MID AUGUST, 1998

It started in preschool
On the school yard playground

"We're here, Mitchie." Connie Torres squeezed her daughter's hand affectionally. 5 year old Mitchie gulped and looked up at her mom, bitting her lip. She didn't want to be there. She wanted to be at home. Safe at home. "Aww honey, don't be nervous." Connie planted a kiss on Mitchie's forehead. "You'll make tons of friends, you'll see. Today is going to be fun."

Mitchie looked around, not so sure about her mom's words. It was the first day of kindergarten and she was scared. She didn't know anyone. She was a shy girl, she didn't think she would be able to make "tons of friends". She thought she would be alone all day while everyone else played together. She thought the teacher would be mean. She felt... as if she were going to be sick. Mitchie swallowed hard and took a step back.

"Mitchie." Connie turned to her daughter, her expression serious.

"Yes, mommy?" Mitchie said quietly. Connie's face softened as she noticed how scared her daughter seemed to be.

"You'll be all right. Don't be such a worry cat." Connie poked her side. Mitchie smiled a bit. "Look at all these games they have out here... you're going to SO much fun. I didn't have those at my school when I was your age. We just played with marbles." Connie chuckled. "And all the other kids are probably as nervous as you are."

"You think so?" Mitchie said her eyes big with hope.

"Oh, I know so. You're not the only one trying to hold on to her mom." Connie looked over at some little guy who had his legs wrapped around his mom and was sucking his thumb. Mitchie giggled. "See?"

"I-I... I guess..."

"Come on, Mimi." Sometimes Connie called Mitchie like that. Usually when Mitchie felt bad. "You don't want to be late to class on your first day. I'll talk to your teacher, tell her to keep an eye on you. If anything goes wrong, you can call me."

Mitchie nodded and started walking towards the school with her mom.

"Good morning, love." A very nice looking lady said to Mitchie. "I'm Jenny. Miss Jenny Gray." She held out her hand. Mitchie shook it. "I'm the counselor and the art teacher."

"I'm Mitchie." She said softly.

"She's nervous." Connie told Miss Jenny. She nodded knowingly.

"Mommmm." Mitchie blushed.

Miss Jenny and Connie laughed.

"Don't you worry, sweetie." the teacher told her, patting her on the back. "Everyone is."

"That's what my mommy said." Mitchie said, looking up at Miss Jenny. She seemed nice. She kind of reminded Mitchie of her mom.

"And she's right." Miss Jenny said. "Are you worried about making friends, Mitchie?" Mitchie nodded. "Well what do you know! You just made one." Miss Jenny smiled fondly at the little girl. Mitchie smiled back.

She started to relax a little. Then she remembered something... Miss Jenny was the ART teacher! Mitchie LOVED art. Her granny was a great artist and they always painted together. The week before Granny Torres had taught her how to make stamps using potatoes. Granny Torres would cut the potatoes in different shapes, paint them and press them on the paper. This week she had promised to teach her how to make play dough if she did well at school.

"So you said you're the art teacher?" Connie asked. The teacher nodded. "Mimi here loves art. She's really good. I have some of her drawings here in my purse."

"Mom!" Mitchie exclaimed, feeling a bit embarrassed. "They're not... that good..." she added, looking at the ground. She never showed her stuff to anyone but her Granny and her parents.

Connie handed the teacher one of Mitchie's latests drawings. One where she had used watercolors and little sponges. She had drawn a nest and birds and painted them really softly. The bigger bird was the mom and she had a wing around the little birds. They had her eyes closed. The bird mom was keeping them warm. Mitchie had used cold colors and a bit of glitter (for the snow). It was a winter scene. Mitchie had done it while watching Disney movies, so the birds had a sweet look. Miss Jenny stared at it for a long time and smiled big. She looked at Mitchie in awe.

"Your mom's right. You are good. No. You're GREAT." Miss Jenny looked thrilled. "You'll be the star of my class!" She put an arm around Mitchie.

"I guess..." Mitchie laughed a bit.

"I guess? I GUESS? I know!" Miss Jenny smiled down at her. "How long have you been painting?"

"Since I was..." Mitchie looked at her mom. She wasn't really sure. "Since I had memory... Mom?"

"Yes, since you were in diapers pretty much." Connie nodded. "My mother is a painter and she's been teaching her stuff for ages."

"A family of artists! This is wonderful!" Miss Jenny exclaimed. "I have a son and I've been teaching him everything I know since he was little too..."

"Really? You have a son?" Connie asked.

And with that.. Connie and Miss Jenny started talking animatedly. Mitchie stopped listening and looked around. The playground was kind of nice. There were many swings, zigzags, jungle gyms... and they were all so colorful! Mitchie looked at her mom as if asking for permission. Connie nodded, still talking to Miss Jenny. Mitchie walked to one of the swings and sat down. She moved her legs slowly. It was a nice day. Summer weather hadn't left yet. It was a nice, warm day. Not too sunny, not to windy. Just right. Mitchie looked at the grass, at the flowers, at the kids and wished she had her sketch book with her so she could draw how beautiful everything looked. Kids were passing by with their backpacks. Mitchie checked her watch. She still had 20 minutes. She swung and swung... and then she stopped and looked up. She didn't know why, it was like if someone had grabbed her face and made her do so. And she saw... him. A dark haired boy with a blue backpack.

Mitchie felt like if everything around her had slowed down. She watched as the boy approached Miss Jenny, said something, then looked shyly at her mom. Not knowing it, Mitchie was staring, but she didn't care, something about him made her drawn towards him. She watched as he entered the building, but even out of Mitchie's line of vision, he was still set in her mind.

She stayed like that for a while. She stayed like that until her mom called her. Time to go inside. She took a deep breath and ran towards her and Miss Jenny. Miss Jenny and her mom were smiling like if they knew some kind of secret. Mitchie didn't want to say goodbye to her mom. She felt nervous again. But she had to, so she did. She gave her a hug then Miss Jenny took her hand and they walked inside.

The first day of preschool had started.


A/N: Based on a true story... that's right. This is so cheesy (I think). Walking down memory lane made me feel a tinsy bit weird - weird as in I legit sighed a dozen times. I can't believe I actually acted like that when I was five. O.O But hey, whatever, s'all good. Imani, Andi, Melissa, Chloe and Hillary think this is "oh, so cute" so I figured I should post it.

Hope you like it. :-) Review!