It was a bright, Monday morning, and the sky was as blue as it could ever be in PaRappa Town. The adults had already headed off to work in their usual bustle, and the kids had gone for their first day of school, excited to begin the year anew. Recess had begun at one of these many schools, and most of the students were running about, having the time of their life. Except for a few...

A small puppy was sitting on the sidewalk of the school playground, paying no mind to his fellow students. He had a blue boombox in his lap and a tape in his hand, and was trying to figure out how to make it work like his Dad had shown him. So far, to no avail.

"Hmmmm…"

Meanwhile, a teddy bear about a foot away had just woken up from his nap to see the young dog struggling with the cassette in his hand. He watched as he kept pressing every button on the machine, and whining in frustration when it didn't cooperate.

"Stoopid!"

The dog threw the tape away in a huff, and pouted on the spot, his oversized beanie starting to drape down over his eyes. Little did he know that his tape had landed right in the hands of the nearby stranger, who inspected it thoroughly before getting up to his feet.

A moment later, the puppy saw a fuzzy hand grab his boombox away.

"HEY! Tat's mine!"

But to his amazement, he watched as the bear pressed down on one of the compartments, revealing a slot. He inserted the cassette and clicked it into place, handing it back to the flustered dog.

"You have to open it first dummy."

He stood in silence, not even hearing the insult, but took the boombox from his outstretched hands instead. "Fank you."

He sat back down with the bear sitting next to him, and pressed the small triangle button. A slow beat began to play from it, and he started rocking slightly to the beat.

Music was always going through the puppy's mind - whether it be a song he had listened to before or one that he was making up on his own. This tape was a special gift from his dad, who had given it to him as a test for his beta invention, which he had created especially for his son.

"..." The bead shrugged at the song, not caring much that his music taste seemed a little bland. He's definitely heard worse before.

The dog kept moving, enjoying the simple song playing through the air. He gazed up and noticed a few students gathering around, starting to play in the company of the delightful sound.

One of them had caught his attention. Instead of playing with the others, a kitten was dancing alone, laughing as she skipped all around. Her tail whipped this way and that, along with the skirt she was wearing, not giving a care in the world.

Soon she saw the dog watching her, and hopped over to him. "Come dance with me doggy!" She held her hands out to him, giving a big grin to him as she let out another giggle.

Her cheeriness was quite contiguous, making the puppy give off a beaming smile of his own and struggle to get up to his feet. "Okay!"

He left his boombox playing next to the teddy bear, and went off to dance with his fellow classmate, laughing the entire way.

They started hopping and jumping all about, attracting the attention of their other classmates. The teddy bear watched them with a sleepy smile on his face, contemplating whether he should get up to join them or not.

Finally, the tape stopped playing, and the two kids walked over and sat back down next to the bear; their faces were red and they were huffing from all the fun they just had.

After a few moments of trying to gain their breath back, the kitten blew her hair out of her face and outstretched her paw. "Hi! My name's Katy. What's yours?"

The dog looked down at her paw, and nervously grabbed it, shaking it shyly. "...PaWappa."

The cat beamed at him, and delightfully asked, "Do you wanna be my friend PaRappa?"

He looked up at her, a worried look on his face. "Wu...weally?"

"Yeah! I like you, and I had fun dancing with you!" She gave off another smile, and respectfully put her hands into her lap.

Giving off his own smile, PaRappa brightened up, and gave an enthusiastic, "Okay Kitty!"

"Hee hee..it's Katy silly! Like cat!" She looked behind him to see a young teddy bear watching them converse. "Hello there! Do you want to be friends too?"

The bear looked surprised (or as surprised as he could look), and mumbled, "...okay. My name's PJ."

"YAY! The cat excitedly brought the two of them in for a hug. "We're gonna be the most bestest friends forever!" PaRappa gave a small giggle while PJ squirmed a bit in her grasp.

RIINNGG!

A bell had gone off somewhere in the school, signaling that it was time for them to head back inside. Nearly all the students collectively gave out a saddened Awwwwwww…. and began shuffling toward the building.

"Oh, recess is over…" A glum blue kitten let her two new friends go, and upsettingly looked down at the ground, giving a small sigh.

PaRappa shuffled his foot, giving a sad look over at PJ, who also seemed a bit bummed.

Katy looked up at the two of them, trying to have an optimistic smile. "Aww..but we can always have fun tomorrow.. And maybe we can see each other inside!" She gave them both one last hug, and ran off while waving at them. "Bye PJ and PaRappa!"

PJ watched her run along, and waved PaRappa over as he started to walk to class. "Let's go. I think we have the same class together." PaRappa ran up and walked alongside him, wringing his hands together nervously. "Oh..here." A small boombox was put into his hands, to which the puppy looked up at him surprisingly. "You almost forgot it. I didn't want anyone to take it."

PaRappa gave him a genuine smile. "Fank you PJ."

The bear gave his own smile back. "..you're welcome."

"Mommy! Mommy!" An overjoyed pup ran over to the car that had just pulled up, bouncing happily as he waited for the woman in it to open her door.

She knelt down to give him a loving embrace, smiling as her red hat fell off of her head. "Awww..did you have a good first day at school PaRappa?"

"Mommy, I made new fwiends today!"

"You did? That's amazing!" She gave a small laugh as she lifted his beanie to look into his brown eyes, juxtaposed against her bright blue ones. "And you were so scared that they would be mean to you."

"They not meam! Look!" He pointed over towards the school at a distant teddy bear and the blue cat next to him, who were chatting with each other. "PJ and Katy!"

"PJ and Katy?"

"Yeah!"

"Aww..did they like your boombox?"

The pup had a huge smile on his face as he remembered the events that happened earlier. "Yeah! PJ helped me..and Katy danced with me!" He looked down at his clothes, and let out a small giggle when he saw the blackened mess smeared on them. "Mommyyy! You got my clothes dirty again!"

She gave a small laugh, saying, "Oopsie..sorry honey." Wiping off the ashes best she could, she continued with, "Mommy was very busy at work today - a lot of fires to deal with..But she's so happy to see that you had a good day today!" Giving him a big kiss on his cheek, she hugged him again and brought him in close to her.

"Mommy?"

"Yes PaRappa?"

"I love you." He nuzzled her uniform, giggling again.

"I love you too PaRappa."

He gazed up at her with wide eyes, excitedly saying, "Can't wait to go school tomorrow! With new fwiends!"

She gave him a warm smile. "That's wonderful honey. Just remember what I always tell you if you ever get scared again...

You gotta believe."