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Arcadia Oaks was currently glistening with water from an afternoon September rainstorm, and it would have looked extremely pretty with the green and yellow leaves sparkling with raindrops if it wasn’t for the large puddles of water trying to murder Toby Domzalski. The boy was already having one heck of a time staying on his bicycle and didn’t need to add huge masses of H2O to his list! Well, they seemed huge to a five-year-old who —needless to say— only had about three month’s worth of training on a bike with two wheels. Why his Nana thought he could handle a bicycle was beyond him, for surely there had to be better and safer ways to get to kindergarten than this death contraption. But, despite the near-death experience almost every day, he supposed he did quite like it. Now, if only there was someone to ride with him to and from grade school, that would make everything so much better!
Toby was so lost in his thoughts of biking with a friend that he completely forgot the watery obstacles that laid in his path. That is, until he rolled over one that was a good four inches deep.
Perhaps if he hadn't freaked himself out so much, he could have ridden over the puddle of doom with no problem, but alas, he did freak himself out thus causing him to slam on the brakes to avoid any problems. This only created more when his tires immediately stopped turning in the middle of the puddle and didn’t hesitate to kick him off his bicycle. And, for only half a second as Toby flew through the air, he imagined himself making a cool and graceful landing that superheroes would be jealous of.
Too bad reality had other plans for him.
The five-year-old cried out as he landed on his hands and knees before gasping when his bike came out of nowhere and landed on his calf. Well, that didn’t go how he foresaw… And surely, he was going to have a good couple of bruises after this.
Pushing himself up to sit on his bottom, the boy looked down at his scraped-up hands before glancing at his ripped jeans that were becoming more wet and red by the second. Just looking at his battle wounds was enough to kick his pain into gear and cause his injuries to start throbbing madly. And before he knew it, he was starting to cry both in pain and fear. How was he supposed to get home like this? He looked like a beaten-up piñata, but… with no candy inside! And his bike, well, it’s definitely seen better days with its front wheel twisted askew and unlikely to function properly. He’d have to walk the rest of the way, which, unfortunately, was several blocks. He’d never make it! That thought only made him cry harder.
“Hey, are you okay?”
The small and timid voice caught Toby off guard, and with water-filled eyes, he looked up from his injuries to stare up into a young boy’s face that—hold the phone! Toby recognized this kid! He was in his kindergarten class! And not only that, but this boy also lived in the house across the street! And if Toby wasn’t so busy being totally and utterly shocked, he would have realized that his mouth had fallen open enough to catch flies, or the fact that the boy in front of him was starting to get nervous as he shifted closer to his bike. But, Toby just couldn’t believe it! He had been trying to talk to this boy for ages, but for whatever reason, his neighbor was determined to stay hidden inside his house —Toby assumed he was just shy— but it didn’t matter anymore for now he could actually talk to him!
Completely ignoring his battle wounds, Toby shot up from the ground and grinned hugely at his future friend; “hi! My name is Toby Domzalski! I live across the street from you!”
“Um… yeah… I know…” The boy mumbled as he glanced down at Toby’s wounds before pointing at them, “how did you get hurt?”
“Oh, these? They’re nothin’! I was just practicin’ some cool biking moves! What’s your name?” Toby suddenly asked as his grin widened in what he hoped was encouragement because this boy obviously needed some.
“Um… James Lake Jr…” and for some strange reason, his gaze dropped to the ground before he looked back up at the pudgy red-head, “but I go by Jim.”
“Jim Lake! I like that name! It sounds like a cool person’s name! You know, like, Tony Stark!”
“Tony… Stark…?”
“Yeah! Someone who’s gonna change the world for the better!” Toby readily responded with his eyes sparkling widely. “I can already see you wearing a shiny metal suit—something like Iron Man wears—and saving the world with it!” And to emphasize his enthusiasm, Toby fist-punched the sky with a growing smile.
Apparently, Jim thought that idea was absolutely obscured when he started to laugh, but it wasn’t a rude laugh like the kids at school made, it was a laugh that filled Toby to the brim with happiness. A laugh that meant that someone liked his sense of humor! The youngest of the Domzalski residents could definitely tell this boy was gonna be his new best friend.
“You’re funny, Toby.” Jim finally smiled once he was done laughing, and for the first time since Toby meant him, the black-haired boy seemed totally at ease as he squatted down to pick up Toby’s fallen bicycle. And once Jim steadied the bike in front of Toby, he pointed at the pudgy boy’s injuries; “my mom’s a doctor. She can help you with your owies.”
“Yes! Awesome! And then we can play after that!” Toby agreed without skipping a beat as nodded his head vigorously. “I’ve got some anime action figures in my room! We can play superheroes!”
Jim just laughed as he pushed his bike forward down the road and watched as Toby did his best to fall in sync despite the screwy front tire.
“Yeah, okay, we can play superheroes.”
“Sweet! And Jim? Thanks for stopping by to see if I was okay! I know we’re gonna be the best of friends now!”
“You’re welcome, and I think we are, too,” Jim replied with a rare smile that he reserved for only the special people in his life. And together, they continued on the path that would lead them to Jim's house.