"But I don't want to go to school, Mum!" William complained, mere minutes before it was time to leave for the first day at a new primary school.
"Your older brother came with me to see the school last week, and he thought it was brilliant," huffed his mother.
"OI! Don't bring me into this!" yelled a voice from the next room over.
"But I don't WANT to-"
"William Sherlock Scott Holmes, you get your bum in this car. Right. This. Instant." The boy trudged along to his mum's car when she stopped in her tracks. "You too, Mycroft!" Sighing, he ran to catch up with them.
"Mycroft?"
"What is it this time, Will?"
"Do you think the other kids will like me?"
"I'm sure they will," their mother cut in. "Who wouldn't like a charming young man like you?" Mycroft muttered something under his breath. "I heard that!"
Inside the school building, William tried to grab his brother's hand, but Mycroft walked towards the year six room with his hands stuffed into his jacket pockets, completely indifferent to the scene around him, and his brother especially. Hurt, William turned around and ran. Before he could get to his classroom, however, he saw a tall figure in a pink skirt blocking his path.
"May I help you?" A friendly, motherly voice issued from the skirted figure. William tried to talk, but his nervous little voice died out. The tall woman crouched down to speak to him. "My name is Mrs. Watson. I'm the headmistress. Are you our new student?" He gave a little nod of his head. "I bet this is pretty scary for you, huh." He nodded once more, trying to shrink down as small as possible, hiding his head in his coat. "This is my son, John. He's in your class. Say hi, John."
A blonde boy ducked out from behind his mother's back, just as timid as William, but shorter. "I'm William. Nice to meet you." He held out his hand for the other boy to shake. John took the small hand in his own and shook it, gently, as if it were a delicate, fragile object. Mrs. Watson at the lead, they walked down the hall to their classroom together.
"Phillip Anderson?"
"Here!"
"William Clark?"
"Here!"
As the teacher called out names, William realized how many people there were with his name. Certainly, there must be some way for him to distinguish himself from all of the rest.
"William Holmes?"
"Call me," He sat up straighter in his chair. "Sherlock."