SPENCER HASTINGS, 8 YEARS OLD
TOBY CAVANAUGH, 9 YEARS OLD
She loves school already. She loves learning and reading all the books that her teachers give her. She loves reading those little rhyming stories, like Dr. Seuss. She and her three best friends do everything together. She met her new best friends this year in class. They all sit next to each other. There's Hanna. Hanna's not the smartest girl, but she's funny and sweet. Aria. Aria loves drawing and writing her own rhymes. Emily. Emily loves to swim. She joined a swimming class a little while ago, and she fell in love with it. She can already paddle herself to float in the water!
So Spencer, Aria, Hanna, and Emily were best friends since the third grade.
They go out on the playground during recess. There's a guy. A boy.
He's older than them. The girls have seen him before. He's taller, older, and probably stronger.
He's a fourth grader.
They're all scared that he'll be mean to them.
Their parents told them not to interact with the older kids too much.
The thing is, this kid doesn't have many other friends.
He has one good friend named Caleb. Caleb Rivers, to be exact.
Caleb has longer hair than most nine year olds.
The kids make fun of him for looking like a girl. But he doesn't look like a girl.
Everyone's just immature.
Caleb's absent from school today, so the kid Toby Cavanaugh is playing alone during recess.
"Hi!" he exclaims brightly. "You wanna play kick ball with me?"
He gives them a toothy grin.
They all shake their heads and run away.
They don't want to talk to an older boy!
He's scary.