Chapter 3
THREE
The first day of kindergarten was scary. Ezekiel said that if I wasn’t nice, I wouldn’t have friends and would end up eating alone.
I didn’t want to eat by myself.
Adam said if you ate alone, you were a loser, and I didn’t want to be a loser.
I didn’t want to tell anyone, but I was scared to leave my momma. Mornings were nice because it was always just us two, and it was nice not to have my brothers around. They could get annoying and loud.
My eyes watered when my mom dropped me off at school. I wasn’t ready to leave her yet. I was about to start crying when, next to us, I heard a little girl speak.
“Don’t cry, Mama. It’s going to be okay. I’m going to make lots of new friends.”
At her words, my momma chuckled.
“She’s my only child. I didn’t think I would be the one crying.”
I peeked around my mom, and sure thing, the lady did have watery eyes. A little girl about my age held on to her cheeks. She was wearing black sneakers with a pink dress and had her hair up in two buns.
When she noticed us, she let go of her mother’s face and beamed at me.
“Hi, I’m Astrid! Are you in kinder like me too?”
I could only nod since I was still too scared to speak because I was afraid I would cry instead of greeting her. One of my hands was still holding on to my momma, refusing to let her go.
“Are you ready for your first day? I’m excited!”
My mother laughed.
I didn’t move my head this time, and my mom tugged me toward her.
“This is Tyler. He’s a little shy.”
“It’s okay, Tyler. I’ll be your friend. Do you want to be my friend?” She extended one of her hands toward me, and my eyes landed on her nails. Some of them had pink nail polish on them.
My momma gave me another nudge, and I took a step forward and reluctantly took her hand.
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect him,” she told my mom, and this time, her mother chuckled.
Her grin grew, and I noticed she already had two teeth missing.
I remember looking back at my momma, partly to make sure she was still there. The other part was in wonder about whether or not I should trust this girl.
“It’s going to be okay, Tyler. We’re best friends now, and best friends always have each other’s backs.”
Friends? Best friends? This little girl wanted to be my best friend. That meant I wouldn’t be eating alone—I wouldn’t be a loser.
For the first time since arriving at school, I felt excitement.