Hi guys—I'm already working on other chapters for this one. I'm super excited about it, so I hope y'all like it, read and review! Thanks for reading! Xx- Sierra
David wanders through stacks of tall brown boxes, looking for his mother. Behind one, he spots a flash of red. He hurries towards the box the box that it disappeared behind, and when he runs into his mother, he bounces back a little. "Mom!" he says, tugging on her red dress. "Could I go to the park and play?" He follows her into the kitchen where she puts a stack of plates into the cabinet.
"I don't know, Davey… I'm awful busy getting us unpacked, and your daddy won't want to take you," she drums her fingers on the counter regretfully. David is too young to realize it but his mother is beautiful. Her blonde hair is curled just so, and her red lips match her dress perfectly. Coming from the south, she takes a great pride in her appearance. She continues to put glassware into cabinets, not giving David a straight answer.
This is the third time they've moved since David was born 9 years ago. However, their new home in Lima is the first one that they can comfortably live in. This is the first neighborhood they can be safe in, and the first house that David likes.
David waits a little while, looking at the white tiled kitchen floor. "But mom…" he drags her name out into five syllables. He's visibly disappointed. "Mom, I really want to go play!"
His mother puts her hand to her head, massaging her temples. "Davey, I'm sorry but I can't take you right now. Go up to your room and play with the GameBoy grandma Mimi got you."
David nods, smiling. He likes his mom's voice better than his dad's. His dad always sounds angry about something, but his mom's southern accent is the opposite. "Okay, mom," he concedes. When he's sure she's focused on putting something else away, he slides open the back door and walks around to the front. He waits until his dad goes back inside with another box before he darts down the street, to the park he saw when they drove up. When he gets there, he sees only three other kids playing tag. The women who are presumably their mothers are sitting on a long green bench talking to each other over iced coffee. David walks towards the three boys, hoping it'll be easy to make friends in this place. One of them, a boy who is unbelievably skinny, looks up first. He nudges his friends.
"Hi, I'm David," he introduces himself to the trio. "I just moved here from Nebraska."
The boys don't say a word until the one furthest from David, a chubby black boy, speaks up. "I'm Azimio Adams," he says with a nod. The skinny boy next to him says his name is Tyler Kippard, and the third boy, someone tall for their age, introduces himself as Travis Price.
Azimio motions for David to start to play with them, and he does. The time passes quickly, and none of the boys even notice when the moms start to migrate towards them. "Honey who's this?" David's head jerks around at the sound of his mom's southern voice, but it isn't his mom standing next to him. It's Azimio's mom.
"Momma, this is David. He just moved here from, um, Nebraska." He glances towards David, silently checking his facts.
"Well hello, David! I'm Azimio's momma, but you go on ahead and call me Sherry, okay?" She puts one hand on Azimio's shoulder. "Where is your momma, David?" she looks around to make sure she hasn't overlooked someone.
"Oh! I walked here by myself ma'am!" he looks over his shoulder, towards his street. "I don't live to far from here so it's okay though."
Both Travis and Tyler's moms have already taken them by the hand, leading their children home. Now it's only the three of them left standing in the grass. Sherry bites her lip, like she doesn't know what to do, so David reassures her. "Really, ma'am, I'm okay. I'll walk on home now."
"David, child, would you like a ride home from us? We really don't mind it," she asks, her voice growing with concern.
"No ma'am, I don't mind walking. Thank you for the offer though." David knows enough to not accept rides from people he doesn't know, even if she seems like the nicest lady, only next to his own mom. Without another word, he starts his walk back home, but Sherry calls out after him.
"Baby, at least let us walk with you," she offers, pulling on her own son's hand. The three of them start up to David's new house.
"So where in Nebraska did you live, sweetie?" Sherry asks, trying to start a conversation. Both boys ignore her, though, carrying a whole other conversation of their own.
"You like Pokémon?" David asks Azimio.
"Yeah! It's on channel 3 at 4 o clock here. I watch it every day. You should come over some time to watch it!"
David smiles excitedly. This is the first time he's ever had something to brag about—the first time he's not too poor to have something fun. "I just got the new GameBoy Advance, and I have Pokémon Sapphire to play. You should come see it!"
All four boys – Tyler, Azimo, Travis and David—are in the same class. Mrs. Morris, their teacher, seats them all in a square. They spend the entire year bonding over Pokémon. David helps the boys with their times tables, and they help him meet all of his classmates and make more friends. By the end of the year, it's established: David, Azimo, Travis and Tyler are the 'cool kids' (if such a thing exists in third grade), along with Quinn Fabray, Brittany Pierce and Santana Lopez. The boys enter the summer with great excitement for the years to come.