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Two months since Kindergarten began, and Gus was adapting nicely to the place. He was a little shy and awkward but he was getting his first grades, and they were quite good. He was happy when the teacher congratulated him for his learning skills, as he was quick to retain and recognize the alphabet. Sure, he hadn’t made a real friend yet, so he mostly played by himself during recess, but that didn’t really bother Gus for now. He knew he would be okay.
On this particular day, Gus was again playing alone when something caught his attention. Another kid was running all around the schoolyard, flapping his arms and making weird noises with his mouth. Gus vaguely recognized him from his class but that was it. He privately shook his head, disapproving this kind of behavior. He remembered what his mom always said about running around and the risks of being hurt and dirtying yourself. Gus hated pain and loved his clothes too much to be caught acting so recklessly.
As Gus was still watching the other kid from under his eyelashes, the latter suddenly fell to the ground head first. A few seconds went by where nothing happened, but then the boy started crying, fat tears rolling down his cheeks. Surprisingly he didn’t make that much of a noise, Gus absent-mindedly noted. He figured kids like him liked to make a big fuss in public, but he guessed he was wrong about this one. You could see him trying to be brave, but the pain and the shock of falling down were assuredly overwhelming for the little boy.
Gus tore his eyes away from the sobbing boy and glanced around, trying to see if anyone was coming to help him. But no one moved or even acknowledged the kid, especially not the adults who seemed to have magically disappeared. Gus figured the teachers were too busy, as always, so he took the decision of helping the little boy by himself.
"Hey, are you okay?" He asked while fidgeting with his fingers. He was a bit nervous because he wasn’t that used to talking to people yet, even kids from his age.
But the boy was still weeping on the ground, tremors racking his small body. It looked like he was all scratched, from his chin to his hands, and maybe elsewhere, but Gus couldn't be sure since he was still lying on his stomach with his head down. The little kid didn't seem to notice him at first, so he tried again.
"Hey, it's gonna be okay, don't cry." Gus said the last part almost to himself, since seeing the boy cry brought tears to his own eyes. He knew that was a matter of time until he cried too and Gus really wanted to avoid it.
Finally the other boy's sobs diminished and he looked up, tears still making their way down his cheeks and snot covering his nose. Still he didn't say a word and Gus was growing uncomfortable as the silence stretched until he got an idea.
"Do you want some band-aids? My mom always makes sure I have some in my backpack in any case. I'm gonna go get them, stay here!"
"W-Wait–!" The little boy suddenly exclaimed but it was too late. Gus had already taken off to where they left their backpacks at the entrance.
A few minutes later, Gus had his hands full of band-aids and snacks he thought he could share with the kid, to cheer him up. But when he came back, no one was in sight. The other kids still played around like nothing happened. But the little boy was nowhere to be seen and Gus worried he might have run away.
So Gus walked around the schoolyard for a bit, turning his head right and left to try to see him, when he heard distant sniffles and hiccups behind a building. He turned around and sure enough, the little boy who previously fell was here. He was curled up into a ball against the wall, hiding his head behind his arms and knees, like he was trying to make himself as small as possible. Somehow that didn’t sit right with Gus. He might have disapproved of his rash behavior from before, but he didn’t like seeing him like this.
"There you are, I told you to stay there." Gus softly said as he came closer, a tad of reprimand in his tone.
The little boy flinched, seemingly not having heard him coming or expecting someone to come find him either. "What do you want?" He asked defiantly, as he furrowed his eyebrows. His voice was still a little shaky from all the crying and he drew his arms closer, as if to protect himself.
Gus was a bit taken aback at the tone for a moment and almost took a step back. "Nothing. I just- you're bleeding!" Gus noted a bit alarmed, as he abruptly was a bit queasy while droplets of blood slowly oozed from the wounds. Gus quickly learnt that he was squeamish about the sight of blood. So he averted his eyes and stopped looking at the bleeding scratches any longer.
"I have some band-aids and snacks if you want." Gus gently offers, showing all the stuff he held in his small hands to the kid. The snacks went from the classic cheese balls, to the inimitable fruit roll-ups, and Gus even managed to snag some Gobstoppers.
The little boy stared at him a little longer, his piercing gaze examining Gus from head to toe, but then he seemed to relax a bit and slightly scooted over, indicating that Gus could come closer. And so Gus sat on the ground next to the boy. Gus was glad to see that he wasn't crying anymore, but remnants of tears clung stubbornly to his eyelashes and his eyes and nose were red. Gus thought that was adorable but quickly squashed that weird thought.
"Here, choose the ones you want. I got band-aids with dinosaurs and planets." Gus was a bit afraid that the other would laugh at him for his childish things, but thankfully his worries were rapidly shut down.
The little boy’s face suddenly lit up and his eyes opened as wide as saucers. He was a totally different boy while a wide grin replaced his sad pout and a twinkle of joy shone in his eyes.
"Woah, so cool. Can I have both?!" He exclaimed, like these band-aids were the coolest thing he ever saw.
"I don't see why not. Wait, I'm gonna help you."
And so the next minutes consisted of Gus dressing the boy's wounds while the latter held as still as possible. As expected he had hurt in a lot of places, like his knees, his palms, his left elbow and chin. Every time he spent a lot of time thinking about which band-aid to use, and Gus stuck his tongue out in concentration, as he conscientiously applied them, not wanting to mess it up. Still, the little boy couldn’t help but flinch every time Gus inadvertently grazed them.
When it was over, Gus thought the boy looked a bit like an idiot with all these dinosaurs and space band-aids. But then he saw the boy’s expression; he was positively beaming, and Gus decided to say nothing.
"Can I have the cheese balls now?" The little boy asked after he finished admiring Gus’ hard work.
"Sure, but don't say anything. Or else I'll be in trouble." Gus almost whispered a bit fearfully all of sudden, like someone would suddenly pop out of nowhere and scare them. To be honest, he wasn’t exactly allowed to bring snacks between meals and even his mom didn’t know he took them from the pantry. But he really wanted them, although he was afraid of being punished.
The little boy nodded in agreement, looking almost delighted to share a secret, and cupped his hands so Gus could give him some. Then they ate in silence for a while, enjoying the forbidden industrial taste of cheese and fruit. The other kid seemed to have really calmed down now so Gus finally felt his nerves melt away. They both enjoyed each other’s presence as they continued to talk for a bit.
When the bell eventually rang, they both reluctantly got up. As Gus dusted his pants, he realized something.
"Hey, what's your name?" Gus finally asked.
"Shawn. You?"
"Burton."
"That's a silly name." Shawn seemed to think for a moment, while Gus looked a bit hurt. "What's your last name?"
"Guster."
"Gus then!" Shawn exclaimed, his hands on his hips, pleased with himself to have found a suitable nickname.
Gus was a bit circumspect though, and didn't immediately like that this white boy, Shawn, gave him a nickname, but whatever he thought. He could always try to change Shawn’s mind later. He lifted his hand to shake Shawn’s hand.
"Nice to meet you, Shawn." Gus said with a small smile.
But Shawn presented a clenched fist instead, with a toothy grin. So Gus did too and they shared their very first fistbump, unknowingly marking the start of an incredible friendship.
Epilogue
Henry was a bit dumbfounded when he came to pick Shawn up later that day. He found his son covered in scratches and colorful band-aids that definitely weren’t his, a blinding smile and his hand tightly clasped another's boy's hand, who was smiling a bit more shyly. Wary, he gave a brief sigh but his kid looked so happy about making a friend, Henry kept his mouth shut. For now.