Winn's first day of school wasn't going very well. First, his Mommy forgot to put bananas on his PB&J sandwich. She forgot because Daddy called her, and Winn didn't hear what they talked about, but she looked sad after she hung up. She drove him to school and hugged him extra-tight, and then, at lunch, he discovered there were no bananas, and that made him a little sad, too. But he knew Mommy didn't forget on purpose, so he sniffled only a little and took a small bit, holding the sandwich with one hand and Raffles, his stuffed giraffe, with another. He was too scared to ask other kids if he could join them, so he sat alone, sadly munching on his banana-less sandwich and watching the children run around on a playground. There was a boy who was taller than him, and his skin was much darker than his; Winn remembered his name was James. James didn't like being called Jimmy, which he stated loudly and clearly during their first roll-call. James was already surrounded by several kids, and they were all laughing and playing ball. Winn sighed and took another bite. He didn't know yet the concept of envy, but he knew he wanted to be like James someday.
"I like your giraffe."
Winn jumped on his chair, startled by a sudden voice, and his sandwich fell to the ground. He only had several bites, and he couldn't pick it up and continue eating it, because Mommy always said not to eat off of floor. He didn't have any other food with him, only a juice box, and he realized, as the sandwich lay on the floor, that he was quite hungry. He hugged Raffles with both hands and turned to the intruder, with a trembling lip and very upset. But, as he faced the person who said the words, his tears dried quickly, and he gaped, mouth open, at the most beautiful girl he has ever seen.
She was the same height as him, with striking blue eyes and light brunette hair in a neat braid. Her nose was freckled, and her glasses were too big for her face. She wore a light pink dress and a horrified expression as her eyes flicked between Winn and the fallen sandwich.
"I'm sorry!" She cried, clutching her lunchbox. "I didn't wanna scare you. I just really like your giraffe. I have a bear. His name is Tommy, and I forgot him today. I miss him. Here," she thrust her lunchbox forward. "We can share. I have a peanut butter sandwich, but it's with bananas. I don't like jelly."
Winn's eyes lit up at the mention of his favorite fruit, and he kicked his feet excitedly. "How come you don't like jelly?" He giggled, scooting over so the girl could sit next to him. "I like jelly. But I like bananas more. My Mommy forgot to put bananas in my sandwich today."
"Now you get to have it, anyway!" the girl exclaimed happily. "I'm Kara. I'm sorry I dropped your lunch."
Winn shook his head, already biting into offered snack. "It's okay. I'm Winn."
Kara smiled, with some teeth missing, and Winn grinned back. He thought he wouldn't mind if Kara sat with him every day. He also thought he would like to hold her hand sometimes.
Winn told his Mommy everything about his first day, words spilling and mixing up. He told her about Mrs. Non and Green Eggs and Ham, and he showed her a drawing he made, and he grinned happily when it went straight on the fridge, and, of course, he told her everything about Kara Danvers. Mommy was just as excited as he was, and she said that yes, of course Kara can come over on Saturday as long as it was okay with her parents, and yes she would make PB sandwiches with no jelly in them, and she was so sorry she forgot the bananas, too! Winn was ecstatic. He didn't make any fuss about a bath, and he didn't struggle with his dinosaur pajamas at all, and he bounced on the bed a little under Mommy's careful supervision, and he was out like a light before they even finished the first page of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Needless to say, Winn was very excited for his second day and not at all scared, and he even dressed Raffles up, making him wear the fanciest bowtie he owned.
That day, Winn learned that you can never be too cautious, and often there is another shoe just waiting to drop.
Kara was introducing him to Tommy, her bear, who was very fluffy and soft and whom Raffles liked very much. Winn was about to ask Kara if she'd like to join his tea party on Saturday when he showed up. Maxwell Lord was a big, mean third-grader who didn't like stuffed toys, and he demonstrated that by grabbing Raffles by his neck and throwing him on the ground, stomping repeatedly on the giraffe. Kara gasped and clutched Tommy, watching Max tear into the toy with wide, fearful eyes.
"No!" Winn cried out, terrified and hurt. "Raffles! Why'd you do this?"
Max shrugged, blowing his dark hair from his eyes. He, like most bullies, didn't really know why exactly he did this. All he knew it felt good, so he did it, and would do it again. He also knew he didn't like this kid already, because he was neatly dressed and had a cute backpack and his giraffe was named Raffles. It was a stupid name, anyway.
"Whatcha gonna do about it, huh?" He smirked and kicked the toy, now dirty and covered in dust. Winn whimpered and dropped to his knees, grabbing Raffles and clutching him to his chest. Max laughed. Geez, it wasn't like he killed the kid's dog, now was it? He lost interest in Winn as soon as the boy started to cry, instead focusing on the girl next to him. She should've run, he thought, when she had the chance. But the girl stood there, hugging her stupid bear, and even though her little body trembled with fear, she didn't back down when he raced up to her.
"And what's this, huh? Another stupid toy? Didn't your Mommy and Daddy tell you? You can't have toys at school – it's a school, not a fucking kindergarten!" Kara audibly gasped at him uttering the bad word so confidently. While she didn't know the meaning yet, she knew it was very, very bad and she wasn't allowed to say it. To be honest, Max also was fuzzy on the meaning, but he knew adults freaked out whenever he said it, so he figured it was a good word that he definitely needed in his vocabulary.
"Gimme that," he growled and grabbed the bear by his ears. Kara scowled and pulled him back. "No!" She yelled. "You're mean! Why are you so mean?!"
"That's it!" He was angry now, for real. No one ever told him no.
"Don't touch her!" Winn, realizing that there was no chance to save Raffles, but he could still help his friend, stood up and grasped desperately at Max's arm. While Max was distracted by the boy, Kara saw her chance, and she took it. She slipped out of his grip and, taking a few steps back, let out a war cry and charged at the tall boy, knocking him and, consequently, Winn, to the ground. The younger boy quickly stood up and observed the scene before him. Kara was straddling the bully and rapidly punching him anywhere she could reach, while Max, still dumbfounded at his defeat, only covered his head with his arms, barely shielding himself. Winn was about to jump in and – drag Kara away or help her beat Max up, he didn't know yet – but he noticed a girl standing near, watching them with curious eyes, She began to walk up to them, her lips barely containing a smile.
"Wow, Max," she said, and laughter spilled through. "Beat by a little girl. This is the best day of my life."
Kara jumped from the boy, only now realizing what happened. She clasped one hand over her mouth, eyes widening as she took several steps back, and Winn joined her. They stood huddled together, both clutching their toys, scared. If Max told Mrs. Non, Mommy would be very upset, and she would talk in a sad voice, and he won't get a toy helicopter for Christmas. Winn gulped, and tears welled up in his eyes again at the thought.
"Shut up, Cat," Max growled and stood up, dusting himself off. "You're dead, you hear me?" He addressed the terrified children.
"Oh, Max, come on now," the girl, Cat, rolled her eyes as she stood with the first graders. "You won't touch them again, or I'll tell everyone that this little girl beat you up." She winked at Kara, then, and Kara blushed just like Winn did when he met her.
That was how their unlikely alliance had formed.
Cat Grant was in third grade, too; she was sharp with her tongue and quick with her words, and her eyes were a pretty shade of green and brown mixed together. Winn would later learn that the color was called hazel. She also was untouchable, because she knew many secrets other people didn't want anyone to know, and that was how Kara and Winn were introduced to the concept of blackmailing. That meant Kara and Winn were untouchable, too. Cat Grant took them under her wing, as she liked to say, and she often got the two out of trouble. To them, it seemed that Cat could do anything, and the only thing she had trouble with was remembering names. Kara was Kiera, and Winn was either Witt or Wick, depending on Cat's mood. They went through many things together, and, as they grew older, Kara was Kara more often than she was Kiera, but Winn remained Witt (or Wick) up until high school. But that would happen later, and to little Winn it seemed like that time was billion of years away, just like dinosaurs.
For now, they colored with their crayons, and Kara loved blue and red so much Winn always saved them for her, and at lunch they met with Cat and Lois Lane. Lois was Cat's friend, although for a long time Winn was confused because Cat and Lois fought so much he thought they weren't friends at all. That was how he and Kara learned of friendly banter – and much, much later, of different kinds of tension between two people. Sometimes, Lois' little sister Lucy, who was a first grader just like them, would join them, when she wasn't busy fighting with James Olsen. Usually, as soon as she spotted them sitting at their table, she would push James real hard so he would fall down, and run to them with a little skip in her step, yelling 'bye Jimmy' as she did. James would always stand up, slowly, and dust himself off with a pout. His lip never trembled, and Winn wished extra-hard he was James in moments like this, because James Olsen didn't know how to cry, and Winn knew that all too well. And Kara would always shyly offer Cat a sandwich with jelly because it turned out she loved them more than Winn did, and then she would pass Winn his sandwich with bananas, and Winn would give her a sandwich with no jelly in it. His Mommy always made sure to make several of those now, and he guessed Kara's Mommy did the same for him. After, they would run around playing superheroes, and Cat would grumble it was dumb, but help them come up with a superhero name anyway – she knew the best names, and Winn even had his Mommy make him a 'ToyMan' t-shirt for his birthday, he liked that name so much. Raffles and Tommy enjoyed the company, too, and Cat always made sure to tie a new bow on Tommy's ear every Monday.
"But he's a boy," Kara objected the first time she did that, confused.
"So? Boys wanna be pretty, too," Cat replied, and Winn nodded, and Kara thought and nodded, too. Tommy was the prettiest bear in school ever since, at least, until middle school, when Kara stopped bringing him anymore.
But for now, life was good, and Winn's first grade was going very, very well. He chased Kara on the playground, and she laughed her crystal laugh which would stay the same in their senior year, and Cat watched them with a scowl, hiding a smile, and Kara grabbed her hands and tug her with them, and she complied every time. They hadn't learned of love and heartbreak and scars that weren't visible on their skin. They would, soon; but if Winn could come back in time, he wouldn't change a single thing. He would always remember the blue sky and the red bow on Kara's bear and Cat's blonde hair wild in the wind as she ran, laughing, and Kara's soft, shy smile as she caught her.
He giggled and run to them, a half eaten sandwich on the table, forgotten, with Raffles and Tommy watching over it.