It was another peaceful winter day at Seaside Preschool. The kids had just been dropped off by their parents, who were so proud of their children. Epsilon and Francis had been the first ones to arrive, eager to learn exciting new things. The others gradually filed in, hanging up their coats, and taking their seats."Okay, class," the teacher said cheerily, "We're going to start the day with some arts and crafts. There are all kinds of materials on the back tables. Have fun!" The preschoolers moved to the back of the room noisily, and began working on their projects.
Zak was finger painting a picture of a little orange car, which was coming out nicely. Argost and Munya sat in the far back of the room, making macaroni art together. Everything was peaceful, until Doyle decided to have a little fun…
Doyle grinned mischievously as he snuck up behind Argost, hiding a glue stick behind his back. "Hey, Argost. Your lips must be really dry from the winter wind. Want some chapstick?" the red haired boy asked, holding the gluestick out to Argost. The pale toddler nodded with a smile, and applied a good amount of "chapstick". He rubbed his lips together, and when he tried to thank Doyle, they wouldn't separate. Argost tried to scream, but only muffled sounds could be heard. "You sound funny!" Doyle said excitedly, laughing at his victim. Munya noticed Argost being bullied, and rushed over to help unglue his lips. Zak laughed, having seen everything. "Nice one!" he said to Doyle, the boys high-fiving.
In the front of the classroom, Doc worked on making a caterpillar out of green play-dough. Drew sat next to him, coloring in a picture of a flower. She was very neat, never going outside the black lines. Van Rook sat alone at the table next to Drew, making a necklace out of string and colored beads. Behind his metal mask, his eyes kept wandering over to Drew, watching her color the flower in with a purple crayon. Slowly, he scooted his chair towards her, inching across the floor, until he was sitting right next to her. She looked up from her work, and noticed him sitting there, holding the necklace in his hand. "Hi, Drew. I made something for you" he said nervously, placing the beaded necklace around her neck. The girl beamed. "Van Rook, that's so nice. Look, you even put my name on it!" Her name was spelled out in small white beads with little black letters on them, a colored bead between each letter. "Thank you so much!" Drew gushed. Doc seethed behind her, jealous of Van Rook. He sighed, and continued working on his caterpillar.
"Okay, kids. Time for recess!" the teacher called. With shouts of joy, the toddlers put on their coats, hats, and gloves, and headed out to the playground. They rushed over to the playground, where all the slides, tunnels, and monkey bars awaited them.
Drew was doing well at double dutch, Zak on one end, Doc turning the other. She made up countless rhymes to jump to, impressed at her own jumping skills. Paul Cheechoo was eyeing the girl from a few feet away, a soccer ball resting by his feet. The little boy kicked it as hard as he could, and hit Drew right in the back. She tripped over the ropes and fell on her face, a small cry of shock escaping her lips. She began to cry, as Paul laughed at her. Her cheek had been scraped, the wound red and irritated. Zak bent down to comfort her and help her up, and Doc yelled at Paul. "You big fat meanie!" he hollered, glaring at the bully. Van Rook had appeared behind Cheechoo, who hadn't noticed. Silently, Van Rook pushed Paul as hard as he could, sending him down to the pavement. "How do you like it, you butt-face!" he mocked, Paul looking up at him in disbelief. Doc once again grew jealous of Van Rook, who was now brushing some dirt off the back of Drew's coat, the girl smiling at the masked boy.
Epsilon, Francis, and Argost sat behind one another, fighting to go down first on the biggest slide. The boys argued, each of them claiming that it was their turn. "Hey dorks! Over here!" Doyle shouted, who held a bright red dodge ball. As they looked over, Doyle hurled it up at Francis, hitting him right in the face. Startled, the green haired boy fell forward, pushing hard into Epsilon and Argost. They tumbled down the slide, falling over like dominoes, and ended up in a large heap at the bottom. Doyle laughed, the dazed kids groaning and pulling themselves up. "That was soooooo mean. I'm telling on you!" Francis whined. "Wait, Francis. I've got a better idea" Argost chimed in, motioning for them to follow his lead. The three advanced, backing Doyle into the corner of the playground. A fence blocked all possible escape, but the boy had great courage. "Bring it on; I can take you down all by myself!" Doyle bragged, doing his best to sound tough. They closed in, and his bravery dissipated. As Doyle crouched low, bracing himself for the attack, his saving grace had arrived.
"Leave my brother alone!" Drew shouted, the bullies spinning around. "We're not gonna listen to you. You're a girl. You have cooties!" Epsilon teased. "That's right. If you get too close, you're gonna get it!" She charged at the boys, who ran away from her. "Cootie attack! Run away!" Argost cried, the boys dashing across the playground, cowering in a plastic tunnel. "Thanks, sis. It's a good thing you have cooties." Doyle said, beaming at his sister. "That means you should run away, cuz you can catch the cooties, too." Drew said, moving closer towards Doyle. "No I can't. I'm your brother, so I'm invincible to your cooties" he replied. She rolled her eyes and ran off to rejoin Zak and Doc.