It had taken a while for Mrs. Pierce to be sure about this, but the higher ups at Lima Valley Elementary School had convinced her that they had the resources necessary to deal with her daughter's delicate situation.
Yet here she was, sitting in front of the school with Brittany, still too scared herself to let Brittany out of the van. She glanced her daughter up and down for about the thousandth time that morning; cute outfit, check. Backpack full of colorful notebooks and pens Brittany had picked out and couldn't wait to use, check. Unicorn lunchbox with all Brittany's favorites, egg salad and a banana, juice and butterscotch pudding, check.
Brittany watched the kids play eagerly on the playground equipment and couldn't wait to try it out. Her mom had never quite felt comfortable with taking Brittany to the playground, and it was something Brittany had dreamed about ever since she knew she'd be going to school.
"Mommy look at all that stuff. I'm gonna go on the swings!" she exclaimed. Mrs. Pierce smiled at the thought of her daughter running excitedly toward the swings, her blonde hair whipping back and forth, her legs pumping and she sped through the air, the smile on her face and the giggle that was sure to sneak past her lips once she saw how high she could get.
"Wait until recess, baby. We have to go meet your principal," she reminded her, and as she gathered copies of Brittany's medical paperwork they headed inside.
Brittany sat cross legged on the floor of the principal's office, coloring in a book she had given her while her mom got down to business.
"I assure you, Mrs. Pierce, we are prepared to handle this. Brittany's teacher as well as her entire class have been told about her…condition," the principal tried to be delicate, but Brittany knew that mommy hated it when people used that word.
"I just need to know she will be safe here," her mom replied.
"I understand. We have a lot of special needs children here. Brittany, honey? Why don't you come up here and sit next to your mom and tell me about yourself?" she asked. Brittany scampered shyly to the open seat and sat down. Noticing she was nervous, the principal held out a jar of lollipops that was previously hidden under her desk. Brittany's eyes widened and she looked to her mom for approval.
"Just one," she tells her before Brittany plunges her hand into the jar, pulling out an orange one and plopping it into her mouth.
"So what do you like to do Brittany?" she asked again, crossing her hands on top of her desk.
"I like to play," she says, avoiding eye contact like she does with most grown-ups.
"That's good. Do you play with other kids a lot?"
"Brittany isn't exactly socialized yet…that's part of the reason I'm nervous about this,"
"Well Brittany we have a really cool playground you can play on for recess. And the other kids are always looking for people to play games so I know you'll make some friends," she told her. Brittany nodded excitedly, thinking about the swings again.
"Mrs. Pierce, I assure you everything will be just fine. It's time to go to class, Brittany. I'll show you where it is," she said standing up. Brittany's mother inhales deeply, nervous to leave, and hugs her daughter.
"Be good today, okay? Just be nice and friendly to the other kids. And if you get scared just tell the teacher. I love you…so, so much. You're going to be just fine,"
"Love you too, mommy," she replies, clasping her arms around her mother's neck for dear life.
"Hey, it's okay. You'll have so much fun. I can't wait to hear everything you learn today. Promise you'll tell me everything later?" she attempted to soothe her.
"Promise," she answered.
"Okay. I'm going to go now, honey, and Ms. Vaughn is going to take you to your class. Whose my brave girl?" she poked Brittany gently on the nose.
"Me," the girl replied softly, wishing her mother could stay.
"That's right. I'll see you in a few hours, baby. Be brave!" she hollered, heading out the door.
Brittany looked around in amazement as Ms. Vaughn walked her through the halls of the school. The walls were covered with colorful art projects. Brittany hoped one day her pictures could be up on the walls. Before she knew it, Ms. Vaughn was leading her into a classroom. The children were talking and giggling loudly while the teacher prepared something on the chalk board.
"Settle down," Ms. Vaughn said to the kids, and they all faced forward, seeing Brittany. They wouldn't have thought much, maybe just that she was a new teacher, except for she had a little kid lunch box like they all did and rainbow shoe laces in her sneakers. Sure, the teacher had tried to explain to them that the new girl would be a little…different, but this was a surprise to all of them.
Brittany felt instantly nervous at all the eyes glued to her and looked down at her feet.
"This is Brittany, she's new here and she's going to be in your class. I expect you'll all treat her with respect and be friendly," Ms. Vaughn announced. A hand shot up in the back of the room.
"Yes, Noah?"
"But she's like…a grown up," he pointed out.
"Am not!" Brittany snapped back. She hated when people called her that.
"Sh, Brittany it's okay. Kids, we talked about this the other day. Brittany just grows a little faster than most people, that's all. She's just like all of you, and you will treat her that way, understood?" she warned. The class remained silent, some of their jaws still hanging open.
"I agree, there will be nothing but respect and kindness in this classroom, same as always," the teacher came forward and stood next to Brittany.
"Hi Brittany, I'm Miss Jenkins. But you can call me Miss J, alright? All the kids do. How about you come over here and sit next to Mercedes?" she led Brittany to a seat near the end of the half circle she had the desks arranged in.
"Okay class, open your notebooks up, today we're going to learn about telling time!" Ms. J exclaimed excitedly. Brittany pulled out her brand new notebook and pen and tried to ignore some of the people that were still staring at her.
Soon enough, it was time for recess and Brittany found herself following the other kids in a rushed stampede out to the playground. Her heart dropped when she saw all the swings were taken, and the jungle gym looked pretty crowded too. She sighed and walked over to the sandbox where nobody was playing at all. She sat down in the sand and started sifting through it with the shovel that was left there. She shoveled as much as she could into the matching bucket and tried to flip it over, but the pile collapsed instantly. She couldn't understand why it wouldn't work. She had watched her dad do this a hundred times at the beach. They always made pretty castles together and later, when she couldn't fall asleep in the hotel room because it smelled different than her room at home, he would tell her stories about the princess who lived in the castles they made. The princess's name was always Brittany.
"What are you doing?" Brittany heard a voice above her and looked up. Standing outside the sandbox was a girl Brittany recognized from her class, she was wearing a blue and white striped shirt and jeans. Her hair was long and dark and pretty, Brittany thought. She had been sitting next to that Noah kid that made fun of her.
"Trying to make a sandcastle," Brittany replied, not making eye contact.
"You have to make the sand wet so it sticks together," the girl explained, sitting down across from Brittany. She dumped the water bottle she had into the sand and started shoveling the sand into the bucket. Brittany watched her, mesmerized. The fact that almost everyone on the playground was staring at them was not lost on her.
"I'm Brittany," she chokes out finally, watching the girl flip the bucket with ease and pull it off to reveal a perfectly smooth castle tower.
"I know," the girl replies, reaching into her pocket. Brittany likes the way the girl sticks her tongue out and squints her eyes as she digs through her pocket, concentrating hard. She pulls out three gummy bears and holds her hand out to Brittany. Brittany takes the green one and the girl places the red one on
top of the sandcastle, eating the yellow one herself.
"What's your name?" Brittany asked, grinning excitedly at the new addition to the castle.
"Santana," the girl replies, reinforcing the sandcastle from the bottom.
"Do you want to be my friend?" Brittany asked hopefully. Santana looked up at her and shrugged.
"Sure," she answered nonchalantly. Brittany giggled and clapped excitedly. They spent the rest of recess playing in the sand, the rest of the class gawking at Brittany who towered over Santana. They talked about everything, about kittens and butterflies and glitter crayons and whose mom made the best chocolate chip cookies. Santana never once asked Brittany why she was so tall or why she looked like a grown up. Brittany couldn't wait to go home and tell her mom she made a friend.
