Philip waltzed out the door on his first day of kindergarten. He was all grown up. He was the oldest Hamilton kid in his house, and he was going to go to school and make his father proud!
His mother walked behind him, ushering him out the door. "Now, Philip, have a good day at school, sweetie! I hope- oh, dear." Eliza Hamilton's goodbye to her son was cut off by a scream and the crash of a bowl. Philip's one-year-old brother had just knocked his breakfast off the kitchen table "Oh, dear. Al. I have to clean that up. Alexander! You need to get out of the house more anyway, can you take your son to school, please?" A grunt from inside the house signaled Philip's father's approval. Eliza turned back to Philip and put her hands on his shoulders. "Philip, I'll see you later. Make sure to blow everyone away!" With one last kiss on the cheek, she swept her dress around and rushed back in.
A second later, fumbling with a packet of papers and his glasses nearly falling off his face, Philip's father showed up at the door. Despite his frantic state, the man managed a grin. "All ready, big boy?" Philip smiled. It was exciting, going to school. He couldn't wait to tell everyone that his father was Alexander Hamilton, who had some big political position. Philip didn't really know, but he had seen his father's name in the paper and sometimes picked up parts of his dad's rambling conversations.
As they walked to Princeton Elementary School, Philip imagined what it would be like. He assumed he would make a lot of friends really quickly, like he had in daycare. He assumed the teachers would adore him, like all adults seemed to. He assumed that no one would mess with him, and if they did, they would have to answer to his father. His fantasies were interrupted by his father's voice. The two were standing right outside the colorfully decorated door of Room 11. "Alright, Philip, we're here. You have a good day, yeah?" Philip once again was flooded with happiness. He couldn't wait to meet everyone in his class, and he was ready to make his father proud.
"Yeah, daddy! I love you!" He gave his father a quick kiss on the cheek, then didn't glance behind again as he bounced cheerfully into the classroom.
He'll be okay, thought Alexander. I know he will.
Only a couple of people were in the room when Philip entered. One was his teacher, a pretty woman with long brown hair. The other was a young boy who was wearing a name tag that read "George". Philip walked over to him. "Hi," he said, suddenly nervous.
"Hi. Who are you?"
"I'm Philip, and my daddy is Alexander Hamilton! He's really famous."
"I'm George. My daddy doesn't like your daddy. He says he's no good."
Philip was outraged. How dare this boy say anything against his precious father? His father was perfect. He was smart, rich, and everyone knew him! "Well," Philip countered, "you're ugly. My daddy isn't ugly. Or stupid. Or-"
"Georgie?"
A new voice came from across the room. A girl had entered. She was smaller than Philip and George, and looked younger. Her dark hair was braided carefully and she wore a pretty white dress, but it had a mud stain on the front of it that looked fresh. "Hi Georgie!" She hustled across the room and wrapped her arms around the other boy, who looked slightly alarmed and embarrassed.
"Hi, Theodosia-"
"Yeah, I'm Theo! I like horses! I'm only three but my daddy's daddy used to be the principal and so my daddy got me in early! He says I'm really smart! What's your name? Are you really smart?" She turned her large eyes toward Philip, who was quite shocked at this hyper girl's sudden appearance.
"Well," he began, " my name is Philip. A bunch of people said I'm smart. I think I'm smart. I-" He was cut off by the teacher, who stood at the front of the room and told them to find a seat.
"I'm sitting with Georgie," said the chipper girl. "He's my friend. Do you want to be my friend?"
"Sure," said Philip. He liked Theodosia.
"Well, then come sit with us! Friends sit together! You can be Georgie's friend too." George grumbled a little but followed Theodosia, who grabbed Philip by the arm and pulled him over to a desk.
"Ok," Philip replied. He was going to impress George somehow. He was going to make his father proud of him. And he was going to be the best friend to Theodosia ever.
