him as a target. Kids could be cruel. Michael had learnt that the hard way.
He watched as a shadow fell over his feet and he glanced up to see who it belonged to.
"Hi."
The girl who had spoken was a petite little thing, with baby blue eyes and light blonde hair quickly pulled back into a messy ponytail. The knees of her denim dungarees were darkened with grass stains and the palms of her hands held the scars of former scrapes and the ghosts of fading bruises, but a grin was beaming on her face, a dimple embedded in her right cheek.
"Hey," Michael spoke, his voice quiet and timid.
"Do you wanna play on the monkey bars with me?" She smiled.
Michael frowned down at his feet.
"It's okay if you don't want to." The blonde girl spoke, having seen his somewhat negative response.
Michael shook his head. "No, I wanna. But people don't wanna play with me."
"You're silly." She laughed. "I wanna play with you!" She grabbed his hand, pulling him off the swing. "C'mon!"
Michael followed slowly, unsure of what he was supposed to do. He was unaware of his mum watching with the proudest smile on her face. The pair stopped in front of the monkey bars, which was currently unoccupied as there weren't many six-year-olds who were allowed to use them without a grown-up.
"I'm not allowed to talk to strangers," Michael spoke as the blue-eyed girl let go of his hand and went to climb the monkey bars.
She turned around, grinned at him and spoke. "We can't be strangers if we're friends. I'm Delilah and five is my number."
Michael tilted his head as he thought. Having come to the conclusion that making a friend would be a good thing and would make his mum proud, he smiled softly. "I'm Michael and I'm six, but my mummy and daddy call me Mikey."
"I'm gonna call you Mikey, too."
