Ch. 2 First Day
Sherlock leaned his chin against his small palm at the window as the car slowed to a stop in front of Fox. He felt his mother fixing his collar for him before she patted down his curls atop his head.
"Go on dear, it will be fine. You'll make lots of friends."
Sherlock just sighed and grabbed his pack. As he opened the car door, his mother said "Don't worry, I'll take you to buy more crickets later if you like."
Sherlock gasped with delight and let his mother kiss him on the forehead.
"Just promise me you won't pull anybody's hair out for samples, ok?"
Sherlock deflated a little, but complied with a "Yes, mummy."
He climbed out of the car and made his way to the empty playground that was scattered with leaves. Most of the children stood shyly in uniform with their mothers or fathers, afraid to move or look around. First days of school were Sherlock's favourite. He liked to examine his classmates and guess things about them that he would confirm correctly later on during the semester. It was something of a hobby he picked up from watching countless people walk in and out of his mother's office in the many hours he spent there after school. It was fun for him, and he liked to imagine he was a spy, gathering information on his targets without uttering a word or being seen.
Sherlock sat himself down on a swing, picking up a stray leaf rolling past his black dress shoes and examining it. It was a maple leaf judging by its shape and its edges were a vivid red, while the centre was a paling green.
How does it change colour? he wondered, squinting his eyes at it and holding it up to the morning sun. He imagined the red creeping down into the centre, consuming the entire leaf in scarlet and then eventually turning it brown as the rest of the leaves ended up. He looked up into the sky and thought It's cold in the autumn, then vaguely wondered if it was something in the cold that changed the colours of the leaves before he was interrupted by something in the corner of his eye.
There were two boys who had just arrived, one taller slim boy who was throwing a fit to his mother, and another very small boy standing just behind her as she struggled to get the taller boy to put on his navy blue uniform blazer.
"Harry, put your blazer on! You're going to catch a cold!" their mother exclaimed. Both boys had light blonde hair, though their mother was brunette. The one called Harry threw his arms around and refused to put his blazer on, causing his mother to sigh loudly and resorting to stuffing his coat into the boy's pack.
Sherlock watched them carefully, leaf still in hand, and noticed the tiny blonde boy staring at him from where he stood. He had the same navy blue shorts on as Sherlock did, but with white socks pulled up to his calves so that he resembled a boy scout. Sherlock noticed he had the same stitch on his blazer as he did that indicated he was in Year 1 as well.
Sherlock broke the gaze between them and carefully placed the maple leaf in his pack between his books before the school bell chimed and he headed for the school doors.
The tiny blonde boy watched as the boy from the swing walked past him when his mother finally turned to him and said, "John love, go on ahead to your class doors. I have to go on and get Harry settled into her room. You'll be all right. Have a good day." She leaned down to kiss her son on his temple and gently pushed him along, preoccupied with his sister who had gone wondering into the wrong class queue.
John ambled over to where the other boys and girls were and stood quietly behind a taller girl with red hair. In truth, every boy and girl was taller than John. He was the smallest boy in the class, always had been.
He fidgeted a little with his white dress shirt before he leaned around the taller girl and saw that the boy from the swing was standing just further down the line.
They were in the same class.