Chapter Text
Staring up at the looming building in front of him. Javari clutched onto his mother's skirt. He was outside what his mother called his 'kind-der-gar-ten'
"Do I have to go in mama?" he whimpered. His mama stared down at him, her brown eyes shining with warmth and affection.
"You'll be fine honey. You'll get to do so many fun things and maybe you'll even meet some new friends," she replied, petting the young boy on the head.
Gulping down his fear, Javari nodded. "If you say so."
Heading inside, Javari made his way through the large halls and ended up in a large colourful room. There was a desk in the corner, a large white board, wooden bookshelves lining the walls, colourful beanbags and a rug scattered across the floor and many different toys. There were a few other kids sitting around on the rug and a blonde-haired lady that came over to where Javari and his mother stood.
"Hi, are you Mrs Mullins?" the new lady asked, holding out her hand.
Javari's mama nodded, taking the lady's hand and shaking it. "I am. I believe we talked on the phone?"
The blonde lady nodded and gave a shining smile. "Yes we did. Where's the little one that will be in my class?"
The lady's hazel eyes zeroed in on Javari who was attempting to hide behind his mother's skirt. The lady kneeled down, giving Javari a warm and welcoming smile.
"Are you Javari? I've heard so much about you. My name is Miss Wells, I'm going to be your teacher. We're going to have so much fun together."
Despite being a complete stranger, Miss Wells felt like a nice person to be around. Slowly, Javari shuffled around so he was no longer hiding behind his mama. Miss Wells gave another warm smile before she took Javari's hand.
"Say bye bye to mama," she instructed.
Javari looked up at his mama and gave a small wave, trying to plaster a smile on his face. His mother gave him a warm smile and blew a kiss his way.
With that, Miss Wells stood up and led Javari away to a corner of the room. The corner had a beanbag, some books and a box of toys.
Miss Wells knelt down to Javari's level. "I need to go talk with your mama for a bit so you stay here and play with some toys, okay?"
Javari nodded in understanding. Miss Wells stood back up and headed over to where she'd come from, leaving Javari all by himself.
Seeing nothing else to do, he headed over to the toy box and dug through it. Immediately he saw something that he absolutely loved; a giant gray teddy bear with a red bow around its neck. Javari plucked the bear from the box and sat down on the beanbag nearby, beginning to play. The bear reminded Javari of a similar teddy he had at home but that one was yellow. The gray teddy was soft and fluffy, it felt comforting.
For many minutes, Javari sat alone playing with his Teddy when all of a sudden a boy his age came up to him.
"Give me the bear, you've had enough time with it," the boy demanded. Javari looked at the boy in surprise, hugging the bear closer, shaking his head.
"You're stupid. Give me the bear," the boy again demanded.
Javari refused to hand over the bear, shuffling back as much as his little beanbag would allow. Without warning, the boy reached forward and latched onto the bear, tugging it forward. Javari attempted to keep his grip on the bear but strength was not his strong suit and the bear slipped away. The other boy looked smug, sticking out his tongue before proudly walking away.
All Javari wanted to do was curl up and cry; so that's what he did. Grabbing his legs, he curled into a ball and sat on his beanbag, silently beginning to cry. Was all of kindergarten going to be like this?
"Hey, are you alright?"
Hearing a new voice, Javari looked up to see a young girl standing in front of him, holding out the bear that had just been taken from him. He looked between the bear and the girl with confusion.
"I saw that mean kid take it from you and I will not allow any meanies while I'm here," the girl declared, looking quite proud of herself. Taking the bear, Javari hugged it like there was no tomorrow as the girl sat next to him.
"What's your name?" the girl inquired.
Javari shrunk in on himself but let out a soft whisper, "Javari."
The girl beamed a smile over at him. "I'm Aster. I have a feeling we're going to be good friends."