Franklin could count by twos and tie his shoes. He was good at making up games, and he was usually the one everyone turned to for ideas. But one day, it almost seemed as if Franklin had been forgotten.
"Race ya!" called Rabbit as they filed into the classroom.
"I'm gonna win!" called Goose.
Suddenly, they stopped short as they looked towards the desk near Mr. Owl's. A new student had joined them, already seated, and with an almost far-away-look to her eyes.
"Oh no. Is she lost?" queried Fox.
"Hmm. I don't know. I never saw her before," answered Beaver.
"Someone hold me up higher. I want to see her!" cried Snail eagerly, Franklin lifting him off his shell where he'd been riding comfortably before.
"Wow. She's cool," mused Raccoon.
"I can only see her head, but I like her face," said Snail.
"Sorry. Is this better?" questioned Franklin, lowering him.
"Yes. Much better. Wow she's big!" cried Snail suddenly.
"Okay everyone, please take your seats. We have a new student with us, and she's very shy. So please don't ask her too many questions all at once, okay?" warned Mr. Owl.
"I know a word for that. Bombard," smiled Beaver smugly.
"Yes, Beaver, that's right," laughed Mr. Owl. "Don't bombard her."
"What is she?" asked Franklin to Bear.
"I don't know," Bear replied.
As the class drew on, it seemed as if the day was just getting slower and slower. Franklin really wanted to know more about the new student. But then it finally came. A break in the class for her to introduce herself!
"I got so caught up in teaching today's activities it slipped my mind. May we have a little introduction? No one seems to know much about you," said Mr. Owl to the newcomer.
"D-Do I... have to stand? I get terrible stage fright," admitted the newcomer, her voice soft and her tone showing her nervousness.
"No, no. You can introduce yourself from right where you are. Speak up though, so that everyone can hear you," urged Mr. Owl, his voice soft and kind.
"Okay. Um... Hello. I'm... Deer. I uh... come from... Woodland's more deeper areas. Not much is... well... exciting about the place. Just... trees and stuff... no schools or anything. We just learn from our experiences," she answered.
"Hi. I'm Franklin," said Franklin happily.
"I'm Bear, that's Beaver, Goose, Badger, Snail, Rabbit, Fox, Raccoon, and Skunk," Bear introduced.
"Hi," smiled Deer timidly.
Eventually, it was time for some outdoor fun, and that was when Deer really showed herself. She was so overcome with joy at the fact she was going outside, that she ran faster than anyone had ever seen. She'd gone so fast, no one saw where she'd gone.
"Where is she?" questioned Goose.
"Hmm. Well, there is only one main door everyone can go out and in from. Everyone knows that," snuffed Beaver.
They headed outside in the end, and there she was, examining the trees.
"Hi guys. S-Sorry about that. I... I just love being outside. It's... kind of the way I was brought up," said Deer nervously.
"It's okay. Are you going to eat that?" wondered Bear suddenly, watching as she licked a leaf before pulling it off.
"We eat over seven, hundred, different types of plants," she answered finally, her mouth slightly full from the leaf.
"Whoa! Seven hundred!?" cried Rabbit, hopping up and down in amazement.
"Yes," smiled Deer, picking another leaf before heading over to the next tree. "This one's my favourite kind to eat though!"
"I like berries, apples... well, anything sweet, really," admitted Bear.
"I like everything," said Deer, still munching away.
"BOOGALLA BOOGALLA!" shouted Fox suddenly as he jumped out from behind one of the bushes, scaring both Rabbit and Deer in the process!
"Sorry about that, it's a new game I made up! Come back!" shouted Fox as he saw Deer running back towards the school.
"That one was good, but we need to find Deer now," said Rabbit, laughing a little from his earlier scare.
Deer, meanwhile, was spending time with Badger, of whom was sitting on a bench situated just at the back of the building.
"Hello," said Badger.
"Oh. Uh... Hi. I got scared by Fox," said Deer. "Oh no. And I think I smell him!"
She began stomping her foot, making this almost whistling hiss sound. This noise scared Fox even more than the boogalla scared her!
"RUUUUUUUN!" shouted Fox, barreling towards the door of the school.
"Whoa. You really showed him," laughed Badger.
"It's our warning call. We can also do this," smiled Deer, starting into a run, and then jumping right over both Badger and the bench she sat on!
"Where'd you..." began Badger.
"Behind you," Deer laughed, jumping back over with ease.
"Beaver was the first to start calling for Deer. She called and called, but no sign of her. However, it was when Deer jumped over a shrub to get at the fruit on the other side of it, that she finally saw her!
"Look! Did you see that?!" cried Beaver, the others looking in sheer amazement as Deer made another jump over the shrub.
She came back over to Badger with two apples, Badger looking in amazement at her.
"Do you eat that much in one go?" she asked.
"No, I brought this one for you," smiled Deer, handing an apple to her new friend.
"Thank you," smiled Badger, taking a bite.
"DEEEEEEER!" called Beaver, Deer freezing.
"We're sorry we scared you! You are an amazing jumper!" shouted Fox.
"Please don't scare us away again!" exclaimed Rabbit.
The voices may have been off in the distance, but that didn't stop Deer from panicking.
"I know them, they're fine," assured Badger. "They do a lot of their taunting just for fun."
Finally, they found her, Deer seemingly still a little on edge. She just stayed there though, making sure to not look in their direction.
"Please forgive us," said Fox pleadingly.
Deer sighed, finally looking over at them.
"Okay. I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to scare you that much. That's just the warning call we make when we feel threatened," Deer smiled meekly.
"Can we see you run again?" questioned Bear. "We would love to play tag with you. Do you know how?"
Deer looked up questioningly. Beaver spoke up though.
"It's a game where you touch a person, and that person becomes it. You say, "You're it," when you catch them. Then it tries to catch someone else and make them it.
"What is... it?" questioned Deer.
"It's just the word you use when you catch someone," explained Goose.
"Hey Deer? You're it!" cried Franklin, touching her shoulder happily, and running off.
Badger stayed behind and ate her delicious apple while the others played, Deer seemingly unhappy with that arrangement.
"I'm fine. I won't be able to catch them anyway. Besides. I don't really like those run really fast games," admitted Badger. "This apple is so good too!"
"Okay," said Deer, and ran off swiftly.
Everyone had a hard time getting away from Deer, and eventually, Goose lost! She'd become it. Franklin, however, seemed to be lost in the action, until he was unable to even find anyone at all.
"How did this happen?" he questioned.
Truthfully, everyone had been looking toward Deer the entire time, while Franklin had just kept running once he'd tagged her, knowing that since he was a turtle, he would be too far behind. But instead of being behind, he'd gone too far. He could hear them calling, but couldn't make out where the voices were coming from. He couldn't hear the words either, but it didn't sound at all like they were saying Franklin at any point.
"I guess they don't want me anymore. They like Deer even better."
Franklin decided, since he felt no one wanted him, that he'd go sit by Badger. Maybe Badger would still like him.
"Oh. Hi Franklin. Aren't you playing tag?" questioned Badger.
"No, I think everyone likes Deer more than me," he said truthfully.
"I don't think that's true at all," laughed Badger, Franklin taking her apple core and throwing it in the dumpster.
"Well, they haven't been calling me yet," he admitted. "Snail's with Bear now. I think that means he doesn't want to ride on me anymore because I'm too slow."
"Oh Franklin. Don't feel that way. I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding," assured Badger.
Soon, it was time to head back inside. Franklin and Badger walked slowly in, Franklin still feeling sad, and Badger... well, because of her concern for him.
"Are those hurting you?" asked Franklin, his voice sounding sad.
"No, I just feel bad for you," Badger admitted, Franklin smiling meekly at her.
"Maybe there's still someone that likes me," he said to himself.
"Hey Franklin! Why didn't you join us in the tag game? You should have seen the way Deer ran from us. After she tagged Goose, no one could get her back!" laughed Bear.
"Wow!" laughed Badger, Franklin frowning.
"I know! Isn't that amazing Franklin?" asked Bear, Franklin just sighing.
"Franklin is feeling sad because he seems to think you guys like Deer more than him," explained Badger, Deer looking in their direction upon hearing this sudden remark.
The whole class, having been talking for a while, went quiet when Mr Owl came in, but all eyes were now on Franklin.
"What did she say?" asked Beaver.
"Franklin thinks we like Deer more than him," sighed Bear.
"Hey. If I may say something? I had nothing to do with this. Honest," said Deer, her eyes suddenly turning sad.
"We didn't say you did. We're just saying this because that's what Franklin thinks," assured Skunk.
"We're sorry if it seemed that way. You have to admit, she is very fun to be with and even watch. But that doesn't mean we won't stop hanging out with you. In fact, Bear was trying to find you throughout points in the game. He almost got caught by Goose several times in his hesitation!" exclaimed Beaver.
"Really?" wondered Franklin, sounding surprised now.
"Yes," laughed Goose.
"I caught him looking around in the woods at one point to see if you'd gone there," chimed in Deer, her face looking happier now.
"Wow. Thanks. I... I'm sorry about earlier, Guys. I guess I just misunderstood what was really going on," smiled Franklin, everyone smiling back at him in unison.
"I'm glad to hear you've all sorted this out on your own, and have made friends with Deer. I'm very happy that you guys are starting to learn how to get along with each other. Why don't we all give ourselves a cheer," smiled Mr. Owl, and to this day, Franklin remained happy with his newfound friend, and everyone remained a part of his life.