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Kaldur had spent all week preparing his classroom for the first day of school. He placed every child’s name on their assigned desk and cubby, he organized the bins of crayons and markers, he hung up posters and prepared a place to show off his students’ art. All his lesson plans were prepared, his class roster was memorized, now all Kaldur had to do was wait for the second graders to arrive.
Like many of the other teachers, he made a point of greeting the students in the schoolyard. The first day of school was always a mixed bag. Some kids were excited to see friends and wave around their shiny new notebooks while others tried not to cry for their parents.
And they were kids, so shouting and screaming was par for the course. But, about five minutes before the first bell rang, the children’s shouts pitched into a frenzy that had Kaldur looking up from helping a kindergartner tie his shoes. The children were gathered at the front gate, pointing and screaming and waving at the largest dog Kaldur had ever seen in his entire life.
It looked like a wolf, with scruffy gray fur, a long snout, and sharp yellow eyes. But even with the kids’ grabbing at it through the fence, the canine stood perfectly still and patient. Kaldur even saw its tail wag. A small girl, with her black hair tied in two braids and a Jem and the Holograms backpack, walked from behind the dog, scratching its ears and giggling when it licked her face.
Kaldur, who was gently encouraging the other students away from the fence, watched as a muscular man in a Superman t-shirt, who held the leash of the dog, kneeled down to give the girl a tight hug. He caught Kaldur watching and smiled abashedly,
“Sorry about Wolf. Martha insisted she wanted him to walk her to school.”
“It’s…” Kaldur was about to say “It’s fine,” but instead he found himself saying, “That’s not a real wolf, is it?”
The man’s smile widened humorously, “No, no. He’s just a big pup.” He stuck out his hand to shake Kaldur’s. “I’m Conner, this is my daughter Martha. We just moved here.”
Kaldur reciprocated the handshake before directing his attention to the girl still petting her dog, “I’m Mr. Durham. Nice to meet you, Martha. What grade are you starting?”
“SECOND!” Martha shouted, holding up to fingers and bouncing on the balls of her feet in unfiltered exuberance.
Mentally, Kaldur recalled his class list, “Are you perhaps Martha Kent?”
She nodded, and Kaldur grinned, “That’s great. You’re in my class.”
“You’re my teacher?” She asked excitedly, pulling her backpack around and digging through it, “THIS IS FOR YOU!”
Martha promptly plopped a potato in Kaldur’s hand. He blinked at it, trying to maintain his smile without bursting into laughter while Conner stuttered.
“Martha, we talked about this-”
“We didn’t have any apples at home!” Martha complained to her father, and Kaldur was finding it a lot harder to hold back his laughter.
“Sorry,” Conner tried to sigh, but Kaldur shook his head.
“This is a wonderful gift, thank you, Martha.”
“You don’t have to eat it. If you want you can put googly eyes on it like a rock pet.” She informed him.
Kaldur had to bite the inside of his cheek, but even then he wheezed a bit as he answered, “That’s very innovative.”
Conner, also trying not to laugh, kissed the top of Martha’s head. “How about you introduce yourself to the other kids, sweetie?”
“Okay.” Martha hugged her dad goodbye, “I love you.”
“Love you too, baby.” Conner squeezed her tight until she was squirming for freedom. He let her go, and turned slightly away from Kaldur, obviously trying to wipe tears from his eyes as his daughter scampered off. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be one of those parents.”
Kaldur patted Conner on the shoulder. “I assure you, you are far from the clingiest parent I’ve seen today. No shame in getting emotional over your daughter’s first day of a new school year.”
“Thanks, uh, Mr. Durham.” Conner smiled at him, and maybe it was the tears, but Kaldur swore his eyes sparkled, and he was struck by the man’s handsome, youthful face.
“You can call me Kaldur.” He said, returning the smile, unaware of the way Conner’s heart jumped at the sight.