Chaos ensued. Paper airplanes flew across the room. Sally gossiped to Suzie about how she and Ronnie were going to hold hands on the line to music class. Michael sat in the far back of the class trying to finish the math homework that was due any minute. Next to him, Ben Blackshaw sat with his hands folded neatly on his desk.
"Good morning class."
"Good morning Miss Crabtree."
"I hope you are all going to be on your best behavior today."
"Miss Crabtree we are always well behaved," explained Timmy.
"That's true Timmy. But you all need to be extra good because you need to set a good example for our new student." Whispers and side glares spread amongst the students. "Class, I would like to introduce you to our new friend LuAnna." A petite young girl wandered through the classroom door. She was dressed in a yellow and black plaid sundress and was carrying a hot pink backpack. The class full of twenty-eight second graders gazed at the new student as if they had never seen another 8 year old before. "LuAnna, why don't you introduce yourself to the class."
"Okay. Hi." She stared down at the floor and started to fidget in her red rain boots. "My name is LuAnna. Um, my favorite color is yellow. That's why I'm wearing a yellow dress. I have a puppy named Baxter." She seemed to perk up and find interest in what she was saying. "He's so fun. He likes to run around and chase his tail. He's white with black spots. I think Mom and Dad said he was a dal, a dal…. a dog."
"Thank you for the interesting introduction LuAnna. We have an empty desk for you in the back, right next to Ben. If you have any questions about what is going on please feel free to raise your hand and ask. I will also allow you to ask Ben but just for today. He is a great student and loves to help others." LuAnna directed her attention towards Ben whose face was turning a bright shade of red. With a head nod from Miss Crabtree, LuAnna walked to her new desk and sat down.
"Okay class, now we are going to start the day with a spelling lesson on letters that begin with the letter T. Can anyone name a word that begins with the letter T? Just shout them out."
"Toy!"
"T-rex."
"T.V."
"Turtle." LuAnna stared at her classmates as they each answered the question. She was excited to meet all these people and make new friends. She daydreamed about the games they would play during recess and what they would talk about during lunch time.
"Great work guys! You are all so smart! Next you are going to work on Activity number 17 in your spelling textbook. We will take about 10 minutes and then go over the answers together." LuAnna watched as her classmates all reached inside of their desks and took out their textbooks. She mimicked their actions and looked in her desk. Inside, she found 3 different colored books; red, blue, and yellow. Which one was the spelling textbook? She peered up and saw Miss Crabtree writing on the chalkboard. LuAnna didn't want to raise her hand and have everyone stare at her. What had Miss Crabtree said she could do if she needed help?
LuAnna turned to Ben who was scribbling away in his book. "Psst. Ben. What color is the spelling textbook?" Disturbed, Ben looked up and gazed at LuAnna. His jaw dropped. He had not noticed how cute she was when she was up in the front of the class. He noticed that she had freckles all over her tiny rosy red cheeks. When she smiled he noticed that she had adorable dimples on either side of her mouth.
"Um. The textbook? The umm." He couldn't remember how to form a sentence. "The spelling textbook is umm."
"LuAnna we are working in the yellow textbook," replied Miss Crabtree. Ben's cheeks had turned a tomato red. LuAnna nodded her head and opened her book to Activity 17. Before Ben could return to his book he peered up at Miss Crabtree. She replied to his glance with a childish grin and wink. Smiling, Ben answered the next question in his assignment.