"Clary, get up," Clary's mother, Jocelyn, shook her awake, "It's your first day of school!"
Clary slowly opened her eyes, and took in the blinding light of her bedroom. She was greeted by her mom's bright red hair, much like her own hair, and the friendly green of her eyes. She sat up in bed, and saw the outfit her mother had laid out for her. A green dress, with black tights, and a matching headband. She jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom, eager to get her day started.
Clary quickly brushed her teeth, brushed her hair, put on her clothes, and ran down the hall to the kitchen. Her mother sat on one of the chairs, scooping Cheerios into her mouth, an identical bowl sitting next to her. Clary used her small limbs to climb the chair, and dug into her breakfast. Behind her, Clary heard the sound of the door opening, and the familiar, loud voice of her mom's friend, Luke.
"Luke!" Clary called out, happy to see the man who had been almost like a father to her for two years.
"Hey, Clary!" Luke said, wrapping her in a tight hug with his big arms. "Ready to go to school?"
"Yeah!" Clary cheered, jumping up and down the kitchen.
She grabbed her backpack, and followed Luke and her mother out the wooden door, down the steps, and out of their apartment. She inhaled the smell of the less-than-clean Brooklyn air.
When they arrived at the friendly looking elementary school, Clary rushed to join the groups of children lining up for their classes.
The little first graders read short stories and practiced adding all morning, until they were released for recess and lunch. Clary took her pink lunchbox and sauntered over to a picnic table and slowly ate her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Not long after Clary had sat down, a boy in her class with brown hair and brown eyes sat down next to her, taking out a small container of pasta out of his Spiderman lunch box.
"I'm Clary," she announced to the boy, "what's your name?"
"I'm Simon," the boy, Simon, said, grinning at her with small white teeth.
"Is that Spiderman?" Clary remarked, pointing at his lunchbox.
"Yeah!" Simon said, his smile growing wider, his eyes lighting up at the mere mention of his hero. "He's my favorite! I want to be just like him when I grow up!"
"You want to be a part spider superhero?" Clary giggled, surprised that someone would want to be something so outrageous and silly.
"No, not exactly," Simon muttered, his gaze traveling to the children running frantically around the colored playground. "I want to be a hero; I want to help people someday."
"Oh," Clary added, her expression sobering up for a minute. Something about this boy made her feel happy. She watched him finish his lunch, and she finished her sandwich as well. Then, she gathered her courage and asked, "Do you want to play with me?"
Simon looked at her for a second, then his eyes flitted to the colorful playground, already crawling with their classmates, running and giggling on the monkey bars, the plastic castle, the slide, and the swings. "Sure," he said, and he reached his hand to the girl with the bright red hair, and captivating green eyes, whose smile was lighting up the entire playground, the entire world.
Clary grabbed his hand, and they ran together to join their classmates on the playground, to begin their adventure together.