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Mike Wheeler is hardly prepared for kindergarten. He had heard from Nancy how scary school was, and he did not want to be tormented by scary bullies. His dad told him to “Man-up” And he tried to! He swears. But it’s just so scary. He wishes there were more kids that lived in his neighborhood, because then he would actually know people at this school!
Walking through the doors of Hawkins Elementary was terrifying. There were so many- too many big kids here. But it’s not like Mike’s scared or anything! Obviously not. Sure, he’s holding his mom’s hand, but only to help her calm down. She must be nervous leaving him here.
“Alright baby, this is where I drop you off, are you gonna be a good boy today?” Karen asked her son, noticing he was fidgeting with anxiety.
“Of course.” Mike said confidently, ignoring how his lack of front teeth distorted his words. He watched his mom smile down at him, and he realized he’s going to miss her. It’s 9:00 right now, and she won’t be back until 1:00! It’s too long. “You should pick me up earlier, since I don’t want you to miss me too much.” He said, looking to the side to avoid making eye contact.
“Michael, I wish I could. But you need to stay the whole time so you come back even smarter than before!” She exclaimed, her voice sounding excited. Well if his mom is excited then Mike supposes it won’t be all that bad.
He watched the other kids his age enter the colorful room ahead of him. In big, rainbow words it read “Kindergarten” at the top of the door. At least, Mike thinks. He’s not the best reader yet. He took a deep breath and let go of his mom’s hand.
“You have a good day today, ok Michael? I love you.” She said as she leaned down to reach eye level. He nodded and tried to smile at her.
“Ok, mom. Love you.” he muttered, still a little bit sad to see her go. But he’ll see her later! There’s nothing to worry about.
Karen lovingly patted her son's mop of hair, a little bit sad herself. Mike is a good, smart kid. But, he struggles with the…social aspect of things. She just prays nobody will pick on him for his bluntness and honesty.
“Bye, I’ll be right here waiting for you when the bell rings.” She said, watching her son nod sadly and lug himself into the classroom.
-
Kindergarten so far had been boring.
The teacher was going on and on about reading and numbers, when all Mike wanted to learn about was when recess is.
But one thing he did find interesting was observing his fellow classmates. He had never seen so many people his age in one place, except for the uncommon time he went to the playground. Everyone here looked so different and new. And Mike thought that was awesome.
When the class went around to say their names and something interesting about themselves, Mike was listening intently. If he was going to be with these people the entire year, he needed to learn a lot about them. So they can be friends.
“My name’s Troy and I go fishing every saturday!” One kid excitedly said, earning “ooh”s and “ah”s from other kids. Mike didn’t find fishing to be all that exciting though.
“That’s lovely Troy,” The nice teacher stated. She had red, curly hair and was wearing a white shirt with a black skirt. She seemed nice enough in Mike’s opinion, and she seemed to actually care about what they were saying. If she were his dad, she would have already turned the t.v. volume up by now, his own subtle way of telling Mike to stop talking.
The boy that was up next was small. Smaller than most people in the class. But he didn’t only seem small physically, but he also seemed timid and shy. Mike felt a little bad, knowing how scary speaking in front of people can be.
“My name is Will, and I draw.” he said in a voice so quiet, Mike almost had to strain to hear it. It seemed the teacher had the same problem, because it took her a couple seconds to come up with a reply.
“Ah, that’s nice! I also like to draw.” She says, her voice gentle. Much gentler than when she spoke to Troy.
The turns came and went, and it turns out many of these kids couldn’t come up with something other than “I play” and “I play with friends” It almost makes Mike feel sad, for some reason.
“My name is Mike, and-and I like to write.” He said when it reached is turn, watching his classmates' reaction to his statement.
“Wow Mike! It’s impressive your writing at such a young age.” She said, and Mike swelled up with pride. It is impressive. He has a knack for it, is what his mom says.
After the get-to-know-you game was done, the teacher started to talk again. Mike didn’t really care, so he didn’t really listen.
And then finally, the recess rolled around. He had been looking forward to this all day!
He ran outside with the other kids, amazed by the big playset in the wood chips. And woah! Those were some high monkey bars!
After about 5 minutes of wandering around though, he realized he had no one to play with. And he was sad about that discovery.
Mike didn’t want to spend recess all alone like some loser. He wanted to make friends! And thus began the hunt.
He had roamed around, looking for those suitable to become his friend. He crossed paths with Troy, who asked if he wanted to play freeze tag with him. Mike hates freeze tag. So he told Troy that, and left on his merry way, ignoring the other little boy's remarks.
As he walked away, he noticed a swingset farther down the field. And on one of the swing’s, he saw Will. The small boy who likes to draw. Perfect.
He walked over quickly, knowing recess wouldn’t last forever.
He slowly approached the other boy, feeling nervous for no reason. He’s being silly. Will won’t say no to him or anything, right?
“Hey um, Will? Can I swing with you?” Mike asked, fiddling with his fingers, like he always does when he’s nervous.
He watched Will’s head shoot up from where he was looking at the ground, and that was the first good look he got at the other boy.
He was soft. That was the only way Mike could describe him. Much unlike himself, who had sharp features even at his young age. Will had soft features and soft brown hair cut into a bowl cut framing his face. He had moles going down his neck, and one right above his upper lip. He was pretty! Mike liked him already.
“Oh, uh. Yeah. sure.” Will said, and he seemed nervous. Mike didn’t like that.
He sat down on the swing next to Will, silently swinging for a moment. He took a deep breath and gathered all the courage he needed to say these next few words.
“Do you wanna be my friend?”