Finally! After years and years of planning and writing (along with college (I finally graduated!) and countless computer troubles), I now have a story for the Kids Next Door 100 Theme Challenge! :D
I just hope that it's not too late for me to participate in it…
(Shrugs) Oh well, I hope that you all enjoy the story!
Codename: Kids Next Door Operation: F.I.R.S.T.-D.A.Y.
Friendship
Is
Really
Simple
Task –
Don't
Annoy
Youngsters
It was the first day of school for all Gallagher Elementary students. Returning students crowded the hallways looking to reunite with old friends and exchange stories about summer activities and gripe about anything having to do with school. New students that weren't being pushed and shoved (although not always intentionally) by the old students clung to the walls as they tried to find their classrooms, double and even triple checking their schedules and school maps to make sure that they weren't lost. There were even a few students clinging to their parents, begging to be taken home.
Despite first-day jitters, many students found humor and even comfort in this scene as it played out before them. It was especially reassuring for new students because it showed that everyone, whether new student or old student, faced some sort of anxiety at the beginning of the school year: Will they have a good teacher this year? Will they be in the same classes as their friends? Will they even make friends?
One of these students was Kuki Sanban.
The Japanese girl, a transfer from Kendall Preparatory, was never really good at friendships. She could make friends very easily, but she never seemed to keep them past the first month or so of school. This baffled her teachers, her counselor, her parents, and even Kuki herself.
How could such a sweet and friendly girl not make a single friend in three years?
"Hey, watch it!"
Kuki gasped. She was so preoccupied by her worries of making new friends that she didn't realize that she had just bumped into someone. The tanned girl with curly dark brown hair that was standing before her had her hands on her hips with a very annoyed expression on her face.
"Oops, I'm sorry!" Kuki apologized.
The girl's irritated expression didn't ease up. She moved her hands from her hips and folded her arms across her chest. "Whatever." She said.
Before the girl and her two friends left, Kuki made another attempt at rectifying the situation. She extended her hand. "Hi!" She greeted them. "My name is—"
"Oh, why don't you look at the time?" A girl with her black hair in pigtails interrupted as she looked at her watch. "It's almost time for school to start." The three of them then quickly ran down the hallway. Seconds later, audible giggles erupted from the group.
"These new students are so weird." The tanned girl said, glancing back at Kuki.
Kuki froze where she stood. Her hand remained outstretched and a now-pained smile was plastered onto her face. Tears began to cloud her vision.
This is just like Kendall Prep all over again.
She shook her head and wiped her eyes. Now was not the time for tears. Now was the time to be hopeful. Now was the time to follow mom's advice about hoping for the best. Now was the time to—
All of a sudden, the two minute warning bell rang loudly overhead. The remaining students in the hallway scurried to their classrooms.
Now was the time to find out just where the heck Room 102 is!
With just seconds to spare, Kuki found the classroom before the bell rang to officially begin the school day. She hurried inside and sat down in the last available seat in the room, a desk in the second row of the room near the center. Just as soon as she did, a slender woman with bright red hair entered the room. She was carrying a notebook and two books in her arms, and there was a dark blue tote bag on her shoulder that was filled with more notebooks, paper, and other supplies.
"Good morning, class!" The woman greeted in a loud, enthusiastic voice.
"Good morning." The class replied half-heartedly.
"Oh, I know we can do better than that!" She said. "Good morning, class!"
"Good morning." The class replied with slightly more enthusiasm.
She gave a small shrug as if to say that this was the best she was going to get on the first day back. "My name is Mrs. Darcy." She wrote her name in pretty cursive print on the chalkboard. "I know that many of you have already met me at the end of the last school year, but I would just like to reintroduce myself, especially since I notice we have a few new faces among us." She scanned the room and briefly locked eyes with the new students.
The look in Mrs. Darcy's eyes caused some of the new students to slump down in their seats. It was pretty evident what was to come next.
"So come on up and introduce yourselves!"
One by one, the new students stood in front of the class. There were five in total. The first student opened his mouth to speak, but he appeared unsure of what to say. He looked over to Mrs. Darcy for help.
"Just tell the class your name and a little bit about yourself." She smiled. "You can tell us where you're from or what school you came from, how old you are or when your birthday is. You can even tell us what you like to do."
The boy smiled back and proceeded to introduce himself. His name was Colin and he just moved from California.
The next student was a girl named Lisa and she had a birthday coming up next month.
Then there was Sarah who loved to watch superhero cartoons.
Next was Billy followed by Justin, who also loved superhero cartoons.
When Kuki saw that it was her turn, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
'I really hope I do better this time.' She said to herself.
"My name is Kuki Sanban and I came from Kendall Prep."
"Ha! Ha! Her name is 'Cookie'!" A loud, accented voice shouted from the back of the classroom. A few students snickered.
"Okay, that's enough." Mrs. Darcy said. She turned back to the new students and said, "You guys can go take your seats now."
Kuki slunk back to her desk and sat down. She folded her arms on the desk and rested her head on top. She pouted and tears stung her eyes yet again. Her old guidance counselor Ms. Conway was wrong. Gallagher Elementary wasn't going to be a good fit. In fact, it didn't seem that much different from Kendall Prep.
"Psst. Hey."
She looked at the source of the whispering voice and saw that it game from an African-American girl sitting next to her. The girl gave her a kind smile.
"I'm Abby."
Kuki smiled at her. She then felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see who it was. A portly boy waved at her.
"And I'm Hoagie."
"My name is Nigel." A bald-headed boy whispered from her diagonal.
"It's nice to meet you all." Kuki smiled. This time, her eyes welled up with happy tears.
"Same here." Abby said. "Oh, and don't worry about Wally over there." She pointed her thumb at a small, blond boy sitting in the back of the room.
"He's just all bark and no bite." Abby continued.
Kuki glared at him. When he noticed her, he frowned back and stuck his tongue out at her. She turned away in a huff.
"I won't." Kuki said, folding her arms. Even though she had been worried about making new friends at this new school, he is one friend that she wouldn't mind not having. In fact, she had already made it up in her mind that she would never be friends with him.
Not even in a million, buhmillion years!
And there it is. One story down, 99 more…to…go.
And then there's "Operation: T.R.O.U.B.L.E."…and a few other stories that I have in the works (no spoilers!).
(Facepalm) Just be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more stories. Hopefully, they will be posted/updated a little more frequently than once every two or three years.